Ms Napasorn said that the 125 hotels on the island currently open, providing some 8,000 rooms for guests, had recorded an overall occupancy rate of around 30%.
Of the 15,000 tourists who came to Phuket, 98% were Thai and 2% were foreigners, she said.
The average expenditure per person, including travel costs, was estimated at around B5,500 per person per day, Ms Napasorn said, noting that altogether tourists travelling to Phuket had generated some B80mn for the economy.
Ms Napasorn pointed out that there are currently 34 flights traveling to Phuket every day, comprising 30 flights from Bangkok as well as flights from other major destinations in Thailand such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Udon Thani.
Most of the flights were enjoying around 80% occupancy, bringing some 5,000 passengers per day to Phuket, she added.
Ms Napasorn rated the success of the long weekend in attracting tourists to Phuket as low, but added that it was expected.
“When comparing the actual number of tourists who came to Phuket with the number of tourists expected to come, there is no difference. Some tourists went north to Khao Lak in Phang Nga, as a lot of five-star hotels there have given big discounts, which can be even cheaper with the discounts offered through the ‘We Travel Together’ campaign,” she said.
“The reason we have not had large numbers of tourists might be because of the image that visiting Phuket is expensive, even though we have been trying to create a new good image,” Ms Napasorn said.
“When comparing the cost of a holiday in Phuket, it is much cheaper [for people in Bangkok] to travel to a province nearby. They do not have to spend money on flight tickets, which are currently quite expensive, or take a long time to drive to their destination,” she added.
Of note, popular tourist destinations within driving distance of Bangkok have reported spikes in tourist numbers over the long weekend.
To help boost travel to Phuket since the beginning of the month, the TAT Phuket office is offering any person from outside Phuket who books at least one guest accommodation room in Phuket for at least one night anytime from Sept 2-9 a B500 voucher to be spent at local restaurants or other local businesses taking part in the campaign.
To claim the voucher, tourists only need to present to TAT Phuket officers evidence of their room booking, Ms Napasorn explained.
The TAT Phuket office this month also will hold a domestic tourism roadshow to other provinces in southern Thailand, including Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Hat Yai in Songkhla, and stage a domestic tourism event in Bangkok on Sept 11-13 to present tour packages to expats working in Bangkok, Ms Napasorn said.
“TAT Phuket is also working with the travel Facebook page ‘Sneak out หนีเที่ยว’, which has more than 2 million followers, to create content about Phuket tourist attractions and feature budget travel options like B4,000 for a three-day trip,” she added.
Meanwhile, the TAT Phuket campaign “Phuket Great Time” continues, providing a free online booking platform for all tourism-related businesses in Phuket to offer discount packages to prospective tourists.
“We hope that all campaigns we have conducted will stimulate the economy and attract more Thais to Phuket,” Ms Napasorn said.