The growing popularity of Phang Nga’s Similan Islands, located in the Andaman Sea on the west coast of southern Thailand, has resulted in record-high revenue.
Similan Islands National Park officials reported that income generated since the beginning of the tourism season in October 2016 has exceeded 201 million baht - the highest figure for the park in the last 35 years.
‘Similan’ means ‘nine’ in Yawi, the native tongue of the area. It refers to the number of islands which initially made up the chain. However, in 2014 the National Park expanded its area to include 2 more islands.