Beyond Tourism: How Real Estate Is Redefining Phuket As A World Community
Overview
Presented at the Phuket Real Estate Forum 2025, the discussion highlighted a clear shift from tourism recovery to a powerful investment surge reshaping the island’s real estate landscape. Over the past three years, Phuket has accelerated into a truly global community.
The underlying story of resilience is straightforward: Phuket continues to advance. Over two decades, it has navigated a global financial crisis, natural disasters, political disruptions, and COVID-19—yet the island continues to expand and outperform.
The Phuket Sandbox was more than a tourism reboot; it became the launchpad for business re-entry into Thailand. That’s resilience in action—taking the hits, staying the course, and building momentum for long-term growth.
As of year-to-date September 2025, Phuket International Airport recorded 3.8 million international and 2.4 million domestic passenger arrivals. While the total YTD figure reflects a 0.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, the growth was primarily driven by a strong performance in the first four months of the year, with January to April arrivals rising 9.2% year-on-year.
Russia remains number one source market by number of arrivals directly to Phuket with 749k arrivals year-to-date (YTD) September (693k arrivals YTD2024). Meanwhile, the number of arrivals from China has declined to 451k compared to 803k from the same period last year although the country is still ranked second. India is ranked third with 448k arrivals, significantly increase from 304k arrivals in YTD Sep 2024.
In Phuket’s hotel market, ADR continues to rise despite a decline in occupancy rate. During June-September 2025, average daily rate continued to trend upward at 8-10% compared to the same period last year, while occupancy rate declined by 2-5%.
Phuket’s real estate sector is entering a pivotal new era, propelled by rising global demand, accelerating long-stay migration, and a transformative USD 14 billion (THB 455 billion) investment pipeline. As Phuket evolves from a tourism-led island into a global residential and lifestyle hub, the convergence of real estate and hospitality is becoming the region’s strongest economic catalyst.