Predominantly, it's an agricultural area, with sandy clay soil conditions producing rubber, palm oil, fruit, coconut and coffee. Rubber is the main cash crop grown with over 700,00 rai being under cultivation for this purpose. Palm oil comes in second, followed by coconuts.

However, with natural attractions like tropical islands, palm fringed beaches, forest waterfalls and caves attracting more and more sunseeking, adventure-bound tourists, Krabi has begun to earn a substantial income from its tourism industry.

It's estimated that the Krabi coastline contains over 200 limestone and jungle covered islands. Many are uninhabited outcrops rising from the sea with tiny patches of pristine white sandy beaches.

Much of Krabi's coastline is dotted with little coves and mangroves which form a unique eco-system and serve as a natural breeding ground for diverse aquatic life. Krabi's beaches are gradually opening out to tourism, although care is being taken to ensure management of the environment.

Development is being kept low rise with many hotels designed to blend in with the surroundings. There are few deckchairs and building directly on the beach has been kept to a minimum in most resort areas.

Fishing is widely carried out along the coastline and on most larger islands, and although traditional methods are still in use, modern trawling techniques are threatening numbers and the industry. Shrimp and cockle farming has been a high growth industry since the early 1990's, and there is also a flourishing grouper farming industry.