Officials in Thailand are considering capping the number of tourists to Phuket, as hoteliers claim visitor figures are reaching a tipping point.
The Thai Hotels Association says numbers should be tightly controlled to match accommodation capacity and Phuket should focus on high-spending tourists.
The association’s regional president Krisda Tansakul recently discussed the issue with Thailand’s new tourism and sports minister, Kobkarn Wattanawarangkun.
"The idea was floated on how we could screen tourist arrivals with an emphasis on ‘quality’ or high-spending tourists rather than mass tourism," he said.
"Phuket is overwhelmed with tourists many of them arriving in tour groups and the constant expansion prompts a surge in illegal and inexpensive hotels that accommodate budget tourists, often leading to price cutting."
Tansakul said there are 70,000 hotel and apartment rooms in Phuket, but about 60% of them are illegal and evaded paying tax.
Last year over 11 million tourists visited the island, of which just over 8 million were foreign visitors.
