Phuket: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)'s Phuket office will continue promoting the province as a year-round destination with no official low season, according to office director Lertchai Wangtrakuldee.
The strategy follows the success seen in 2023 when the resort province met its arrival and revenue targets before the year concluded.
At the end of November, the number of visitors exceeded 10 million, generating 330 billion baht for the local economy.
"We'll repeat what we succeeded in doing last year -- which is to make the province free of a 'low season'. The number of arrivals slightly dropped in September last year. Visitors streamed into the province after April [which is typically the start of the low season]," he said.
He said the tourism office would continue with this strategy and is targeting tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam during the typical low season, which starts around May while trying to maintain those from Russia and Kazakhstan.
"We will keep the market diverse without relying on a single country to avoid any repercussions if something untoward happens," he said.
"We also plan to send long-stay tourists to nearby provinces like Phangnga and Krabi."
He said community tourism will be promoted among those who arrive on cruise ships, students who come to Phuket for a short language course as well as Chinese tourists who tend to travel solo or in small groups, in contrast to group tours.
During the New Year holiday, Phuket welcomed more than 250,000 visitors and witnessed more than 8 billion baht changing hands, he said.
The number of visitors turned out as expected, with about 70% being foreign travellers who arrived on direct flights.
The biggest group of tourists, numbering 4,000-5,000 per day, came from Russia, followed by China, India, Australia and the UK, he said, stressing that the market is diverse and not reliant on visitors from a single country.
The occupancy rate averaged 82%, with some hotel operators reporting a three-fold increase in revenue compared with the pre-Covid level seen in 2019.
Although bookings were not full, tourism revenue hit its target, which was good for the province as too many visitors could result in traffic congestion and a spoiled atmosphere, he noted.
Phuket has already made preparations for a series of events planned until April, including Chinese New Year celebrations, he said.