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 Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Here’s your health checklist before the move
Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Thailand is a popular choice for retirees because of its beautiful landscapes, warm climate, and affordable living. Cities like Chiang Mai and coastal areas offer a relaxed lifestyle with friendly communities. The country also...
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Tourist breaks Singaporean law by consuming cannabis in Thailand
A Singaporean tourist says she didn’t mean to consume cannabis in Thailand in July. Weed might be legal in the Land of Smiles, but it is still a crime for Singaporeans to consume cannabis at home and abroad. Sueanne said she ate a “very nice bowl of noodles” in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, that were so delicious that she ordered…
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Phuket real estate shifts tide in wake of urban flight
Urban flight and a continuous stream of incoming lifestyle residents to Phuket are dramatically shifting Southeast Asia’s leading resort real estate market landscape. The new island property mantra is dominated by surging demand for single-family homes and larger condominiums. Phuket has witnessed a sharp change from 2019 when over 9 million tourists sought a place in the sun, highlighted by…
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Pattaya official urges mayor to expand legal nightlife zone
A Pattaya official proposed that Mayor Poramase Ngampiches expand the city’s legal nightlife zone. Pattaya City Council member Damrongkiat Pinitkan made the proposal in a meeting on Friday. Damrongkiat argued that current zones, which have not changed since 2002, are archaic. Damrongkiat noted that rules only allow operators to run entertainment venues on the right side of Pattaya Third Road…
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Carnival Magic theme park opens in Phuket to fanfare
After launching on Tuesday, the bright and energetic new theme park Carnival Magic has attracted local Thais and international tourists flooding to Phuket. The park is the first of several scheduled to open throughout the country in the next few months as tourists return to Thailand and companies race to provide exciting new attractions for them. Safari World is the…
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Artists create sci-fi versions of Bangkok
Several artists are creating sci-fi versions of Bangkok in their work. Two filmmakers, a painter, and illustrators are imagining Bangkok with ghosts, AI, and snow in Bangkok. One filmmaker, Stephan Zlotescu, has produced a film about an AI robot falling in love with a woman in Bangkok. The AI takes over a man’s body to pursue the woman. The film,…
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TAT looks to draw more Japanese tourists to Thailand with new campaign
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is looking to draw in more Japanese tourists. TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn announced that TAT will introduce a new partnership campaign in the last three months of the year called “It’s Time to Go To Thailand”. The campaign aims to increase Japanese tourists’ average spending per trip, which right now is only 6,400 baht, the…
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Price hike in vegetables prior to Phuket Vegetarian Festival
Phuket is seeing a jump in its vegetable prices as the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival is coming up on September 26. The prices of many vegetables have shot up on average from five to 20 baht per kilogram. The prices on other vegetarian ingredients have bumped up as well. Vegetable prices usually increase in Phuket before and during the festival…
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New plans to expand Bangkok’s nightlife tourism
New plans are underway to help expand Bangkok’s nightlife tourism. Bangkok Governor Chadchar Sittipunt said yesterday that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is talking to experts about decorating some areas so they can become attractions. These are mainly spots in downtown areas and riverside zones, he said. Chadchart has also announced a plan for Bangkok to become a sister city of…
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Agoda: Thailand leading Asia bookings post-pandemic
Popular booking website Agoda says Thailand is one of the first Asian countries to see tourism rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic. Omri Morgenshtern, Agoda’s chief executive says even though the inbound search rate for Thailand on the website was 39% lower than in the same period in 2019, it has begun to rise since the beginning of 2022. “Thailand is…
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Tourism is rebounding but travellers expected to spend less
A government spokesperson is saying that tourism is nearly back to pre-Covid levels, though the Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects travellers will spend less money than previously predicted. Since January, 5 million international travellers have now landed in Thailand, about half the amount the government forecasted by the end of the year. One million tourists entered during September, garnering…
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Six airlines offer 300 baht discount on domestic flights in Thailand
Get 300 baht off domestic flights in the Land of Smiles under the project “Discounts All Over the Sky, Fly All Over Thailand.” The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Thai Airlines Association jointly launched the special offer in the hopes of stimulating the economy through domestic tourism this high season. Six airlines joined the scheme to offer 300…
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Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism
In their latest effort at pumping up domestic tourism numbers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is teaming up with bus operators to send out convoys of coaches around the country. The TAT hopes commissioning over 500 tour buses will not only put to work bus drivers and other associated workers but also spur interest for Thai people to hop…
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Shrines preparing for Phuket’s upcoming vegetarian festival
Phuket‘s annual vegetarian festival is right around the corner, coming up on September 26 to October 4. Now, city workers and volunteers are helping Chinese shrines prepare for the festival. Yesterday, teams helped scrub the forecourts of the main shrines participating in the celebration, including the Pud Jor and Jui Tui shrines in the main city district. Phuket’s Vice Governor…
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Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks
So many businesses in the entertainment sector were flattened by the Covid-19 global pandemic. But with tourism beginning to pick up, and sunny predictions for the fourth quarter after a rained-out third quarter of 2022, theme parks and water parks are pumping money into a flood of new attractions in Thailand in the coming months. Current theme parks have been…
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Over 5 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 9 months
