Phuket tourism hopes for cash flow from the long weekend

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office, is hoping for cash to flow over this 4 day weekend (Friday was a public service holiday for Ploughing Day and tomorrow is the substitute holiday for today’s Visaka Bucha Day). TAT Phuket’s director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, said yesterday that the average hotel room occupancy rate is 44.5%, and it’s expected to jump to 60% during the long weekend that runs through Monday. Today is Thailand’s Buddhist holiday of Visakha Bucha Day.

Yesterday it was reported that Koh Lan, just off the coast of Pattaya, was 100% booked for the long weekend whilst other resorts provided a contrary evaluation of long weekend tourist traffic, saying that the domestic tourists appear to have run out of steam following the major Songkran holiday only a month ago.

The director says Phuket is expected to rake in about 1.8 billion baht in tourism revenue over the long weekend. There is now an average of 100 inbound flights to Phuket, and 15,000 arrivals per day. Seven airlines are now serving the island province. She added that the average stay during the long holiday was expected to be 2.5 nights per person.

Phuket isn’t the only province where tourism authorities are hoping for the cash to continue to flow with the easing of Thailand Pass paperwork. The director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Surat Thani office told Thai media the province’s expected income for the holiday is about 484.8 million baht. 295.3 million baht is expected from Thai tourists, while 189.5 million baht is expected foreign tourists

This prediction comes as Surat Thani prepares for the Full Moon Party tomorrow (Monday) on Koh Pha Ngan, the second one since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out 2 years ago. Last month, after the first party since pre-Covid days, Surat Thani earned an income of 895.7 million baht from 83,000 visitors during Songkran.

About 300,000 international travellers have arrived in Thailand within the first week after the Thailand Pass program was simplified and the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes scrapped on May 1. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s “happy with the number of visitors” according to Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

The TAT are hoping for 1 million international arrivals each month over the last quarter this year.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post