Hot News
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Sponsored Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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Tourism minister confident new Thailand Pass system will increase visitor numbers
The tourism minister is already praising the yet-to-be-launched Thailand Pass, saying it will lift tourist numbers significantly. Thailand Pass replaces the much-maligned Certificate of Entry from Monday and Pipat Ratchakitprakan is expecting to see visitor numbers rise. “Hotel bookings under the Phuket Sandbox scheme for November went up considerably after October 21, when the list of 46 low-risk countries from…
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Entry requirements for international arrivals starting November 1
The Thailand Pass is set to launch in 5 days, aiming to ease the process to get approval to enter Thailand. The entry requirements for international travellers still require some hoops, but the government hopes this streamlining will help welcome back much-needed tourism to the country. The website for the Thailand Pass has been created at tp.consular.go.th but it is…
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Control measures set to reduce pollution in Bangkok from vehicle emissions
To tackle the seasonal haze in Bangkok, Thai officials are coming up with ways to reduce pollution from car and truck exhaust. Road checkpoints will be set up to look out for vehicles emitting clouds of black smoke and drivers of vehicles emitting exhaust that exceeds legal limits will face a 5,000 baht fine. According to the National News Bureau…
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Senior hotels association member says NYE stars will boost Phuket tourism
The president of the Thai Hotels Association’s southern chapter is backing the government’s decision to spend millions of baht on Phuket’s end-of-year festivities. Officials have confirmed that K-Pop star Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform in Phuket on New Year’s Eve. Critics have derided the plan due to the cost involved, with many suggesting the money…
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Tourism operators urge government to agree travel bubbles
Thailand’s tourism sector is urging the government to agree travel bubbles with other countries, to ensure quarantine-free travel in both directions. Suthiphong Pheunphiphop from the Thai Travel Agents Association would like to see reciprocal arrangements in place once Thailand re-opens to 46 countries from November 1. According to a Bangkok Post report, he says such an agreement would mean Thai…
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Alcohol ban predicted to damage Thailand’s reopening, reputation
With Thailand’s November 1 reopening fast approaching, Thai businesses are calling on the government to quickly lift all the restrictions on alcohol sales in the country. They advise that the nightlife that millions flocked to Thailand for before the Covid-19 pandemic, is being destroyed by the long-term closures. Furthermore, they warn that reopening without any nightlife will discourage people from…
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Woman who cut safety rope of workers offers feeble excuse
People have been shocked with the continuing story of workers doing repairs on the outside of a condo building in Nonthaburi on October 12 when their safety ropes were cut, leaving them dangling 26 floors above the street below until they were luckily rescued. Now the woman who stands accused of cutting the rope of the workers has allegedly confessed…
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Police seize Covid-19 antiviral drugs allegedly stolen by hospital manager
A number of arrests have been made following the seizure of antiviral drugs used to treat Covid-19, with hundreds of boxes of Favipiravir pills allegedly stolen by a hospital manager and destined for online sale. The Bangkok Post reports that nine suspects were arrested on Tuesday in coordinated raids in Bangkok, Saraburi, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi. In total, police recovered…
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Truck stopped in Chiang Mai with methamphetamine and heroin
A driver was arrested at a military checkpoint in Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai with a truck full of heroin and crystal methamphetamine pills. The Isuzu pickup truck was stopped and searched and found to be carrying over 1.2 million meth pills as well as about 8.75 kilogrammes of heroin. At a press conference today, the commander of the…
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Police arrest British man in Koh Samui for marijuana
A British man on Koh Samui was arrested by immigration police for illegal possession and use of marijuana, according to the provincial immigration police chief. Police say that 32 year old Paul Mathew Kennedy was arrested on Monday at his home in Moo 5 in tambon Bophut. Immigration police say an informant tipped them off to Kennedy, accusing him of…
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Used car market set for further growth following Covid-19 pandemic
While local industries have broadly suffered in the wake of the Covid pandemic, apparently the used car market in Thailand has been doing fairly well. According to the Bangkok Post, the Association of Used Cars says the pandemic has contributed to strong market growth. With commuters fearful of catching the virus on public transport, many have decided to buy a…
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CCSA in bid to reassure Thais that November 1 re-opening will be safe
CCSA spokesperson Dr Apisamai Srirangsan says Thai residents shouldn’t worry about the country’s imminent re-opening to select countries. From November 1, vaccinated tourists from a list of 46 low-risk countries can enter Thailand with minimal quarantine. They will be required to show evidence of being fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure from their…
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Tourism Ministry to invite K-pop megastar to perform at Phuket NYE celebration
Thai-born K-pop star Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban, from the band Blackpink, is being invited to perform during New Year celebrations on the southern island of Phuket. The cost won’t be cheap, but the government is defending the move. Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the superstar’s presence will help promote Thailand’s re-opening to the world. “The main key reason for bringing global…
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Chulalongkorn students drop royal parade on grounds it promotes “authoritarianism”
The Student Union of Chulalongkorn University has controversially ditched its tradition of holding a royal parade ahead of its annual football match with Thammasat University. The decision to scrap the Phra Kiew parade, which students say promotes authoritarianism and inequality, has sparked fierce debate between Thailand’s progressive thinkers and its traditional conservatives. The Chulalongkorn student body has issued a statement…
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Thai PM defends plan to spend 100 million baht on New Year’s Eve celebrities
