Tourism News
Thailand tourism news, travel updates, visa policies, and destination highlights—stay informed on hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and major infrastructure projects. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand travel news.
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Sponsored New in July: Save 10% for life on family health plans in Thailand
Cigna has a special offer this July for families in Thailand. When you sign up three or more people on a family health plan, you will save 10% on your premiums for life. This deal helps you get affordable, high-quality...
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Emirates and Etihad announce July Phuket flights
Joining in support of reopening Phuket, Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways have both announced flights resuming in July. Etihad Airways will start back up flights from the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi on July 1, while Emirates Airlines will resume flights from Dubai on July 2. Qatar Airways had announced yesterday that they will be resuming flights to…
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Thailand’s quarantine hotels consider move to hybrid model
Hotels currently operating as alternative state quarantine facilities are considering moving to a hybrid model, as bookings drop ahead of Phuket’s re-opening. ASQ hotels say reduced demand means they may adopt a model whereby they accept both quarantining guests and regular guests from the second half of the year. Prin Pathanatham from the ASQ-ALQ Club Thailand says bookings have started…
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Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority details international flight rules
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced some specific flight rules on the procedure for international travellers flying into Phuket after July 1. This comes just after the Tourism Authority of Thailand laid out more general rules for travel within Thailand for international tourists. Tourism officials from TAT and the island have been steadfastly determined to reopen under its…
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KLM to introduce Amsterdam – Phuket flights from October
KLM has announced an expansion to its network from this coming winter, including flights from Amsterdam to Phuket, with a touchdown in Kuala Lumpur. The southern Thai island is one of 6 new destinations being introduced, the others being Mombasa in Kenya, Orlando in the US, Cancun in Mexico, Bridgetown in Barbados, and Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.…
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UPDATE: Phuket extends current Covid restrictions from June 1 “until further notice”
UPDATE: Today’s planned vaccination of foreign staff and teachers at Phuket Headstart International School was cancelled last night at 9pm without explanation. Also information about kids travelling to Phuket with parent from July 1 HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: On one hand Phuket officials are extending restrictions to control the Covid situation, and on the other hand the TAT is talking up the…
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Tourism officials push for “One Night, One Dollar” campaign in Phuket
“…have been suffering from the pandemic for 15 months now. Only mass tourism will save us.” A night at a Phuket resort could drop down to just $1 USD. Tourism officials are pushing for a proposed campaign they call “One Night, One Dollar” to help draw travellers back to the popular tourist island as locals prepare for its July 1…
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Rayong closing 5 tourism islands for 4 months
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced today that they plan on closing 5 popular tourism islands in the Rayong province in the east of Thailand. The islands – Kham Island, Kruay Island, Ku Dee Island, Pla Teen Island, and Talu Island – are set to be closed for 4 months. The announcement stated that the islands…
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Thai Airways introducing limited direct flights between Europe and Phuket
Thai Airways is testing the waters (so to speak) by introducing a limited number of direct flights from Europe to Phuket, ahead of the southern island’s July 1 re-opening. The national carrier, currently in the throes of restructuring after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, has started selling direct flights from 4 European cities to Phuket. According to a Bangkok…
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Domestic tourism in China booming despite Covid-19
With international tourism all but dead for many parts of the world as governments keep borders tightly under control, China is experiencing a renaissance in domestic tourism. Perhaps it’s ahead of the curve, as the first country to deal with Covid-19, or perhaps it’s the strict handling of the virus keeping infections to almost nothing for many months, but a…
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Thailand focuses on international, but needs domestic tourism
With Covid-19 closing borders for more than a year, the damage from losing international tourism has revealed a major weakness in Thailand’s overall tourism strategy. With up to 18% of the country’s GDP brought in by tourism, the disproportionate dependence on foreign travellers and lack of attention to domestic tourism has ravaged the industry and the national economy. Thailand had…
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Tourism officials focus on safety to differentiate Phuket from rest of Thailand
As the clock ticks down to the much-anticipated re-opening of Phuket on July 1, tourism officials are anxious to separate the southern island from parts of the country currently experiencing higher Covid-19 infection rates. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is emphasising the safety element of Phuket and the other areas that will follow the “sandbox” model of re-opening. In a…
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Covid-19 delivers another brutal quarter for airlines
As the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, airlines experienced another terrible quarter, with less passengers and less revenue year-on-year. The president of Bangkok Airways reported dismal numbers saying that the airline is adjusting its flight plans to try to match the depressed market. Only 151,900 travellers flew on Bangkok Airways in the first quarter of 2021, an 88.5% drop over last…
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Koh Samet reopens after being closed for 3 weeks due to Covid-19
Koh Samet off the coast of Rayong has reopened to visitors after being closed for 3 weeks. The Gulf of Thailand island is safe to visit and disease control measures are being enforced, according to the Koh Samet tourism association chairperson told the Bangkok Post. On April 27, the Rayong governor ordered for Koh Samet to be closed to visitors…
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British health secretary tells Brits to bypass Thailand for summer holidays
The British health secretary is telling Brits to bypass countries that are labelled amber, like Thailand, for their summer holidays. Matt Hancock, says those countries labelled by the government’s traffic lights travel guide include Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. The colours denote the Covid situation in each country. He says, instead, for Brits to vacation at home…
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Thai public health and tourism ministers on Phuket to push the July 1 Sandbox reopening
