As high barriers to entry and a shortage of iconic locations push luxury developers to look beyond Phuket for top-end sites, ultra-luxury development is shifting north into Phang Nga’s oceanfront.
The Khao Lak and Phang Nga Hotel & Tourism Market Review 2026 examines this shift across the province and its Khao Lak resort cluster.
In Khao Lak, hotel performance trends are led by rate, with the average daily rate (ADR) up 26.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Phang Nga tourism revenue reached THB56.6 billion (USD1.7 billion) in 2025 on 4.3 million visitor arrivals.
Key Sections Covered
- Khao Lak Hotel Performance Trends
- Phang Nga Tourism Demand, Visitor Arrivals and Tourism Revenue
- Phang Nga Southern Provinces Ranking
- Outlook and Phang Nga Hotel Pipeline
Investor Highlights
1. Khao Lak Hotel Performance Trends are Led by Rate, Not Volume
Average daily rate rose 26.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, extending 2025 gains, when monthly increases ranged from 18.2% to 46.4%.
Occupancy, by contrast, turned negative year-on-year from March 2026, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) turned negative in April and May as the Middle East conflict and higher airfares softened international demand.
2. Visitor Arrivals Held Steady as the Wider Southern Region Contracted
Phang Nga visitor arrivals reached 4.3 million in 2025, up 1.1% year-on-year and a 13% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2025, while Thailand’s Southern region (14 provinces) decreased by 0.6% over the same period. Tourism revenue rose 2% to THB56.6 billion (USD1.7 billion), ahead of the 1.1% increase in visitor arrivals.
The 2025 gain was domestic-led: international visitor arrivals held at 2.61 million, down 0.2%, while domestic visitor arrivals rose 3.2% to 1.7 million. Visitor arrivals rose a further 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, before international demand softened from March.
3. Phang Nga Ranks Fourth by Revenue but Sixth by Visitor Volume
As of May 2026, Phang Nga ranked fourth of the 14 provinces in Thailand’s Southern region by tourism revenue, behind Phuket, Surat Thani and Krabi, but sixth by visitor volume, a sign of higher spending per visitor.
Download the full report here
