High Season vs. Low Season
Back in the day, Phuket was a prime destination for tourists between November and April. The traditional “high season”. We then had a “low season” for the rest of the year. It’s during the low season that we get more rain – which, of course, explains why this time of year was named the low season. What tourist wants to come to a tropical island with some of the best beaches around and sit in their hotel room waiting for the rain to stop?
For a few years now, hoteliers have been trying to rebrand the low season as the “green season”. I’m not sure how successful that campaign has been. Apart from hoteliers, everyone else still calls it the low season.
This pattern of high season and low season is very evident in the FIT tourism market. But, to be honest, I’ve never really noticed much difference in seasons for the MICE market. In some years, my busiest month has been January (high season) while in other years it’s been July (low season). I’ve never studied it in great detail so I’m only reporting my own subjective experience. There’s probably some data on it somewhere.
High Season
Yes, the weather will likely be better. More sun, less rain. If you want an outdoor gala dinner during this time of the year, there’ll be less chance of it getting rained off and having to be moved into a function room. But hotel rates will probably be higher, especially in peak season in December and January.
Low Season
Cheaper flights and room rates might tempt you to visit during low season. Airports will be less congested and the island tends to have a more relaxed vibe. But, keep in mind that the chance of bad weather is high. Outdoor dinners are often called off, ocean speedboat tours may be postponed, and all your photos might have a grey sky to rival that of London.
In addition, dangerous sea conditions during the worst of the weather may make swimming and beach time impossible.
So, What’s the Best Time to Arrange a Team Offsite in Phuket?
If you have a busy schedule of meetings and conferences which will be held indoors, then the possible bad weather won’t really matter. I recently ran a workshop for a fintech company in July (the middle of low season) and the meeting room flooded after 2 days of torrential rain. It didn’t really matter though. We just moved our chairs and carried on with soggy notebooks.
In cases like this where you have a primarily indoor-based itinerary, you could consider low season and save some money on flights and accommodation. With regard to team building, we have plenty of indoor programs on offer as well as outdoor team building options that can safely operate rain or shine.
However, if you’re planning more of an incentive trip and intend to take delegates on a speedboat trip to Phi Phi with a beachside gala dinner in the evening, you might want to stick to high season to reduce the likelihood that your grand plans will be rained off.
Of course, when discussing weather, you never really know. You could come in high season and experience a massive storm. Alternatively, you may visit in the month with the highest recorded rainfall (September) and enjoy several days of beautiful sun and beach weather. In fact, as I write this now in September 2022, it’s hot and sunny outside even though the government weather department said to “brace for storms”. Predicting the weather is rather like predicting earthquakes – in that we’re not very good at it.