Phuket raked in nearly 3 billion baht during the four-day religious holiday but tourist numbers have taken a worrying dip, with Chinese arrivals more than halved and Middle Eastern travellers staying away.
The Khao Phansa Buddhist holiday on July 10–11 gave locals a golden excuse for a long weekend, sending thousands of Thai tourists flocking to the island. Foreigners, meanwhile, chipped in the lion’s share of the 2.89 billion baht in revenue.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Phuket, Thai visitors spent around 690 million baht, while foreign tourists splashed out an estimated 2.2 billion over the four days. But despite the spending spree, hoteliers are fretting, Bangkok Post reported.
“This year, foreign visitor numbers are down by about 10% compared to the same period in 2024,” said Suksit Suvunditkul, President of the Southern Thai Hotels Association.
“The number of Chinese tourists has dropped by more than half, and Middle Eastern visitors are also down — likely due to ongoing conflict in the region.”
At Phuket International Airport, daily arrivals and departures hovered around 15,000 passengers, still ahead of nearby provinces, but fewer than last year, added Kongsak Khoopongsakorn of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce.
Beaches were largely deserted thanks to wet and windy weather, with tourists instead packing into the trendy cafés and colonial shophouses of Phuket Old Town, according to Thai PBS.
Despite the lull, the island has posted healthy figures so far this year. Between January and May, Phuket welcomed 5.85 million visitors, including 1.59 million Thais and 4.26 million international tourists, generating a whopping 223 billion baht in revenue, a 5.19% increase year-on-year.
In May, the island hosted 900,000 people, but international arrivals fell by 8.8%, leading to a 2.93% dip in revenue compared to the same month in 2024. June saw a modest rebound, with 1.71 million tourists spending over 35 billion baht, though hotel occupancy slipped to 62.63%.
The current top ten markets for Phuket include India, Russia, China, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the UK, USA, and South Korea, with strong showings from Germany, France, and Kazakhstan as well.
Still, with the rain falling and some markets cooling, Phuket’s tourism bosses know it’ll take more than cheap cocktails and Instagrammable sunsets to keep the bahts rolling in.
The story Baht’s life: Monsoon gloom rains on Phuket’s holiday parade as seen on Thaiger News.
