Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has seen its revenue soar following the introduction of an e-ticketing system.
According to a report from the National News Bureau of Thailand, Rakchanok Paenoi, chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi-Phi National Park, said that revenue from entry fees from the sale of e-tickets has increased by 20-30%.
On average, one million Thai baht (£23,000/€27,000/$29,000) is taken a day, and a total of 137 million Thai baht has been taken since the e-ticketing system was introduced in July last year. The system charges tourists visiting the Phi-Phi islands, with roughly 4,000 attending each day.
The report added that the number of visitors had increased compared 2-3 times compared to this time last year, with the majority of tourists hailing from Russia and Europe.
However, Paenoi also admitted that it was difficult for park officials to check e-tickets of some visitors due to poor telephone signal, which will be fixed in due course. The e-tickets also cannot be used for tourists wanting to continue on to other islands such as Ko Phai and Phi-Phi Don due to the poor signal.
The department head Atthaphon Charoenchansa told the news outlet that they will try to promote increased use of e-tickets to cover entry fees to all national parks over the next two years.