Tourists flock to famous market in Koh Samui

Tourists are flocking to a famous market in Koh Samui for its mouthwatering food. The vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand said the tourists are loving the Pad Thai, papaya salad (Somtam), and grilled chicken at The Wharf Samui.

The market opens every Wednesday and Friday from the late afternoon until late night. Tourism Council Vice President Wiwat Chuenban says most sellers are local people selling local food and products.

Wiwat said that The Wharf Samui is one of the island’s most famous street markets. He told The Phuket Express…

“We have supported Thai food as a soft power as well as developed local tourism.”

The market is located in the Bo Phut sub-district.

It was reported yesterday that the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Pha Ngan have seen 2.3 million tourists arrive on their shores in the past 10 months, according to the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s office for the islands.

This has generated over 40 billion baht in revenue. The islands off the Surat Thani coast are reportedly set for a 60% rise in arrivals compared to the middle of the year.

The Wharf Samui isn’t the only market tourists have been flocking to recently. In Phuket, tourists have been swarming the Phuket Walking Street Sunday Market, also well known as ‘Laad Yai.’

Like Koh Samui, Phuket is also reeling in tourists once again. From May 1 to November 27, 934,164 tourists visited Phuket. Of those tourists, 914,746 are foreigners, and 19,418 are Thai.

Last month, Koh Larn island off Pattaya saw at least 20,000 tourists over one weekend. The cluster of young and old tourists swarmed to the island, flocking to its Ta Waen Beach.

Phang Nga’s millionth foreign tourist, a woman from Slovakia, was welcomed with gifts from tourism officials on November 6. Now, Phang Nga has set a goal of drawing up to 10 million tourists next year.

As of October 26, Thailand witnessed 7,349,843 international tourists arriving, surpassing the 7 million mark.