Yacht owners have been told to try two new yachting and sailing routes between Pattaya and Koh Chang after facing congestion at a major yacht club and marina in the resort town.
The crowded yacht club and marina in Pattaya is full, and some 100 yachts that cannot find piers to dock at are being urged to travel to Koh Chang.
The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) is making a guidebook for the two yachting and sailing routes to Koh Chang, due to be finished next year. Dasta revealed about 100 yachts were still waiting to enter the marina at Ocean Marina Yacht Club Pattaya, as the club is already full with 500 yachts.
Dasta director Nalikatibhag Sangsnit is upbeat that yachting activities around Koh Chang can generate 6.5 million baht a month for yacht docking and maintenance to island communities excluding accommodations and others.
There are two sailing routes from Pattaya to Koh Chang. The first is a direct route without a stopover that takes 13-16 hours.
Another runs along the coast with possible stopovers at Koh Samet and Chanthaburi province. This route takes two days and is more popular since it is safer and more convenient if a boat has an engine problem or breaks down.
Koh Chang Marina & Resort is the island's only marina. The English version of the guidebook will be handed out to clients at Ocean Marina Yacht Club Pattaya.
Dasta said the number of luxury yachts was about 6,000 worldwide, with most travelling in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. But Mr Nalikatibhag said yacht owners and renters were looking for new destinations, with forecasters predicting Southeast Asia would have the third-biggest number of yachts by 2020.
The main tourist markets for yachting in Thailand include Switzerland, Australia, Britain and Japan. Private yachting operators forecast yachts visiting Phuket will rise to 1,600 next year and 2,100 in 2020, up from 1,100 last year.
The length of stay for tourists on yachts will rise to 90 days in 2015 and 120 days in 2020 from 60 days in 2013. Average spending per head is expected to reach 200,000 baht next year and 600,000 baht in 2020, up from 100,000 baht last year.
In 2013, yachting activities generated 21.6 billion baht in revenue for Phuket, the country's main yachting destination.