The largest industry and income generator is of course the Phuket tourism industry. A large percentage of both local Thai residents and Phuket expats are in some way employed or involved with the Phuket tourism industry. When you think of Phuket tourism companies then you will quickly think of Phuket hotels, resorts and Phuket guesthouses for example but there are plenty of other types of Phuket businesses which also cater to tourists visiting Phuket. Many shops, restaurants, bars, massage shops; spas and transportation companies rely solely on the business of tourists. Many of the new Phuket real estate projects are also heavily interlinked with the Phuket tourism industry as many of these projects will end up as holiday rentals and Phuket hotels. It is there fair to state that the economic prosperity of Phuket can be credited for a very large part to the Phuket tourism industry.

Although it is obviously great that the Phuket tourism industry created so much income and that it is able to offer so many jobs to local residents however it is at times rather visible that Phuket has put all its eggs into one basket. Whenever something happens which affects the Phuket tourism industry then the widespread effect it has on employers, employees and local Phuket residents can clearly be seen. There are several excellent examples which highlight this. The Phuket Tsunami of 2005 for example had a drastic effect on the population of Phuket and on the Phuket tourism industry. As we all know, many people died during the Tsunami but the effect of this natural disaster was clearly visible a long time afterwards still. Tourists were afraid to visit Phuket and many people cancelled their holidays to Phuket. Many Phuket tourism related companies had to lay off staff and many companies even went bankrupt.

The latest example of such a situation is when due to large demonstrations in Bangkok the airport was closed for some time during December 2008. Many travelers got stuck in Thailand and they could not return back home on their planned flight. This obviously led to many problems for travelers as they could not return back in time to work, for wedding etc. Now four months later (April 2009) the effects which these protests had on the Phuket tourism industry and the Thailand tourism industry in general can be clearly seen. Occupancy rates for Phuket hotels and resorts are much lower then what you would have found during the same time in previous years. People still do not trust the current political climate and they do not want to risk too get stick in the middle of all of it. Obviously the current financial climate and the high rate of job loss and the depression do not help the situation at all.

When foreigners think about investing into a Phuket business or starting their own Phuket business then chances are that the business is related somehow to the Phuket tourism industry. One of the most popular type of Phuket businesses which foreigners invest in are ones that are related to the Phuket nightlife industry which in turn is heavily connected to the Phuket tourism industry. It is fair to state that nearly all the beer bars in Patong for example need tourists to survive as they cannot rely on Expat customers to pay all the costs and overhead.

As mentioned previously, a large percentage of the workforce on Phuket is employed in the Phuket tourism industry. It is not only waiters and taxi drivers that are employed in the Phuket tourism sector but you should also include Phuket bar girls, shop keepers, boat owners and all the small vendors. Without tourists they will end up being out of a job. Thai labor laws generally are very much in favor of employees however not in this case. If a Phuket tourism related company is required to cut down its work force due to tourism arrival number dropping then they do have a lot of leeway to fire their Phuket tourism staff.

There are also some interesting facts about the Phuket tourism industry. One of the fastest growing inbound markets for the Phuket tourism industry as well as Thai tourism industry in general is the Chinese outbound market. More and more Chinese travelers are planning holidays to Phuket and the rest of Thailand. The tourists that generally spend the most time on Phuket are those tourists from the Scandinavian countries. Some of the largest markets for the Phuket tourism industry include the English Market, Malaysian, Swedish, French, German and Australian tourist segments. Another rapidly growing market for the Phuket tourism industry is the Russian travelers segment. You will find more and more Russian restaurants opening in Phuket and you can clearly find many signs in Russian along the roads. Not only the Phuket tourism industry is benefitting from this but also the Phuket real estate industry. Pattaya has always been the place where Russians went for holiday but it seems that the Phuket tourism industry has made an effort to attract this market segment as well..