Phuket tourism leaders call for a shift from volume to value

Speakers at the Phuket Tourism Forum 2026 called for Phuket to move beyond attracting ever-growing visitor numbers and focus on tourism that delivers greater benefits for the province and its residents.

Opening the seminar, Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee said the industry faced increasing competition, changing tourist behaviour, limited space, infrastructure constraints, traffic congestion and rapid urban expansion. He said the key question was no longer simply how to attract more tourists, but what direction Phuket wanted its tourism industry to take.

Chalermpong called for cooperation among government agencies, private businesses, communities and educational institutions to determine Phuket’s future tourism direction.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, Honorary Consul of Belgium in Phuket and president of the Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation, presented a vision based on “Phuket 4Sight”, a five-year private-sector planning initiative looking towards 2030. Discussions on the plan began in September 2025.