PHUKET: The annual 10-day vegetarian festival is expected to generate over 9 billion baht, said the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), while the Phuket Provincial Commercial Office said that vegetable prices are lower than that of the same period last year.
Thanet Tantipiriyakit, president of the Phuket Tourist Association, said Phuket reaches the end of its green season, formerly known as the low season, in October.
Marking the transition to the resort island's high season, which runs between November and April, Phuket is organising its annual vegetarian festival from Oct 15 to Oct 24.
Mr Thanet said the TAT's Phuket Office estimates that over 9 billion baht in revenue will be generated during the festival, while last year's event pulled in 3.4 billion baht.
A total of 20% of the expected revenue will be from accommodation, 20% from the culinary sector and the rest from local products, he said.
He said the hotel occupancy in Phuket is also expected to be at over 70% of the city's capacity.
Mr Thanet said the vegetarian festival will bring a large number of tourists to Phuket during the end of the green season.
He said both public and private sectors helped contribute to facilities and accommodation in Phuket. Some hotels or restaurants will offer an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet while others will turn their menus into vegetarian food offerings.
"Some 80% of the food available in Phuket will be vegetarian," said Mr Thanet.
Meanwhile, Phuket Commerce Office director Woranit Apiratjirawong said officials regularly inspect the food ingredients in markets in Phuket.
The office will send out inspectors to follow up on current ingredient costs to avoid customer exploitation, particularly during major festivals.
She said the prices of cabbage, white cabbage, water spinach, bean sprouts and radish are 20-30% cheaper than the same period last year.