With the start of the peak foreign tourist season, which coincides with the end of the academic year in many countries, the Thai government said July 20 that last week saw a significant increase in international tourists from East Asia and Europe coming to the country.
A government spokeswoman said that as a result, by the end of July, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand in 2023 is expected to exceed 15 million people.
Thailand’s tourism industry has a policy of promoting new forms of tourism that take into account the behavior and demands of specific tourist groups.
For the nature-based tourism sector, Thailand has a total of more than 156 national parks spread across different regions, including both marine and terrestrial national parks. Every year, both Thai and international tourists visit these parks.
According to the National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department for the first half of 2023, a total of 8,853,001 tourists visited these national parks from January to June.
The top 5 national parks with the highest number of tourists are as follows:
1. Khao Khitchakut National Park, Chanthaburi Province, with 708,747 tourists.
2. Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Krabi Province, with 697,851 tourists.
3. Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet National Park, Rayong Province, with 589,787 tourists.
4. Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with 572,223 tourists.
5. Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, with 324,593 tourists.
For the national parks that generate revenue for the National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department, there are a total of 133 parks with a total revenue of over 841 million baht from January to June 2023.
The top 5 national parks with the highest revenue are as follows:
1. Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Krabi Province, with a total revenue of 167,466,123 Baht.
2. Mu Ko Similan National Park, Phang Nga Province, with a total revenue of 107,070,830 Baht.
3. Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet National Park, Rayong Province, with a total revenue of 57,509,630 Baht.
4. Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, with a total revenue of 47,076,335 Baht.
5. Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with a total revenue of 41,325,614 Baht.
