Phuket sees over seven per cent increase in tourist arrivals on 2014
From the beginning of the year until now, Phuket has seen an increase of 7.69 per cent in tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year. The figures were revealed today (April 16) by Governor Nisit Jansomwong.
“Since January there have been around 4.05 million tourists who have visited Phuket compared to 3.76 million last year,” said Gov Nisit.
“Most of them have been Chinese, whilst other large numbers have come from Australia, Malaysia and Scandinavian countries.
“Along with Songkran, which attracts many visitors to Phuket every year, Phuket Bike Week has also brought many visitors to the island. Hotels and businesses in Patong have seen better business because of this event,” he said.
However, the governor said that the increase in tourist numbers cannot guarantee that overall income to the island will increase, as due to the world economic crisis tourists will possibly spend less whilst visiting.
“We are still lucky that we have domestic tourists visiting Phuket. We can see that a large number of Thai people from other provinces came to Phuket during Songkran,” he said.
He added that he believes business operators in Phuket have put a lot of effort in building up the strength of Phuket̕s tourism.
“I can see that Phuket̕s tourism business operators always create activities or events such as the Bike Week that attract people. This is along with many others events that happen almost daily to drive our tourism forward.”
When asked about the effect on Phuket after the car bomb at the Central Festival shopping mall in Koh Samui last on Friday (April 10), Gov Nisit expressed his confidence that Phuket has very strict security measures in place. He has also urged the government and private sector to monitor their areas of responsibility.
“Crowded places like the airport, bus terminals, piers, markets and malls always have strict security measures in place. Provincial volunteers are also sent to these areas to give support.
“Important places like government buildings and the Ta Chat Chai check point are also well guarded,” he stressed.
