Phuket's tourism leaders make the case for value over volume

Phuket's tourism industry gathered for the Phuket Tourism Forum 2026, a seminar on finding a new direction for the island amid changes in the global travel market. The message from the speakers, reported by The Phuket News on 5 September 2026, was consistent: future growth should be measured less by visitor numbers and more by economic value, sustainability and the quality of life of the people who live on the island.

Opening the forum, Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee said the province faced rising competition, changing tourist behaviour, limited space, infrastructure constraints, traffic congestion and rapid urban expansion. The key question, he said, was no longer how to attract more tourists but what direction Phuket wanted tourism to take and how growth could bring the greatest benefit to residents.

Rangsiman Kingkaew, President of the Phuket Tourism Industry Council, put numbers behind the argument. Tourist arrivals have grown by an average of only 0.6% a year over the past decade and, at around 14.1 million, have not yet returned to the 2019 peak of 14.3 million. Tourism revenue, however, has risen by an average of 5.2% a year, and spending per trip by about 4.5% a year. Phuket is already Thailand's leading province for tourist spending, at around 38,000 baht per trip. A "quality tourist", he said, should be defined by three things: spending, length of stay and respect for local society and the environment.

He was also candid about the costs of rapid expansion. Daily waste volumes run at 1,200 to 1,500 tonnes, with accumulated waste above 2 million tonnes. Traffic is a major concern: Phuket had recorded 92 road deaths recently, most of them involving motorbikes, and congestion on major routes has increased significantly. Rising land and rental costs have pushed some long-term residents out of areas around Phuket Old Town.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, President of the Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation, presented "Phuket 4Sight", a five-year private-sector plan looking towards 2030. It names seven focus areas, including the maritime industry, MICE and mega-events, smart-city development and gastronomy, and proposes reframing Phuket from a "world-class tourist destination" into a "City of Happiness for All". Among the risks he listed were coastal erosion, coral bleaching, the rising cost of living and the chance that AI systems reproduce inaccurate information about the island. His remedies included centralised data for decision-making and digital transformation of city management.

Sarayut Mallam, President of the Phuket Tourist Association, described a marketing campaign with Expedia involving 25 local hotels and a total investment of 400,000 baht. It generated US$1.8 million in bookings over a year, more than 40 million baht, with a high share of advance bookings from American travellers. The association now wants to extend the partnership to restaurants, tour operators, cruise companies and community enterprises so that spending reaches local businesses more directly. Chinawat Udomniyom of the Phuket Boutique Accommodation Association noted that guests in his segment spend around 7,500 baht per person per day, of which only 1,500 to 2,000 baht goes on the room. The rest circulates through restaurants, markets, massage businesses, transport operators and local tours.

For visitors, the forum's themes translate into practical expectations. A traveller who stays longer and explores the island responsibly needs reliable ways to get around, and the road-death figures show why the choice of vehicle and rental partner matters. This is where Balm Rentals sees its role alongside Phuket's rental businesses: the marketplace lists verified, legally operating rental companies for bikes, scooters and cars, shows price, deposit and conditions up front before payment, and presents everything in the traveller's own language in the iOS and Android apps and on the web. Clear terms reduce misunderstandings between renters and operators, and a single place to compare legal providers supports the kind of transparent, well-informed visitor economy the forum's speakers described.

Assoc Prof Dr Chayanon Phucharoen of Prince of Songkla University added the structural picture: accommodation and food services account for 49.5% of Phuket's economy, the highest share in Thailand, while manufacturing is only 1.9%. Average tourist spending is about 8,667 baht per person per day, again the highest in the country. The speakers broadly agreed that Phuket can no longer rely on arrivals alone. The task now is to raise the value tourism generates while dealing with congestion, waste, infrastructure, environmental pressure and the cost of living, and to make sure the benefits reach the wider community.