On Panyee Island, there's a soccer pitch were it's fine to take a dive

With its stunning limestone cliffs towering over stilt houses surrounded by azure waters, the island of Panyee is a typical Thai paradise. But it's not mother nature drawing tourists here - it's a floating soccer pitch.

Thailand's tourism industry has taken a battering this year following months of protests, the May military coup, the subsequent imposition of martial law and the brutal slaying of two young Britons on the holiday isle of Koh Tao in September.

The Immigration Bureau says there has been a near 9 per cent drop in tourist arrivals between January and October compared to the same period last year - a blow for the millions of Thais whose depend on the industry.

But in Panyee, part of Thailand's picturesque Phanga Nga province, foreign visitors keep coming thanks to excitement over the community's highly unusual soccer pitch.

Nestled next to the largely Muslim island's ferry pier, the 16 metre by 25 metre pitch has become something of a national treasure after an advertising campaign by a Thai bank in 2010 made the fishing community locally famous for their dedication to soccer.

"What do you do when you come to Panyee Island? You must see the floating soccer pitch," beams island chief Muhammad Prasanpan, who says 50,000 to70,000 baht (HK$11,810 to HK$16,540) now comes in from tourists each day. That's a five-fold increase for the 320 household-island since a decade ago when fishing was its mainstay.