Accommodation has been booked out on nearly all popular islands in Thailand for the New Year celebrations, with Chinese and Russian tourists very prominent.
Koh Hong in Krabi province (Photo by Peerawat Jariyasombat)
Trat Tourism Authority president Jakkapad Tawetikul said on Thursday that a large number of tourists from the European Union, from China and Russia have reserved hotels and resort rooms on Koh Mak, Koh Chang and Koh Chang islands. He expected at least 40,000 foreigners to enter the province in the upcoming days.
On average, each tourist would stay three to five days and spend about 1,500 baht per day. This would bring in hundreds of millions of baht for the islands, Mr Jakkapad said.
He also believed tourism will continue to thrive after the current holiday season, well into the Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and Songkran Festival with vacationers from Scandinavian countries, Russia and Asia as the main customer group.
Mr Jakkapad projected that tourism in the province will grow by 10 to 15% this year, compared to less than 10% in 2011, if there is no incident which could put visitors off.
Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province and Phuket province were also flooded with tourists. Accommodation in beach resort destinations such as Pattaya, Cha-am and Hua Hin are also fully booked.