Tourist arrivals hold strong

Phuket's tourism sector remains resilient with more than 2.4 million arrivals recorded from January to May 2025, an 8% year-on-year increase, according to the Phuket Tourist Association.

- The Phuket News [e-mail]

The positive momentum is largely supported by strong growth from new and emerging markets, even as the province grapples with a sharp decline in Chinese visitors.

Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, President of the Phuket Tourist Association, at a media event last Saturday (June 7) acknowledged challenges in May, when total tourist arrivals dipped by 7.8% compared to the same month last year.

The decline was driven largely by a dramatic drop of more than 48% in arrivals from China traditionally one of Phuket’s largest markets.

Despite this, several other markets have shown robust growth. India surged by 59%, while arrivals from England (+23%), the Middle East (+25%), Australia (+11%) and Russia (+13%) also buoyed overall figures.

Meanwhile, Thai domestic tourism performed well in the first quarter, with an average growth of 10%, although it saw a slight slowdown of 1.8% in April, said Siriwan Siharat, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office.