Off the back of another highly successful Phuket International Boat Show at Royal Phuket Marina, an economic think-tank from the Kasikorn Research Center have estimated that Thailand’s yachting tourism industry will generate up to 5.8 billion THB in 2016, which will be a serious addition to Thailand’s overall tourism sector this year.
The group estimate that domestic yachts could make up 3.2 billion THB of that total, mostly in marine services, while the foreign yachting tourists are expected to generate in the region of 2.6 billion THB, which will also be mainly marina service related, including other related businesses and also boat tours.
The ‘think-tank’ recently stated that “Yachting tourists are a high-potential market segment that the government aims to promote since they are high-end spenders with four times the spending power of other segments.”
The report went on to conclude that “The government and private sector are cooperating to boost such business; the government provides marketing support and eases regulatory controls, e.g., extended visas for yacht owners, captains and crews, plus an accelerated fast track on a new law to allow superyachts to enter Thailand’s waters for leisure and commercial activities, as well as financial support to related businesses, e.g., marinas, to elevate service and competitiveness.”
The diversity of the Thailand tourism market is why the industry always seems so robust, even in times of adversity, with so many sectors contributing to the overall success of the tourism sector.
