The meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday (Apr 23), was chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Samawit Suphanphai.
The meeting brought together representatives from 35 government agencies, local administrations, state enterprises and private sector partners to report on ongoing efforts, share challenges and provide recommendations.
The inspection focused on three key areas: sustainable community-based tourism management, safety of life and property for tourists, and conservation-based tourism in the Sirinat National Park area.
As part of the visit, Mr Supasit and his team also toured the OTOP Nawatwithi community tourism project in Ban Nok Le in Kamala.
During the session, agencies presented updates on their operations, outlined obstacles and discussed potential solutions, said an official report of the meeting.
ARRIVALS BY NUMBERS
At the meeting it was confirmed that from January to March 2025, Phuket welcomed a total of 3,890,510 visitors, an increase of 6.93% compared to 2024, but still 19.94% lower than in 2019.
Of these, 2,813,173 were international tourists, a 5.77% increase from 2024, but a 20.14% drop compared to 2019. The remaining 1,077,337 were Thai tourists, up 10.06% from 2024, but down 19.40% from 2019.
Tourism revenue during this period was B149.38 billion, up 9.09% from 2024, but slightly down 1.35% from 2019.
Foreign tourists generated B138.02bn, up 8.39% year-on-year, and even 3.30% higher than in 2019. Thai tourists contributed B11.37bn, a 18.44% increase from 2024, but down 36.21% from 2019.
In comparison, during the same period in 2024 Phuket saw 3,638,456 visitors, a 25.13% decline from 2019. There were 2,659,610 international tourists (down 24.50%) and 978,846 Thai tourists (down 2.77% from 2019).
Revenue stood at B136.94bn, 9.57% lower than in 2019. International tourists contributed B127.34bn, down 4.69% from 2019, while Thai visitors generated B9.60bn, down 4.14%.
During the same three months in 2019, the benchmark year that Thai officials are using for their tourism comparisons, Phuket received 4,859,388 visitors, comprising 3,522,636 foreigners and 1,336,752 Thais.
Total tourism revenue reached B151.43bn, of which B133.60bn was from foreign visitors.and B17.82bn was from Thai tourists.
It was also reported that from January to March 2025, Phuket recorded the highest number of international arrivals from the following top 10 countries:
- Russia topped the list with 429,254 visitors, making it the largest source of international tourists to Phuket.
- China followed with 196,880 visitors.
- India was third, contributing 132,623 visitors.
- The United Kingdom came in fourth with 77,951 visitors.
- Germany ranked fifth with 76,541 visitors.
- Kazakhstan sent 66,166 visitors.
- France followed closely with 65,541 visitors.
- Australia brought in 61,441 visitors.
- Malaysia accounted for 36,105 visitors.
- The United States rounded out the top 10 with 35,960 visitors.
These figures reflect Phuket’s strong appeal to tourists from both traditional and emerging markets in early 2025, Mr Supasit said.
Mr Supasit emphasised that the purpose of the visit was to listen to feedback from all sectors and support local authorities in achieving effective and goal-oriented tourism development.
The initiative is part of broader efforts by the Ministry of Interior to promote sustainable tourism across Thailand by integrating environmental conservation, community participation, and visitor safety into provincial tourism strategies, the report noted.