Recent C9 Hotelworks report shows upbeat Koh Samui arrivals trend during 2016-2017 with a total of 1.2 million domestic and international arrivals to Samui International Airport during 2016 representing year on year growth from the previous year of 22% compared with 7& from 2014.
79% of arrivals are from domestic flights however international arrivals have doubled due to more international flights and flight code sharing with domestic arrivals increasing by 10%. The main increase in international arrivals is due to an increase of mainland Chinese tourists which grew more than 60% from Jan through October 2016 and 300% since 2015. Mainland Chinese arrivals have been the largest market share since 2015 with Australia now ranked number 2 followed by the UK, Germany and France.
In addition, increased midscale arrivals to Surat Thani airport, Koh Samui’s nearby provincial airport, have broadened the market with inbound flights up by 30% in the past year with more than 70% on international arrivals from mainland China.
This hike in the Koh Samui arrivals trend means that hotels have enjoyed an increase in occupancy from 60% to 72% over the past year due to increased mainland Chinese tourism. This has also had very positive effects on the real estate and the Koh Samui property market with a large increase in Chinese villa occupancy and property investment.
For future trends, Bangkok air are planning increased direct flights from mainland China with a planned expansion of Koh Samui airport.
