According to preliminary figures of bookings made through the We Travel Together campaign, hotels in Phuket taking part in the campaign saw some 30% occupancy over the weekend, from last Saturday through Tuesday (July 25-28), Ms Napasorn told The Phuket News.
However, only 80 Phuket hotels are currently registered with the campaign, offering 5,600 rooms, she added.
Some high-end resorts enjoyed much higher occupancy over the long weekend, Ms Napasorn noted.
“Especially luxury accommodations such as Sri Panwa, Intercon and Keemala, which saw occupancy rates of up to 90%,” she said.
Of the 16,000 tourists to come to Phuket over the four days, about 98% were Thai with the remaining 2% being foreigners, she noted.
“On average they spent B5,500 per person per day, altogether generating B95 million in revenues for businesses on the island,” Ms Napasorn said.
The weekend saw a busy airport over the four days, Ms Napasorn also noted.
“There are currently 27 flights a day operating at Phuket International Airport, and over the long weekend the airlines saw a load factor of 80%,” she explained.
Not all visitors landing at the airport spent their weekend in Phuket, Ms Napapsorn admitted, pointing out that some visitors headed north to popular destinations in Phang Nga, such as Khao Lak.
Also, not all visitors arriving in Phuket came by plane, she added.
“Some drove their own cars, or even big bikes, from throughout Southern Thailand,” she said.
The most popular destinations and attractions drawing the visitors were popular tourist spots, beaches, scenic spots, the Phuket Old Town area, and local food and shops, Ms Napasorn added.
However, Ms Napasorn admitted that she had yet to be informed of the number of medical staff and volunteers currently booked to spend their holidays in Phuket under the government-subsidised ‘Kamlang Jai’ domestic tourism campaign offered as a thank you for all their work in preventing the spread of COVID-19 throughout the country.
“Right now I do not know the number of medical staff who will travel to Phuket. I will know later when the tour agencies providing tours under the campaign report back to me every month. The campaign is from August through October," she said.
Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday (July 29) highlighted that the arrival of the medical staff and volunteers on the island was a key opportunity to promote to potential Thai and foreign tourists that Phuket is a safe place to visit for a holiday.
He urged all hotels and other tourism-related businesses to provide their guests the best holiday experience they can, and not to take advantage of the tourists by inflating prices.