The provinces of Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao function as a manufacturing base for Thailand’s primary industries. Particularly, petrochemical, energy, and automobile industries have seen continuous growth. In 2014, they accounted for an annual gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.9 trillion baht (65 percent of which came from the industrial sector; 32 percent from the service sector and others; 3 percent from the agricultural sector), amounting to 14.57 percent of the entire Thai economy. The GDP for the industrial sector reached a record high of 1.2 trillion baht, making up 30 percent of Thailand’s overall GDP, or the equivalent of one third of the nation’s economy (the cumulative capital invested in the industrial sector in 2015 totaled 1.6 trillion baht, accounting for 27.89 percent of the nation’s economy and an annual GDP per capita of 624,185 baht.)

Taking into account the economic conditions of these three provinces, the data shows that these areas play a significant role in Thailand’s industrial sector, as their locations are not far from Bangkok. They are also geographically coastal, with Chonburi and Rayong being regarded as the industrial capitals. The data from 2017 revealed that Rayong housed 3,082 factories and 174,352 factory workers, whereas Chonburi had 4,987 factories and 285,826 factory workers with the total investment capital of 850,360 million baht.

Given the fact that Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao are located on the coast of the Thailand’s eastern region. The entire land combined sprawls 13,299 square kilometers or 8,291250 rai. 66.47 percent of the total population in these three provinces remain in the agricultural sector, whereas 33-53 percent remain in other non-agricultural sectors. Additional information on these provinces is as follows:

At present, these provinces in the eastern coastal region of Thailand serve as a manufacturing base for Thailand’s main industries. Particularly, petrochemical, energy, and automobile industries have seen continuous growth.

Taking into consideration the revenue from the tourism industry in proportion to the nation’s economic growth, the data showed that the number of tourists from these three provinces in 2015 stood at 38.11 million. The highest number came from Chonburi (including Pattaya City) with 23.48 million tourists. More than 80 percent of the tourists vacationed in Pattaya City. In 2015, Rayong saw 13.30 million tourists. The data also captured the number of tourists in Chonburi and Pattaya City during the five-year period (2011-2015), and found that the said number increased at an exponential rate. In 2015, more than 19.7 million tourists traveled to Pattaya City. The revenue from the tourism industry in these three eastern provinces (Chonburi Rayong and Chachoengsao) mostly stemmed from scores of tourists vacationing in Pattaya City. In 2015, Pattaya City generated a total revenue of 130,000 million baht from outside visitors – 110,000 million of which came from international tourists.

National Statistical Office / Office of Industrial Economics