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.