Tourist-free Phuket a 'ghost island'A man walks along the empty beach at Patong, Phuket, seen through a torn sign telling people to wear a mask, on Oct 1. Last year, more than nine million tourists visited Phuket, the kingdom's second most popular destination after Bangkok. Nearly all the island's 3,000 hotels are closed and Patong is being described as a "ghost town". Phuket has been due to welcome Thailand's first foreign tourists since April in a cautious experiment by the kingdom, but their arrival keeps being pushed back. Before the pandemic, domestic holidaymakers only made up 30 percent of visitors to Phuket, prompting the local tourism industry to rethink its business model.

Source: Bangkok Post October 09, 2020 05:16 UTC