Almost 10,000 people visited Koh Larn on the first day of the three-day Macha Bucha Day weekend, rivaling tourist numbers from before the coronavirus pandemic.
Mostly Thai families, visitors to the Pattaya resort island crammed into ferries and filled beaches Feb. 26, with many saying they were encouraged by Pattaya’s new status as a “yellow” Covid-19 surveillance area. Bangkok, where many of the tourists came from, remains at a more-restrictive orange “controlled” area.
In the past three weeks, while Pattaya was designated an orange zone, Koh Larn, at best, was drawing 7,000 people in an entire weekend. Friday’s numbers were typical for a 2019 weekend day.