Similan Guide - News & Infos aus Südostasien und den Similan Inseln

With an abundance of 11 islands, marine life, 3 wrecks, great weather, great visibility and a huge amount of coral reef in Thailand, the Similan islands are the Top destination in Thailand’s dive travel niche market.

There are an estimated 10 million active divers in the world. The Similan Marine National Park, Thailand’s most popular dive destination attracted about 150’000 to 200’000 divers & skin divers per season.
There are currently about 100 dive & snorkel operators with a license to operate within the Similan Marine National Park. 70% of the dive tourism to the Similan Marine National Park is focused in Khao Lak, Phang Nga.

According to Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine the most important considerations for dive tourists choosing a dive destination is the quality of diving and the cost. A similar survey conducted by the same Magazine found that the most important factor for choosing a dive operator was the operator’s reputation.

The most common reason given by divers and skin divers to the Similan Marin National Park for their visit is to enjoy the beauty of marine life and the islands.

The following dive facilities are available in Khao Lak: Day trip boats, live-aboard, snorkel day trip boats, snorkel live-aboard, and dive training.

The Similan Marine National Park is an attractive dive destination, because it provides healthy marine environment, variety of different dive sites (about 40 different wreck, coral reef and rocky sites), good visibility, marine life and good facilities (dive operators, guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, transportation).

One potential barrier to dive tourism in Thailand is the threat of coral bleaching, coral mortality and rising water temperatures. There should be some diving limitations in place to protect the under water world. Tourist and Operators are required to pay an Entrance Fee which is then used to install mooring lines and maintain the Parks buildings and infrastructure.

With its already well-established tourism market, Thailand has much of the infrastructure required for dive tourism in place to take advantage of this niche market.

The world famous Similan Islands Marine National Park which consists of nine very beautiful islands, beaches and a world famous underwater scenery.

The dive sites of the Similans belong to the Top Ten Dive Sites worldwide. Lots of divers and skin divers visit the Park everyday to enjoy the fantastic underwater world.

I believe the Similan Island Marine National Park has all the picturesque scenery, beautiful Rock formations, nice palm trees and an abundant marine life to be one of the Top Ten Dive Attractions in the World. Nature at its best!