Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok believes the one-day visit generated around B31.2 million in revenue for the island.
Yesterday morning, V/Gov Snith together with officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office, Phuket Marine Office, Phuket Customs House, and Patong Police Station were at Patong Beach to welcome some 7,800 tourists who disembarked Ovation of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas cruise liners to enjoy a day on the island.
The cruise liners left on the next leg of their voyage at 9pm last night.
The liners moored close to the 300-metre-long Coral Beach jetty in Patong and once on land passengers were entertained by traditional Thai dancers.
Some passengers chose to take taxis or tuk-tuks to other parts of the island while others simply enjoyed a stroll along Patong Beach.
Officials and media were also invited on board the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner where they were greeted by Capt Hendrick from Norway, who presented V/Gov Snith a souvenir.
Capt Hendrick then gave officials and media a tour of the boat and later provided lunch at one of the liner’s restaurants.
V/Gov Sanith said, “Some 7,800 cruise liner passengers have spent the day on Phuket today. We have estimated that each passenger would spend at least B4,000 during the trip bringing the island some B31.2mn in revenue.
“It is imperative that we take care of these visitors so that they consider coming back again in the future,” he said.