This is great news for the tourism sector in Southern Thailand: a rebound in the number of tourists visiting the region, with hotel occupancy soaring by 140% this year compared to last year. This is an index of the return of great numbers of travelers for the fabulous beaches and rich culture the South offers.

Suksit Suvarnditkul, president of the Southern Thailand Hotel Association and VP of the Thai Hotels Association, told local media on August 5 that even though this is the so-called green or rainy season, typically a time of slump in tourism, overall recovery is impressive. We’re talking about a 140% increase compared to Q3 2023! ☔️

Some markets are not bouncing back as quickly, however. Of foreign visitors, Chinese are the lowest, with only a 55 percent recovery rate. South Korea also drags behind slightly more slowly, at 63 percent; but there’s good news elsewhere! On top of that markets like Russia, India, Australia, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, and the US–indeed even South Korea, which is above average–are not only recovering but doing better than pre-COVID performance at rates of above 100% of the levels in 2019.

Though there have been a few travel delays and traffic snarls, the excessive downpour has hit the southern parts hard. The reason: Occupancy rates of the hotels are holding at about 60%, which is similar to Q2, but a nice 5-10% improvement over last year.

July saw the benefit of visitors from the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Israel, and Qatar. It is reported that all these visitors apparently enjoy the rainy season of Thailand as a means of escaping the extreme heat that they face back at home.

Looking ahead to Q4, with peak season, hoteliers anticipate higher numbers of tourists and expect occupancy rates of 70-80% in November and December.

It is with the diversity among the visitors that there is. Today, there are over 50 international airlines and 6 domestic carriers that operate more than 4,700 international flights and 4,000 domestic flights, connecting Southern Thailand to over 60 cities around the world. That equals around 280 flights per day and 45,000 passengers. The good news is that stealthily riding in with this fabulous news for tourism is the upsurge in air traffic, albeit now a little tight: Southern Thailand’s one runway boasts 34 parking bays. But hey, these are good problems to have, right?

All in all, 2024 is gearing up to be a record year for most visitors to 45,880 passengers—almost 107.11%, compared to 42,835 in 2019. So, if you feel like going, Southern Thailand is waiting for you right now! ????✈️