The Marine Department is promoting the advancement of a devoted cruise terminal in Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya in an effort to use the quickly growing sector, a source in the department stated.
According to the department’s figures, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand was among the most popular stops for cruise liners travelling through the area. In 2018, 219 cruise liner stayed in Phuket, followed by Bangkok Port and Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri (149 ), and Koh Samui (89 ).
The source stated a devoted cruise terminal will bring in more ships to dock in Thailand, which will generate more cash for the regional economy, as the typical cruise guest invests more than visitors who visit air or over land– handing over about 7,000 baht each day in Bangkok and Pattaya, 6,400 baht each day in Phuket and about 4,200 baht each day on Koh Samui.
In an effort to bring in more high-spending travelers, the Marine Department has actually invested an overall of 156.15 million baht in between 2019-2023 to study the expediency of opening devoted cruise terminals in the abovementioned places.
The department hopes the existence of a cruise terminal will attract more high-spending travelers from more upscale ports, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, to stay and hang around in Thailand, the source stated.
For example, the department is preparing to build a cruise terminal in Pattaya, which will have the ability to accommodate 1,500 travelers when it is utilized as a house port or double the quantity when utilized as a port-of-call.
Passengers would discover it easier to have a devoted stop to dock in Pattaya, as presently, those wanting to go to the resort city need to disembark at Bangkok or Laem Chabang ports, which are in fact container terminals.
Each port will be built under a public-private collaboration design.
The strategy, nevertheless, still requires to be authorized by the brand-new federal government, he stated. The department anticipates the 3 ports will be opened in 2028, or around 900 days after building and construction starts.
