Phuket welcomes cruise liner from Malaysia with 2,000 tourists

Phuket welcomed the arrival of a cruise liner from Malaysia, carrying more than 2,000 tourists, as it docked at the pier in the Wichit sub-district of Phuket‘s main city district on Monday. The cruise liner, the Mein Schiff 5, is operated by TUI Cruises.

The Chief of Phuket Marine Office, Natchapong Pranit, welcome the tourists who arrived on the cruise liner from Langkawi, Malaysia, at the Phuket Marine Customs Pier in Makham Bay.

Natchapong said that the first cruise liner to visit Phuket since 2019 arrived in Patong in October of last year when the Covid-19 situation had started to ease.

He further added that there has been an increase in the number of cruise liners coming to Patong and Ao Makham. Since October last year, more than 160,000 tourists have arrived on cruise liners, contributing significantly to Phuket’s economy. This influx of tourists demonstrates the growing confidence in visiting Phuket, he said.

The ship is currently serving a 60-day transit from Hong Kong to Heraklion on the island of Crete in Greece, The Phuket News reported. The ship departed Phuket yesterday (Tuesday). As of yesterday, the ship was rounding the northern tip of Sumatra as it headed back to the Mediterranean.

According to Phuket Immigration, the island welcomed 12 cruise liners in March. Since Phuket has started to enter its rainy season, it only welcomed six cruise liners in April.

The Mein Schiff 5 was launched in 2016. The ship can carry a total of 2,534 passengers, and 1,030 crew members.

Back in January, the Mein Schiff 5 made a stop in Koh Samui, bringing over 3,000 tourists from Europe for a day of sightseeing and shopping. This brought an estimated 5 million baht in tourism revenue for the island. During their visit, the tourists could experience local communities and attractions.

The ship also visited Koh Samui in December last year, carrying 2,500 European tourists.