Koh Tao often spelt Ko Tao was discovered by backpackers many years ago and diving made Koh Tao a popular backpacker destination to get that essential scuba diving ticket checked off their list of things to do whilst travelling around the world.
Today though many resorts on Koh Tao are moving towards higher end holiday makers or only offering cheaper prices to those who are taking diving courses with them which is made Koh Tao expensive for Backpackers.
At the end of the naughties the idea of hostels took off in Thailand and by around 2016 Koh Tao had almost as many hostels as Dive schools, which is a lot! A global pandemic will help sort that problem right out though as you can't really socially distance yourself in a dorm room right? So quite sensibly all dorms were ordered to close at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, well in April 2020 anyway and there don't seem to be any changes on the cards in the near future. So the expense for backpackers is on the rise again for the short-stay travellers.
If you can afford the time or are a digital nomad and so can stay on the island for a month or more then the good news is that the cost of longer stay monthly accommodation tumbled with the pandemic. So head to Koh Tao for a month or three and chill out and top up your tan whilst working remotely either in a swanky villa next to the pool or in a co-working space.