BANGKOK — Marine national parks on both the Andaman coast and the Gulf of Thailand have increasingly attracted more foreign tourists this year. The revenue in 9 months has surpassed that of the entire budget year of 2023, increasing 21%.
On June 22, the National Park Office released information on national park fee collection for the first 9 months of the fiscal year, from October 1, 2023, to June 20, 2024. The total amount collected was 1.785 billion baht (about 48.6 million USD). This is a record-breaking figure, surpassing the entire year’s collection of 2023, which was 1.467 billion baht (about 40 million USD).
Attapol Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, said that the increase in collection is due to the rising number of foreign tourists, following the government’s policy to promote tourism in Thailand, especially in marine national parks on both the Andaman coast and the Gulf of Thailand. These areas, with their beautiful marine attractions, have become important landmarks in foreign tourists’ decision to visit Thailand.
Additionally, the global ranking of beautiful beaches, which included Koh Kradan in Hat Chao Mai National Park, Trang Province, as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, has led to increased interest in other marine tourist attractions from foreign tourists. The top 5 national parks with the highest fee collection are:
- Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park: 500,866,577 baht (13.6 million USD)
- Mu Ko Similan National Park: 243,655,470 baht (6.6 million USD)
- Khao Laem Ya-Mu Ko Samet National Park: 127,820,710 baht (3.4 million USD)
- Ao Phang Nga National Park: 114,226,610 baht (3.1 million USD)
- Doi Inthanon National Park: 100,545,505 baht (2.7 million USD)
Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, which ranks first in fee collection in Thailand, has already surpassed last year’s collection by over 300 million baht for the same period.
The number of foreign tourists increased from 2,660,308 in 2023 to 4,548,762 in 2024 for the same period, an increase of 1,888,454 or 41.5%.
The collected fees will be used to develop infrastructure and facilities in the service areas of national parks, pay staff salaries, develop personnel knowledge, and allocate 5% (about 80 million baht) to local administrative organizations near the national parks.
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