At the end of last year up to tens of thousands job vacancies needed to be filled to help Phuket’s tourism and hospitality sector recover, Mr Kongsak said.
Hotels are reopening rooms to accommodate more Chinese tourists, Mr Kongsak noted.
“At present, about 80% of the 3,000 hotels across the island are open, representing approximately 120,000 rooms, but there are about 30,000 rooms that have not been reopened for service,” he said.
With the return of Chinese tourists, Phuket’s tourism industry is expected to perform well until after April this year, Mr Kongsak added.
Phuket Provincial Industry Office President Charin Thumrong Kiatikul believes that the news about high service charges among hotels and other tourism businesses succeeded in attracting hospitality workers to return to the island.
“After the overwhelming number of tourists poured into Phuket during the peak season, hospitality jobs rose sharply,” he told The Phuket News.
Mr Charin believes Phuket’s tourism prospects will remain good even after April, when most Europeans that visit Phuket during high season return home ‒ and not just because of more Chinese travellers visiting the island.
“Phuket is also encouraging tourists from new tourism source markets such as India, the Middle East, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and Laos,” he said.