Bangkok has sent a couple of ministerial heavyweights to Phuket today to keep pushing the July 1 ‘Sandbox’ bandwagon, insisting that Phuket will open to fully vaccinated tourists from July 1. The Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ,along with the Sports and Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, are doing the island PR tour today delivering a message from…
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Hua Hin plans to vaccinate residents next month, reopening eyed for October
Next month, 350,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses are planned to be sent to Hua Hin to vaccinate residents and those who work in the tourism industry. As part of the Hua Hin Recharge project, the vaccinations prepares the popular beachside town in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province for the reopening to foreign tourists. The Committee of National Tourism Policy recently approved…
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TAT looks forward to welcoming 129,000 foreign tourists to Phuket
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it expects 129,000 tourists to arrive on the southern island of Phuket in the first 3 months of its re-opening. Officials still insist the island will re-open for quarantine-free travel for vaccinated foreign tourists from July 1. And according to the Bangkok Post, the TAT also plans to team up with airlines to offer…
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Thailand’s airlines call for meeting with PM to discuss soft loans
The Thai Airlines Association says 7 member airlines are pushing for a meeting with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss the option of soft loans. The carriers have been seeking this financial aid for some time and have even decreased the amount being asked for, from 24 billion baht last year to 14 billion now. The Bangkok Post reports that representatives…
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UPDATE: Phuket restrictions and bans extended, new ‘party’ clause added
UPDATE: Including a new clause… “5.2 Participating in eating or drinking of alcohol, in the family home or in any other place of residence, must not be attended by outsiders. In addition, gathering together or the organising of any other activities is prohibited. If the person who violates or commits this offence is a foreigner, the permission to remain living…
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Phuket restrictions and bans to stay in place until end of May
Phuket’s list of current ‘Covid’ restrictions have been extended until at least May 31. All the current levels of restrictions will remain until the end of the month after the Phuket Governor announced the continuation of restrictions this afternoon. Daily new infection numbers continue to add to the island’s total of 556 since the start of April. The island’s latest…
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Covid-19 third wave cuts Thai domestic flights predictions by 38%
The Aeronautical Radio of Thailand is predicting a 38% drop in travel by domestic flights due to the effect of the third wave of Covid-19. Aerothai is a department under the Ministry of Transport that provides aeronautical communication and air traffic control in Thailand. With Covid-19 experiencing a rapid spread beginning in April and not yet under control, infections across…
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Thailand ploughs ahead with plans for re-opening tourist areas
The Thai government says they’re pressing ahead with plans to waive the current mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Bangkok and and 5 other major tourist destinations from October this year as an effort to reboot the country’s battered tourism industry. Dr. Traisulee Traisoranakul from the CCSA says the new measures will provide easier access to the main tourist locations…
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Tourism Minister says Phuket must reach zero infections before July re-opening
The Tourism and Sports Minister insists the southern island of Phuket must record zero Covid-19 cases if a planned July re-opening is to go ahead. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn adds that, should new infections be reported once 70% of the island is vaccinated, the Tourism and Public Health Ministries will work together to decide what action to take. Tourism operators in Phuket…
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Chiang Mai on track to reopen 2 districts to foreign tourists in October
Chiang Mai is still on track to reopen to foreign tourists under the sandbox model this October. The so-called sandbox model would allow foreign tourists, who are vaccinated against Covid-19, to travel to designated areas in Thailand without undergoing quarantine. In Chiang Mai, tourists will be able to travel in the area with tour guides on designated routes. Phuket is…
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Desparate expats in Thailand turn to vaccine tourism
Travelling overseas just to get a prick used to have a much more negative connotation. But with limited supplies and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand, many expats are turning towards vaccine tourism, travelling to another country in order to secure a jab. With recent reports that Thai people will be prioritized and timelines vague for foreigners getting vaccinated, impatient…
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Koh Phi Phi national park closing for 13 days to control Covid-19
Thailand’s Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi national park is closing for 13 days from today because of the current Covid-19 situation Park chief, Prayoon Pongphan, told The Phuket News that the decision was made as Krabi province is seeing a rise in infections. “The number of infected cases in many areas, including Krabi, is increasing. From the disease investigation, it…
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6 of Thailand’s top tourist zones WILL start opening for quarantine-free travel in July – TAT
Full steam ahead. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s insists that the sandbox re-opening plans for 6 of Thailand’s most economically sensitive tourist magnets will start on July 1… July 2021. Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Chiang Mai will, according to the TAT, be open to foreign tourists who have received 2 doses of Covid-19 vaccine (or 1…
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Survey finds nearly half of Thai hotels can stay afloat for less than 3 months
A recent poll of the Thai hotel industry shows that 47% of those surveyed only have enough liquidity to sustain less than 3 months of business. The Bank of Thailand has published its confidence index of hotel business operators for April 2021 and the findings make for grim reading. According to a Nation Thailand report, a total of 188 hotels…
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Samui tourism official calls for inter-provincial travel ban to flatten the curve prior to July re-opening
The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says the island is still pinning its hopes on a July 1 re-opening for vaccinated foreign tourists. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee remains optimistic, despite Thailand now battling a third wave of Covid-19, with Samui reporting 50 infections. He says vaccines are being rolled out out on Samui, although a number of doses have…
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‘One Night In Bangkok’, an unlikely hit about a bygone era in Thailand
“One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free” When ‘One Night In Bangkok’ was released in 1984 it was an unlikely hit. It was the opening song from a (at the time) little-known stage pop-opera called ‘Chess’. The song made Number 1 in South Africa, West Germany, Switzerland and Australia,…
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