Phuket Records More Than 10 Million Visitors in Nine Months, Nearly 400 Billion Baht in Revenue

Phuket welcomed more than 10.25 million visitors between January and September 2026, generating almost 400 billion baht in tourism revenue, according to figures presented by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office.

The data was shared at the monthly provincial meeting in October. The island recorded 10,251,244 visitors during the first nine months of the year, representing a 1.57% decrease compared with the same period in 2025.

Thai visitors accounted for 2,647,983 arrivals, an increase of 0.89% year-on-year. The number of international visitors reached 7,603,263, down 2.40%.

Tourism revenue totalled 399,955.87 million baht, approximately 1% below the previous year's level. Thai tourists contributed 30,467.15 million baht, an increase of 1.80%, while international visitors generated 369,488.72 million baht, a decline of 1.22%.

The figures highlight the continued importance of international tourism to Phuket's economy, with foreign visitors accounting for the overwhelming majority of tourism revenue.

Russia remains Phuket's largest source market

Russia ranked first among Phuket's international visitor markets, with 703,224 arrivals during the nine-month period.

China took second place with 501,045 visitors, an increase of 10.75% compared with the same period last year. India ranked third, recording 432,257 arrivals, up 0.34%.

Australia and the United Kingdom completed the top five source markets. Phuket received 187,963 visitors from Australia, down 8.43%, and 162,593 from the UK, a decrease of 8.20%.

Hotel occupancy averaged 58.91% from January to September. This was 1.21 percentage points lower than the 60.12% recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

New European flights expected ahead of high season

Looking ahead to the upcoming high season, four European airlines are preparing to introduce new services to Phuket. The additional flights could help increase visitor numbers from Europe in the coming months.

However, the figures for the first nine months show that overall arrivals and tourism revenue remained slightly below last year's levels, despite growth in some key markets, including China.