The ‘Spectrum of the Seas’ arrived in Patong Bay this morning, becoming the first cruise ship to visit Phuket since the COVID-19 tourism shutdown in 2020, Governor Narong noted.
Built in Germany, the “Quantum Ultra” class cruise ship is operated by Royal Caribbean International. The ship was delivered in April 2019 and is currently based out of Singapore.
“This is another good sign for tourism,” Governor Narong said. “The ship can accommodate up to 4,900 passengers, but this time around it is carrying around 4,500 people, which creates another way to stimulate the economy of Phuket.
“And after this, there will be more cruise ships continuously arriving,” he added.
Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Phuket Office, noted that the 4,594 passengers on board comprised 55 nationalities from around the world.
“The top five [passengers on board the ship] are from Singapore, Malaysia, India, the Philippines and Indonesia,” Ms Nanthasiri said.
“More than 800 people will come ashore on a ‘One Day Trip’, which will benefit Phuket and stimulate tourism travel greatly,” she added.
Ms Nanthasiri said people arriving in Phuket on ships and yachts were considered to be a tourism segment with high spending potential.
In 2019, there were a total of 154 cruise ship visits to Phuket, altogether bringing a total of 485,598 passengers, she noted.
“Phuket is ready to welcome tourists traveling by cruise ships, especially the tourism service sector, such as spa attractions and shopping operators, which cater to the lifestyle aspects of this group of tourists,” Ms Nathasiri said.
“This will be an important opportunity to generate income for Phuket in another way [other than tourists arriving by flights,. and we are looking forward to more cruise ships arriving in the near future,” she added.