Tourism spending in Ranong

Chatrudee Theparat
Toursim

Tourism spending in Ranong is expected to reach seven billion baht this year via TAT tourism promotion campaigns

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will boost Ranong tourism, a second-tier city, to reach at least seven billion baht in revenue this year.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT’s leader, said the agency plans to boost the tourism industry in Ranong to generate tourism income of at least seven billion baht this year, up from 6.72 billion baht last year.

TAT plans to create connectivity of the two tourism routes. The first is between Phuket as the main tourism province to Phang-Nga and Ranong, and the second is Ranong-Chumphon and Prachuap- Khirikhan as popular provinces in Thailand Rivera route. The two routes link between the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea.

To do so, TAT plans to present tourism package on green tourism of Ranong, with the rainy season lasting for about eight months through a year, with tour operators and foreign visitors, especially new markets from the Middle East as a high spending region like Saudi Arabia. They like green tourism.

“Saudi Arabia is going to open direct flights to Phuket including Saudia Airlines and Riyadh Air while Saudi Arabian travelers stay 19.9 overnights in average and spend 99,000 baht per trip in Phuket,” she said.

The agency will promote a bus-trip service from Phuket to Puang-nga, Krabi and Ranong, Chumphon and Prachap-Khirikhan.

In addition, the package will target to other markets such as Germany considered as one of the major foreign tourists to Ranong, followed by Finland, Netherlands, China and Switzerland. The others include the US, Italy, Canada and Malaysia.

“Those European visitors like wellness tourism, and community tourism which conform to Ranong which is rich with community tourism products like hot spring and gastronomy food.”

Flight frequency to Ranong were 4-5 flights per day in 2019, as the peak of the tourism industry. In 2023, the flights were cut to average 1.5 flights per day due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

To solve the problem, it plans to increase more flights. The agency will ask for cooperation from the Transport Ministry to negotiate issues from aviation to bus transportation, with flight increase and adding bus routes from Phuket airport to two tourism routes. The agenda will be raised in the cabinet meeting on January 23.

The number of visitors to Ranong was 1.21 million in 2019, including 282,322 foreign visitors and 930,000 trips per day of Thai visitors. In 2023, the number of visitors to Ranong was 1.458 million, including 1.4 million per head trip of Thai visitors and only 51,432 of foreign visitors.

“The agency will take more effort to boost the number of foreign visitors to Ranong to meet 200,000 this year, driving the revenue to the province,” she said.

Tourism revenue from foreign visitors in Ranong was 6.25 billion baht in 2019, and grew to 6.72 billion baht in 2023.

“The agency will stimulate revenue from tourism industry in Ranong to reach seven billion baht this year,” Ms Thapanee said.

The number of more tourism festivals will be added. The Khao Ya festival, for example, this year will be held in February with a hope to boost tourism visitors to surpass the last year numbers. The festival attracted 20,000 visitors in 2022 and 90,000 in 2023.

The development of the landbridge project will help to boost tourism in Ranong province, thanks to its better infrastructure from Ranong to Chumphon and nearby provinces.