Tires can make a big difference as far as flat protection is concerned. As an example, I went on a four month supported ride across Africa with ~50 riders. There are areas with a lot of thorns and the number of flats per rider varied from zero (two people I believe) to over 40.
At the upper end of the range were one or two who had a systemic issue e.g. rims that compounded the problem.
I had two flats which was slightly fewer than the average (and fewer than the number of punctures I got in my thermarest
).
I had Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires and these seemed to do better than average.
Marathon Plus started to become more of a favorite for some who brought garbage tires - i.e. they might see if they could buy tires from a rider departing the trip.