Phuket had a big surge of tourists, particularly for Christmas and New Year, and also for the Chinese New Year break. Koh Samui also seems to have had a good January.
Over 200,000 tourists travelled to Koh Samui during the first month of 2023, according to the Governor of Surat Thani. He says that between January 1 and January 23, around 178,077 tourists visited the island, with 86,507 flying in and another 91,570 arriving by ferry. Governor Wichawut Jintoe adds that this figure does not include cruise ship passengers that started visiting the island again.
“This number did not include tourists from cruise ships which were 4 rounds for one day trips and 2 rounds stayed on Samui Island for one night. At the end of this month, there will be more than 200,000 tourists who are visiting Samui Island.”
Koh Samui is benefiting from an overall surge in tourism across the most popular locations in Thailand. A total of 11.15 million foreign tourists visited Thailand during 2022, exceeding the 10 million target set by the tourism and sports ministry in the middle of the year.
“The number of tourists who are visiting Samui Island in the first month of the year has been increased when compared with years before. They also visited nearby islands such as Koh Phan Ngan and Koh Tao, as well as other tourism places on the land. This is a good start which shows that Samui Island is one of the top places in Thailand that tourists like to visit.”
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