The Thai PM is standing firm amid fierce criticism of a plan to spend 100 million baht on 2 global singing stars for New Year’s Eve festivities in Phuket. Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended the government’s plan to spend around US$3 million dollars to secure Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, and Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal, from the K-pop band, Blackpink. The Bangkok Post…
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Government’s domestic tour package subsidy receives lukewarm response
A tour package subsidy scheme aimed at domestic travellers is so far failing to prove popular with either tourists or tour operators. Tour Teaw Thai provides a 40% subsidy on tour packages up to 5,000 baht to 1 million people, but Chotechuang Soorangura from NS Travel and Tours says the conditions are proving a deterrent. “Locals find the hotel subsidy…
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Foreign airlines give up 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports amid uncertainty of next 5 months
The managing director of Airports of Thailand says international carriers have returned around 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports. Nitinai Sirisamatthakarn says around 80% of slots between October 31 and March 26 next year have been returned, indicating that airlines are uncertain about any imminent recovery in the aviation sector. Airport slots are the landing and take-off permissions that…
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Big vaccination push in Chiang Mai in bid to combat Covid-19 surge
The president of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai is hoping a ramp-up of vaccination efforts will help combat a surge in Covid-19. Punlop Saejew says health officials are pulling out all the stops in a bid to get the northern province ready for the November 1 re-opening. “The current clusters have affected local confidence towards re-opening. Everyone is working…
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Government under pressure to lift alcohol ban, allow nightlife to resume
As Thailand prepares to waive quarantine for vaccinated tourists from low-risk countries, the government is coming under pressure to ease some Covid-19 restrictions. In particular, the Bangkok Post reports on calls to allow restaurants to sell alcohol and for nightlife to resume. Countless bars and clubs remain shuttered, with many operators questioning how Thailand’s re-opening can succeed under such conditions.…
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Tourism calls for Russia and India to be added to safe list
Now that the 46 countries that can enter Thailand on November 1 without quarantine have been announced, many in the tourism industry are calling for some notable absences to be added to the list. Tourism groups in major travel hubs are calling on the government to add Russia and India to the list of approved countries, believing it will massively…
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Hua Hin calls for delay in reopening amid Covid-19 infections
Prachuap Khiri Khan, the Western province that is home to tourist magnet Hua Hin, may not be ready for reopening in just over a week. Amid spiking Covid-19 infections, some officials in Hua Hin are calling for a delay, pushing back reopening for the town until December. The province had 240 infections in today’s report, half as many as the…
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Chiang Mai Covid-19 infections swell ahead of reopening
November 1 is fast approaching and with it a major reopening effort all across Thailand. But a few of the target Blue Zone areas that the government has focused on due to their popularity with foreign tourists are struggling, as Chiang Mai in particular has been battling a swell in Covid-19 infections. Chiang Mai has seen their daily infection numbers…
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs sings praises of Thailand Pass
The promotion engines are rolling as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a global charm offensive to win over travellers regarding the new Thailand Pass that will replace Certificates of Entry for international travellers to Thailand as the country reopens on November 1. The Thailand Pass, a collaboration between the Department of Consular Affairs and the Digital Government Development…
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Van packed with 39 illegal burmese workers stopped in Phichit
A tip-off led to police uncovering a van packed full of 39 illegal Burmese immigrants in the lower Northern province of Phichit. The van was stuffed tightly with 17 Burmese men and 22 Burmese women with one admitting that they had crossed the border illegally and were heading to Nakon Sawan to work at construction sites. The police in Phichit…
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Thailand reopening roundup: What happens November 1
Things are moving fast towards the November 1 reopening which in the last few days swelled from 10 countries being allowed entry to Thailand to 46 countries, 3 entry plans, replacing the Certificate of Entry, and even an attempt to reopen nightlife. Below is a round-up of the plans as they stand now. “TEST & GO”: COUNTRIES THAT CAN ENTER…
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Thailand is open for tourism again, sort of
OPINION The opening you have when you’re not quite open. Quarantine-free arrival, except that you’ll still need to book at least 1 night of stay in an approved hotel or AQ (alternative quarantine). No bars are open (officially) and, in most parts of the country, most shops remain closed. In tourist-dependent places like Phuket, more than 90% of the formerly…
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Thailand Pass website launching, accepted from November 2
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun the process of replacing the Certificate of Entry with the new Thailand Pass which will be accepted from November 2. The Ministry announced that tp.consular.go.th will be live for people arriving in Thailand after November 2 to register for the Thailand Pass. The information comes from the Ministry of Interior’s Phuket office who…
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US man arrested for bank fraud 1 day before statute of limitation
In the sort of scene usually reserved for action movies, an American man wanted for bank fraud was captured at the last minute, one day before the statute of limitation expired on his crimes. Thomas Grimm, a 63 year old man from the US, was arrested at a hotel in Hua Hin accused of a scam 15 years ago where…
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Full details on the 3 ways to travel to Thailand from November 1
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has released a summary of the new plans to reopen Thailand to allow international tourists to travel on November 1. Thailand will reopen without quarantine for fully vaccinated people travelling from 46 approved countries, who will only have to take a Covid-19 test on arrival and wait in an approved hotel for the results. Those…
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Biden reaffirms US would defend Taiwan against Chinese attack
US President Joe Biden said that the US would defend Taiwan in the case of a Chinese attack. He was asked about this hypothetical situation yesterday during a CNN town hall segment. His response is a departure from the typical US stance on the Taiwan issue, but follows the trend of increasingly firm policy approaches towards China. China, historically, considers…
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