Ranong among four finalists for planned Andaman mega-cruise-ship port
Ranong tourism operators are upbeat as the southern province has been selected as one of the four candidates for constructing a port for mega-cruise ships on the Andaman coast.
Nit Uitekkheng, deputy chairman of Ranong Chamber of Commerce, said on Friday that the other candidates were Phuket, Krabi, and Phang Nga provinces.
Feasibility studies are being conducted by the Ministry of Transport’s Marine Department, after which private partners will be invited to co-invest in the project.
“The project is good news for Ranong, which has a strategic location on the Andaman coast and the potential to be a hub for wellness tourism,” Nit said.
“A mega-cruise-ship port will significantly boost tourism and related industries in Ranong and nearby Andaman provinces,” he added.
The arrival of passengers from large cruise ships could transform Ranong’s tourism industry, he said, adding that the number of tourists arriving in Thailand by cruise ships has surged over the past decade and that they are high spenders.
On average they spend about US$ 400 each per day, Nit said, citing the global average.
He noted that the cruise ship business saw an increase of nearly 12 million passengers globally in the decade before the pandemic. “Cruise ship customers grew from 17.8 million in 2009 to 29.7 million in 2019, generating over 1 million jobs [globally],” he said.
Last year, Thailand welcomed about 120 cruise ships at three ports: Phuket, Laem Chabang and Koh Samui. Their passengers spent an estimated 2.2 billion baht in Thailand.
The three ports, however, are limited in their capacity to allow mega cruise ships to dock. The government is planning to add or expand ports to accommodate mega-cruise ships.
