Trang
Quiet Andaman alternative—46 islands, part of 'Premium Andaman' cluster (600B baht, 4,800 baht/day average), rubber plantations, Hokkien heritage.
Trang occupies the quiet end of Thailand's Andaman tourism corridor. While Phuket and Krabi draw crowds, Trang's 46 islands—including Ko Libong, Ko Muk, and Ko Kradan—attract visitors seeking alternatives to mass tourism. The province belongs to the "Premium Andaman" cluster (Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Satun) that generated 600 billion baht from 29 million visitors in 2022, averaging 4,800 baht per person per day—Thailand's highest tourism spending rate.
Beyond beaches, Trang runs on rubber. The province produces natural rubber and palm oil for industrial processing; coconut plantations and fisheries fill agricultural margins. The city center preserves Hokkien Chinese heritage—Sino-Portuguese shophouses, traditional coffee shops, and local festivals—that attracted Chinese-Thai families before Western tourists discovered the islands.
The province sits between developed Krabi and protected Satun (UNESCO Global Geopark), benefiting from spillover without bearing infrastructure burden. The 2023 government designation of Premium Andaman aims to push quality over quantity—higher spending, fewer visitors, sustainable development. By 2026, Trang tests whether second-tier Andaman destinations can capture premium positioning or remain overflow for Phuket and Krabi.