TRAT: Visitors flocked to the Ko Chang islands in this eastern province over the three-day holiday this weekend.
Polwaree Buchakiat, chief of the Mu Ko Chang National Park, said on Sunday that a large number of visitors, especially tour groups, arrived at the Ko Chang islands this weekend. Monday is King Chulalongkorn Day, which also marks the end of a school break.
Tourists visited Klong Plu and Than Mayom waterfalls as well as beautiful dive sites off the nearby Mu Ko Rang islands, he said.
This month alone the Mu Ko Chang National Park office collected more than 1 million baht in entry fees, Mr Polwaree said, far more than usual. Most visitors were Thais and Europeans rather than Chinese.
"The weather is promising. The sea is beautiful. The water is crystal clear and it is sunny. So, visitors enjoy swimming. It rains sometimes but it is not an obstacle," the park chief said.
Saksit Moongkarn, former chairman of the Tourism Council of Trat, said there were about 25,000 arrivals in Trat during this long weekend.
About 600 visitors a day arrived in tour groups over the past week with about 1,200 vehicles a day crossing onto Ko Chang island, he said.
The number of Chinese visitors was relatively small, Mr Saksit said, because Ko Chang has yet to become popular among them.