Koh Chang is distant from tourism development due to its limited accessibility

Thursday, August 22, 2019

In spite of being one of Thailand’s biggest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Chang has remained somewhat distant from tourism development due to its limited accessibility.

The Koh Chang Tourism Market Review stated that in 2018, the island’s hotel market witnessed 1.2 million guest arrivals at 272 tourism establishments with a combined total of 7,617 rooms. Over the past decade, domestic travellers comprised 59 per cent to 71 per cent of total room night demand.

C9 Hotelworks’ managing director Bill Barnett said, “The island is heavily reliant on domestic tourism due to limited international accessibility when compared to other popular Thai beach destinations such as Phuket and Samui.”

Among overseas source markets, mainland China has been the fastest-growing over the past few years, with year-on-year growth going up to 54 per cent in 2017. The other top five international markets are Germany, Russia, Sweden and the UK.

The average duration of stay for tourists is 2.9 nights, with foreign and domestic demand averaging 4.6 and 2.6 nights, respectively. Long-stay overseas travellers often stay up to two months.

With The Emerald Cove Koh Chang expected to rebrand to an international group by 2020, renowned hotel brands are expected to drive occupancy during low season periods.

“Koh Chang is not unlike Koh Tao and Koh Pha-ngan in that they are largely tropical outposts that are likely to be caught up in a broader wave of development for the simple fact they offer sun, sand, sea and sunshine,” Barnett added.

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