Korea tourists in Phuket: arrivals by year and month

Korea accounted for 215,504 guest arrivals at Phuket accommodation establishments in 2025 — 2.1% of all foreign check-ins (10,085,407) and rank #12 among the 38 foreign rows (including the residual “Others”) the Ministry of Tourism and Sports publishes for the province. Against 2024 (211,055) that is +2.1%; against 2019, the last pre-pandemic year (284,429), it is −24.2%.

Over the whole series the market went from 253,109 in 2013 to 215,504 in 2025 (−14.9%). The best year on record is 2023 with 637,540 check-ins. The pandemic low was 2021 at 6,535. Korea’s share of foreign arrivals moved from 2.9% in 2019 to 2.1% in 2025, so other markets grew faster.

Seasonality: in 2025 the peak month was December (33,257) and the quietest March (4,582). Averaged over 2023–2025, arrivals are moderately seasonal (2.1× between December and September): November–March carries 46.7% of the year and June–August 23.1%, which makes Korea a winter-leaning market for Phuket. Before the pandemic (2013–2019) the strongest month averaged 12.1% of the year, in January.

Definitions: a guest arrival is a check-in at a registered hotel, resort, guesthouse or serviced apartment in Phuket province, counted by the nationality given at check-in. It is not an airport arrival and not a count of people: someone who stays in two hotels is counted twice, someone in a private villa is not counted. The nationality series runs 2013–2025; the 2026 split will appear with the ministry’s 2026 annual file, expected mid-2027. Source: Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports, provincial statistics, retrieved September 2026; files refreshed 2026-09-05.