Phuket recorded a 52.5% year-on-year increase in Israeli visitors in July, with arrivals from Israel also up 1,205% on pre-Covid July 2019 levels, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Phuket office. The figures were presented at a provincial meeting on August 27, chaired by Phuket Governor Chotinarin Kirdsom. While total visitor numbers were slightly lower over the first seven months of 2026, tourism income remained comparatively steady. Israeli market leads July growth Israel was the fastest-growing market among Phuket's 10 leading visitor source countries in July, rising by more than 12 times compared with the same month in 2019. Russia remained Phuket's largest overseas market between January and July, supplying 619,130 visitors. China was second with 383,918, followed by India on 354,066, Australia on 149,542 and the United Kingdom on 131,344. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Germany with 106,902 visitors, France with 103,752, Malaysia with 87,854, Kazakhstan with 81,673 and South Korea with 79,960. China was Phuket's leading single market in July itself, recording 58,634 visitors. That was a 19% increase on July last year, although still 63% below the July 2019 figure. Visitor total slips but spending holds up From January to July, Phuket welcomed 8,096,059 visitors, a 1.53% fall from the same period last year. Hotel occupancy averaged 75.56%, down 1.74%. Despite the lower visitor total, the province generated about 310,961.57 million baht in tourism revenue during the seven-month period, a decline of only 0.72% year-on-year. The TAT attributed the resilience in revenue to a steady flow of high-spending tourists. New direct services due this year Kuwait Airways is scheduled to start a Kuwait-Phuket service on October 27, operating twice a week. MIAT Mongolian Airlines will also operate flights between Ulaanbaatar and Phuket three times weekly from December 2026 until March 2027. The new Middle East and East Asian connections are expected to support Phuket tourism during the second half of 2026 by opening additional markets and giving travellers more direct options to reach the province. Picture courtesy of Manager Online Join the discussion? 29 August 2026
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