The Thai Hotels Association says the number of tourists visiting Phuket is reaching a tipping point and numbers should be tightly controlled to match accommodation capacity.
The association’s regional president Krisda Tansakul said the issue was recently discussed with 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 were 70,000 hotel and apartment rooms in Phuket, but about 60% of them were illegal and evaded paying tax.
Last year over 11 million tourists visited the island, of which just over 8 million were foreign visitors.
