The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reports that Koh Samui (Surat Thani province) has scheduled 47 cruise ship visits (booked berthings) for 2024, bringing an estimated 25000 tourists to the resort island.
According to Kanokkittika Kritwuthikorn, TAT's director for Koh Samui, the majority of these visitors will be from the United States, Europe, and Australia.
In January alone, 10 ships are expected to arrive. Over the weekend, Koh Samui received visitors from two cruise liners, namely Celebrity Solstice and Mein Schiff 5. Celebrity Solstice, arriving from Hong Kong via Vietnam, carried 2852 tourists, mainly from Asia, who were en route to Singapore. Mein Schiff 5, with 2543 mostly German tourists, arrived from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, heading to Vietnam.
Visitors from both ships participated in a one-day island excursion, with an anticipated expenditure of ~20 million baht (US$561,600) on the island, as stated by Ms. Kanokkittika.
In 2023, Koh Samui received ~50,000 cruise tourists, contributing ~150 million baht (US$4,212 million).