New nine-month record set for Thai national-park revenue
Thailand set a new record for national-park revenue of more than 1.7 billion baht in the last nine months, thanks to the tourism industry's rapid and steady recovery, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation.
The amount was recorded from October 1, 2023, to June 20, 2024. According to the report, Thailand's national parks collected 1.785 billion baht in total, a new record.
That exceeded the entirety of money collected by national parks for all of 2023, 1.467 billion baht.
The five Thai national parks with the highest collected fees during the nine-month period were:
- Nopparat Thara Beach National Park – Phi Phi Islands (500,866,577 baht)
- Similan National Park (243,655,470 baht)
- Khao Laem Ya National Park – Mu Ko Samet (127,820,710 baht)
- Ao Phang Nga National Park (114,226,610 baht)
- Doi Inthanon National Park (100,545,505 baht).
According to the report, Nopparat Thara Beach National Park, where the Phi Phi Islands are located, remains the most popular destination among foreign tourists. During the last nine months, the location has collected more than 500 million baht, surpassing the previous amount collected during the same period, which was around 300 million baht.
Meanwhile, more than 4.5 million foreign tourists visited Nopparat Thara Beach National Park, representing a 41.5% increase over the same period last year.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation said the majority of the collected revenue would be used to develop infrastructure and various facilities in the national parks’ service zones. The remainder would be used to pay wages to working staff, develop the knowledge of personnel in the agency, and allocate a portion of the money to local government organisations in the parks’ surrounding areas.
