For the first time since the pandemic, cruise ships are due to return to Phuket

The southern Thai island of Phuket is poised to welcome cruise ships back for the first time since the Covid outbreak began. According to the Bangkok Post, the Spectrum of the Seas will dock in Phuket next month. According to Pichet Songtan of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 3, authorities have given the ship, which is managed by Royal Caribbean International, permission to land. According to the operator’s website, the cruise ship will resume service on East Asian itineraries. The Spectrum of the Seas has 16 decks and can carry 4,188 passengers at a maximum speed of 22 knots. Prior to Covid-19, Thailand received approximately 200 cruise ships each year, bringing in 400,000 guests and generating approximately 800 million baht in annual revenue. As a result, Thailand is the ninth most visited cruise ship destination in Asia.

In related news, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana states that 1 million visitors have visited Thailand since the start of the year, a figure that Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hails as a success. The result represents a 2,368 percent increase over the previous year, with tourism revenue up 1,424 percent. Nonetheless, it is significantly lower than the pre-Covid monthly average of 3.3 million international visitors, with 60-70 percent of them being tourists.

Cruise ships have typically stopped on the region’s east coast at the official Port of Phuket. At Patong Beach in Patong Harbour, tourists must be hauled to temporary piers.

Thanakorn claims that the PM expects at least 300,000 tourists to visit Thailand each month as a result of the administration’s “Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023” campaign, which aims to boost tourism.