Krabi Resort and Hotel of Thailand Shows Positive Trend.

Krabi of Thailand Tourist Association estimates the province will achieve up to 1.2 million visitors by the end of this year.

Krabi Tourist Association president of Thailand, Ittirit Kinglek reported, the hotel occupancy rate in the first two quarters of this year stood around 40 - 50% while, the high - season occupancy rate is expected to reach 80 - 90% of the total of 12,000 rooms.

According to Mr Ittirit, the province welcomed 800,000 visitors in the first six months while expected that by the end of the year, figures will raise 20 to 30%.

Mr Ittirit said the key elements that feature the growth of the tourist include the coming of charter flights: From Scandinavia - four weekly flights, Russia - one - weekly flight, and Taiwan - one - weekly flights in the high - season.

Next year, the province is planing to boost the East Asia market such as Hong Kong, Japan and Korean markets. According to Mr Ittirit, new products to be introduced to visitors to Krabi, include the trekking in Phnom Benja mountain range, and the Marine Breeding and Conservation Centre.

Mr Ittirit said, in over all, the province is almost reach the pre-tsunami level, but it should take up to two years period or longer than what the industry was pre-dicted to reach fully recover. The reason includes the economic situation, oil prices, the unrest in the southern provinces of Thailand, world unrest situation, and political situation.