Việt Nam•25/06/2024
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Phuket is one of the famous tourist destinations of the Golden Temple country and is also the most popular destination in the region and in the world.
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Tourists visit Maya Bay. (Photo: VNA) |
With the advantage of diverse and rich natural tourism resources, Phuket province (Thailand) is making efforts to improve infrastructure and service quality to attract more tourists to this island during the low tourist season (usually lasting from April to October every year).
Located in Southern Thailand, more than 850km from the capital Bangkok, Phuket is one of the famous tourist destinations of the Golden Temple country and is also one of the most popular destinations in the region and in the world.
In 2023, Phuket's tourism sector had a strong recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, welcoming up to 11 million visitors, generating revenue of 388 billion baht ($10.4 billion).
The strong recovery momentum will continue into 2024, as the beautiful island welcomed 3.6 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, up 30% year-on-year, generating revenue of 137 billion baht.
In addition, with its strengths of blue sea, white sand, golden sunshine, outstanding local cuisine and convenient infrastructure, Phuket is also a suitable destination for organizing international events that attract a large number of participants.
With these positive signals, Phuket's tourism industry has confidently set a target of 400 billion baht in revenue for the whole year of 2024. Towards this goal, local authorities and businesses are proposing solutions to turn the low tourist season of the year into a "green season" by both attracting more tourists and improving the ecosystem.
Mr. Lerdchai Wangtrakoondee, Director of the Phuket Provincial Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that Phuket may be entering its low season now, but the number of visitors and hotel bookings on the island has not decreased significantly.
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Tourists worship the Big Buddha statue on top of Nakkerd hill. (Photo: VNA) |
According to Mr. Lerdchai, during peak season, Phuket airport usually welcomes more than 20,000 passengers/day and this number often drops sharply at this time of year.
However, this year the average number of tourists arriving by air is 10,000 per day, 1.5 times higher than the approximately 6,000 per day in the previous low season.
Phuket currently has the highest number of hotel rooms in Thailand (around 101,000 rooms) with occupancy rates dropping slightly from peak season, from 86% in March to 70% in May.
Hotel operators in popular beaches such as Patong, Kata, Karon and Phuket city say their revenue has not fallen much at the moment, partly due to higher room rates, up 30% from last year.
To attract more tourists, Phuket tourism operators are expanding their campaigns to promote local attractions around the world, with Vietnam being targeted as a potential market.
Mr. Thanet Tantipiriyakit, Chairman of the Phuket Tourism Association, said that Thailand recorded about 1 million visitors from Vietnam last year, but only 80,000 Vietnamese visitors (equivalent to 8%) chose Phuket as one of their destinations.
He expressed hope that the number will increase to 120,000 people (equivalent to 12%) this year thanks to direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile, Ms. Supakan Yodchun, in charge of the TAT Office in Ho Chi Minh City, said Phuket has facilities to serve individual or family vacationers, and can also accommodate visitors planning meetings or conferences.
Sharing with VNA reporters in Thailand, Mr. Duong Manh Cuong, from Hanoi, said that on his first trip to Phuket, his impression was that the beach was clean and beautiful and the air was very fresh.
Mr. Cuong was particularly impressed with Phuket's tourism services, with convenient transportation connections, friendly and welcoming staff and hospitable people.
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Koh Phi Phi Island is considered one of the cleanest beaches in the world. (Photo: VNA) |
Another Vietnamese tourist, Ms. Vo Thi Mai Hoa, excitedly shared that she and her family had just had a memorable trip to Phi Phi Island in Phuket. Ms. Hoa shared that the tourism system here is very developed, and Vietnam can refer to the methodical approach here to attract tourists to return.
In an effort to attract more tourists to Phuket, Phuket Airport is planning to invest 6 billion baht to build a new terminal for international flights to expand its passenger handling capacity from 12.5 million passengers per year to 18 million.
The design project, if completed this year, will be submitted to the National Environment Committee for approval and construction is expected to start in 2026 and last for three years.
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