PUBLISHED: 29 Apr 2025 at 06 :23
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ( DNP ) will officially launch a fully implemented e-ticket system at six major marine national parks on Oct 15, coinciding with the start of the tourist season.
The program, a pilot project, is expected to increase area profits by 10 % and increase transparency in entry fee collection.
At Monday’s press event, DNP Director-General Attapol Charoenchansa emphasised the agency’s commitment to addressing long-standing common concerns over fraud in ticket sales.
He said an earlier variant of the e-ticket program has been used at selected gardens since 2023. But, problems such as not being user-friendly and limited functionality in rural areas highlighted the need for changes. The upgraded e-ticket program, to be rolled out in October, does immediately include six aquatic gardens and later be expanded to the top ten national gardens with the highest customer income.
Mr Attapol said that entry fees are a vital source of funding for the office, supporting forest security, conservation, and the promotion of responsible nature tourism. Under the present earnings planning type, 5 % of entry fee money is distributed to local administrative agencies ( a full of 102. 23 million baht this fiscal year ), 20 % is given to individual park management teams ( 316. 59 million baht ), 60 % is allocated for park conservation activities ( 1. 22 billion baht ), and 15 % is reserved for emergencies ( 540. 55 million baht ).
From Oct 1 last year to April 20 this month, Thailand’s national gardens welcomed 11. 74 million customers, marking a 2. 36 % increase over the same time the previous month. Profit during this time reached 1. 55 billion ringgit, off 2. 6 %. Coastal playgrounds accounted for 65. 8 % of total entry fees, with Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi generating the highest profit at 450 million ringgit.
” Our promise is that the e-ticket system may minimize any loss of revenue and reduce opportunities for problem,” said Mr Attapol.
” The money is important to our vision of conserving natural resources and promoting sustainable hospitality. We remain firm in our commitment to protecting character despite any disputes that may happen. “
Looking back, the DNP key noted that extra income from the e-ticket program may help finance a new program to help communities living within forest zones.
The six marine national parks where the e-ticket system will be fully implemented are Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi ( Krabi), Ao Phang Nga ( Phangnga ), Than Bok Khorani ( Krabi), Mu Ko Similan ( Phangnga ), Mu Ko Surin ( Phangnga ) and Mu Ko Lanta ( Krabi).