Market report predicts boom in Phuket hotel industry in next decade
Phuket should have 38 new hotels with 14,357 additional rooms on offer by 2032, the newly released Phuket Hotel Market Update 2023 report shows.
Phuket has been getting 260 flights daily and welcoming some 40,000 passengers per day since Thailand lifted all travel restrictions in October last year. This surge in arrivals has pushed the occupancy rate to 80% compared to 48% last year.
The report, published by hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks, recorded a surge in Phuket’s arrivals from November last year, with most tourists coming from Russia, followed by Europe, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
“The rise in Russian tourists did not just boost the recovery of hotel and tourism businesses, but also benefited Phuket’s retail, transport and property businesses as well,” Bill Barnett, C9 Hotelworks’ managing director, said on Sunday.
He added that hotel operators in Phuket were also transforming their operations to match the increase in tourists.
For instance, hotel and resort developer Destination Group has reached an agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group to open the new Holiday Inn Resort Phuket, he said.
Destination Group is also collaborating with Radisson Hotel Group to open two new hotels, he added.
“In 2022, Phuket had 1,786 hotels with 92,604 rooms on offer,” he said, adding that most hotels were upper midscale or luxury properties.
This year will see another 1,732 rooms made available with the opening of four mid-to-luxury hotels, namely Pullman Phuket Arcadia Karon Beach Resort, Narai Mai Khao Resort, La Green Hotel and Homa Phuket Cherngtalay.
Next year will see eight new hotels offering 1,820 rooms, 2025 will have three hotels with 699 rooms on offer and in 2026 four hotels opening with 680 rooms. In addition to these, there are many more in the development pipeline until 2032, he added.
Investments in the hotel business had hit a rut during the Covid-19 pandemic, but they should resume once the tourism industry is back in full swing and businesses have easier access to funds, he said.
Barnett, however, aired concerns about vast expansion, saying it gives rise to many problems, including traffic woes. For instance, he said, hotels to the west of Phuket will get badly affected if there’s a landslide and roads are cut off.
“Phuket’s lack of a tourism master plan is also an important long-term problem that requires addressing,” he said.
An airport in Phang Nga, an expressway and Patong Tunnel are vital to Phuket’s future growth, he added.
