Year-on-year bookings for Thai New Year 65% up in Koh Samui

Thailand’s Songkran festival (Thai New Year) has firmly established itself as a major attraction for international travellers.

Hotel bookings for Songkran week (10–17 April 2025) surged 65% in Koh Samui, the tropical island backdrop for The White Lotus, and rose 41% in Chiang Mai and 20% in Bangkok compared to last year according to SiteMinder (ASX: SDR), an Australian hotel distribution and revenue platform.

The average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in Ko Samui jumped 38% vs. last year to THB 11,073 while Phuket hotels recorded an increase by 8% to THB 5,889.

Songkran in Ko Samui, 13 April 2025

Koh Samui stands out not only for its popularity but also for its planning-minded visitors, with the longest average booking lead time for Thai destinations at 109 days – a 33% rise from last year’s 82 days.

Overseas visitors make up 86% of all scheduled hotel check-ins in Thailand during Songkran marking a 15 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year.