Phuket recorded a 52.43% jump in Israeli visitors in July compared with the same month last year, and a 1,204.68% increase compared with pre-Covid 2019 levels, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Phuket office.
The figures were presented today, August 27, at a Phuket provincial meeting chaired by Governor Chotinarin Kirdsom. Overall visitor numbers for the province were slightly down for the year so far, though revenue remained strong.
Between January and July, Phuket received 8,096,059 visitors, down 1.53% compared with the same period last year. The hotel occupancy rate stood at 75.56%, down 1.74%.
Despite the modest drop in visitor numbers, tourism revenue held up. The province earned approximately 310,961.57 million baht over the seven months, down just 0.72% from the previous year, attributed to a steady stream of high-spending tourists.
The Israeli market stood out as the fastest-growing among Phuket’s top 10 source markets in July, rising 52.43% year-on-year and more than 12-fold compared with pre-pandemic 2019.
Russia remained the largest source market overall for the January to July period, with 619,130 visitors. China followed with 383,918, then India with 354,066, Australia with 149,542, and the United Kingdom with 131,344.
According to the TAT, the remaining top 10 markets were Germany with 106,902 visitors, France with 103,752, Malaysia with 87,854, Kazakhstan with 81,673, and South Korea with 79,960.
Russia, China and India continued to account for the largest share of foreign arrivals to Phuket. China was the top single market in July specifically, with 58,634 visitors, up 19.02% from July last year, though this remained 63.39% below July 2019 levels.
Phuket is also set to gain from new direct flight routes. Kuwait Airways will launch a Kuwait–Phuket route from October 27, operating twice weekly. MIAT Mongolian Airlines will run an Ulaanbaatar–Phuket route from December 2026 to March 2027, with three flights a week.
The new routes from the Middle East and East Asia are expected to support Phuket’s tourism sector in the second half of 2026 by opening new markets and offering more direct travel options into the province.
While overall visitor numbers dipped slightly over the first seven months of the year, revenue held above 310 billion baht, and the expansion of new markets alongside additional direct flights is expected to support Phuket’s position as a major global tourism destination through the rest of 2026.
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