Aussie arrivals nearly 90% pre-COVID level

Aussie arrivals nearly 90% pre-COVID level

PHUKET: The number of Australians visiting Phuket has recovered to nearly 90% of the volume attained before the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian Consul-General to Phuket Matthew Barclay has confirmed.

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 24 January 2023, 06:53PM

Photo: PR Phuket

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The news follows Mr Barclay meeting Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew at Provincial Hall yesterday (Jan 23).

“It’s clear 2023 will be a significant year for Phuket. The meeting was a great opportunity to discuss the Phuket administration’s efforts to safely welcome Australian and international travelers and build economic opportunities for Phuket’s future,” Mr Barclay told The Phuket News.

“We were very interested to hear the extensive efforts Phuket is making in its bid for the Specialised Expo in 2027/28 ‒ potentially the first of its kind in ASEAN,” he added.

According to Ministry of Tourism & Sports (MoTS) statistics, a total of 771,798 Australian nationals entered Thailand in 2019.

According to MoTS statistics, in that year Australians stayed on average 13.29 days and spent on average B5,401.34 a day ‒ altogether spending a total of B55.4 billion throughout the year through tourism supporting the Thai economy.

christysweet | 28 January 2023 - 09:41:58

Perhaps the Thais feel comaradierie with the Russians as they both suffer under dictatorships.

harald | 27 January 2023 - 17:04:23

JohnC you and the mentioned thais are confusing russians with aussies. russians are very welcome with the thai, aussies hardly.

Taswegian | 27 January 2023 - 12:19:35

Thank you, Poolie. I really appreciate your kind sentiments. We also are frequently embarrassed by obnoxious behaviour from tourists, including Aussies. Hopefully, we were brought up with different values.

Pooliekev | 26 January 2023 - 14:06:09

Then you are to be the exception that proves the rule.

Taswegian | 26 January 2023 - 07:38:39

My wife and I have been married nearly 50 years, both in our 70s. We do not get drunk, avoid Bangla Road at night, stay clear of drugs and abhor foul language. Poolie clearly prefers his commie mates!

Pooliekev | 25 January 2023 - 11:54:12

Drunken Aussies are no better. It's just that we can understand their obscenities. The f-word is punctuation to them.

JohnC | 25 January 2023 - 08:51:37

At least their behaviour in general is far better than the Russian invasion Phuket is experiencing again. Funny that the more Thais I talk to the more bad reports I get about them. Many preferring not to have them use their businesses or services at all. The Thai swear words they use to describe them I can't write here....