A Thai government spokesperson has announced yesterday that over five million foreign tourists arrived in the ‘land of smiles’ between January 1 and September 8. The total number of foreign visitors was 5,018,172, said spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says the biggest group of tourists came from Malaysia, with 751,397 arrivals. Up next was India, with…
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Green Expo Returns to PHIST, Southeast Asia’s Leading Sustainability Forum
Press Release Banpu NEXT, is a leading smart energy solutions provider in the Asia Pacific under Banpu PCL. As the long-term partner in clean energy technology, Banpu NEXT creates total Smart Energy Solutions to help customers across industries and stages of business operation and achieve their ESG/SDG goals and build up values and opportunities for sustainable business growth while bringing…
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The return of the begpacker sparks online debate
While the Covid-19 pandemic brought tourism to a screeching halt in Thailand much to the detriment of millions of people’s livelihood and the country’s economy, one thing that the majority of people did not seem to miss has now reared its ugly head again. Social media erupted over the return of the much-maligned begpacker trend as photos of one in…
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More tourists are venturing into rural Thailand, says Airbnb
Airbnb says more tourists in Thailand are opting for ‘off-the-beaten-track’ destinations, benefiting the environment and local economies. Thailand’s usual top tourist destinations are places with international airports – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Phuket. According to Airbnb, more tourists are venturing out of these hubs and into “lesser-known” destinations such as Koh Lanta, Trat, Pai and Cha-Am. Koh Lanta…
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Venues surveyed in Thailand say they make the most money at later hours
Night venues recently surveyed by Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry made known that tourists spend the most money in the early hours of the morning. The venues surveyed were located in the tourist hotspots of Koh Samui, Phang Nga, and Khao San Road in Bangkok. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told the press yesterday… “The results suggested that tourists…
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Thailand rekindles historical ties with Greece
Thailand’s Governor of Tourism was in Greece today to meet his Greek counterpart in a bid to resurrect tourism and promote the previous historic relationship shared between the two nations. Yuthasak Supasorn met with Olympia Anastasopoulou, General Secretary of Tourism Policy & Development, in the Greek capital to revive a tourism cooperation memorandum signed by both countries 16 years ago.…
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Brit stranded in Thailand after tour operator removes flight
A British taxi driver is furious he’s been stranded in Thailand after his tour operator cancelled his flight home. Paul Henstock, from the Midlands, revealed he is supposed to be on his dream holiday after a tragedy almost left him permanently disabled. The 54 year old said he’d saved hard for the 10 weeks’ trip after an accident in the…
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Study uses mobile data to improve domestic tourism trends
A new study used mobile data from mobile operator DTAC’s customers to analyse their movements and extrapolate strategies for increasing domestic tourism within Thailand. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and Boonmee Lab, and used data from June 2020 to October 2021 of 10% of DTAC’s customers who fit the travel parameters…
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Proposal would allow small hotels to operate as a homestay
The Ministry of Interior’s proposal for relaxing regulations on small homestay hotels has been met with opposition from the Thai Hotels Association. The plan would expand a “homestay” exemption in the Hotel Act for small businesses with no more than 20 guests in no more than four rooms, increasing the maximum size and occupancy to 10 rooms and 30 guests.…
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Bridge over troubled waters for Thailand-bound Russian snowbird tourists
Russian travellers have ritually sought out islands in the tropical sun since the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hellbent on escaping bitterly cold winters, these snowbirds in the lead-up years to the pandemic became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s mass market tourism surge. Now, coming out of the pandemic in the age of a return…
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Driver who blocked van at Phuket pier: “We are NOT taxi mafia”
A scuffle between taxi drivers at the Rassada Pier in Phuket on Friday, with three female and one male tourist trapped in the middle, has taxi drivers at the pier arguing that they are not mafia. The travellers had just returned from Koh Phi Phi just after 10am and chose not to use their transportation from the stand at the…
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Thailand to boost tourism revenue by hosting Indian weddings, says TAT
Indian weddings are a “multi-billion dollar industry” that Thailand plans on tapping into, according to Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Siripakorn Chaewsamoot. The TAT said they want to bump up Thailand’s tourism revenue for 2022 up to 600 – 700 billion baht (US$16 – 19 billion) by the end of the year by targeting high-spending groups…
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50 dogs join owners on pet-friendly flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Nok Air provided a chartered flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai allowing pet owners to bring their furry friends along with them. The flight, named ‘Paws Can Fly Season 1’ saw about 50 dogs tag along with their owners yesterday from Don Mueang International Airport to Chiang Mai International Airport. There were reportedly several influencers and actresses on the chartered…
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Budget airline Thai AirAsia X to launch two Thailand – Australia routes
Budget airline Thai AirAsia X will launch two direct routes between Thailand and Australia in December. The airline will fly from Bangkok to both Melbourne, and Sydney, beginning December 1 and 2 this year, respectively. The Bangkok to Sydney route will fly four times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The Bangkok to Melbourne route will fly thrice…
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Get freebies and special offers with this app launched by Tourism Authority of Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and partners have launched a mobile application called the “TAGTHAi Pass,” designed to be a handy tool for tourists to make the most out of their stay in the kingdom. Tourists who download the free TAGTHAi application will benefit from various freebies and deals. Not to be confused with the renounced Thailand Pass, the…
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Thailand ‘tourist tax’ to come into effect next year
Starting next year, foreigners entering Thailand by plane will have to pay an entry fee of 300 baht. The “tourist tax” was originally intended to be imposed at the start of this year, but its implementation was delayed to give Thailand’s tourism industry a chance to recover from the pandemic. The fee will be introduced “next year,” according to Thailand’s…
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