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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Voice TV report paints grim picture of Thailand’s tourism problems
Natthapong La-orwong of the Sofitel group claims that Thai tourism is suffering, and the lack of European visitors is part of the problem. The comments were made in a Voice TV report that paints a grim picture of the Thai tourism outlook in 2019, according to ThaiVisa. Voice TV is unpopular withThai authorities with its forthright assessments and has been taken off…
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New branding for the old town – tweaking Phuket’s Old Town
PHOTO: Many renovated buildings and putting the crappy overhead cabling underground is bringing the old town alive Though Phuket remains among the world’s most popular tourist destinations, injecting some 477 billion baht to the Thai economy, with its “Pearl of the Andaman Sea” branding, its future status is being questioned due to competition from Indonesia and Vietnam. In response, Phuket…
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Obligatory travel insurance for visitors to Thailand? Don’t worry about it for now, says government
Chote Trachu, representing the Thai Ministry for Tourism and Sports, says tourists visiting Thailand don’t have to worry about the mandatory requirement for travel insurance at this time. Thailand’s tourism industry is currently experiencing some challenges, explains the Ministry’s spokesperson, and for this reason, the requirement for all visitors to have travel insurance is being postponed until 2020 – or…
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Thai poll favours new airport in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok
Sanook report that most Thais are in favour of building a new airport in Nakhon Pathom, 57 kilometres west of the capital Bangkok. The old Don Mueang airport is to the north of Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi, to the east. In a Nida Poll 65% of respondents thought the new airport in Nakhon Pathom was a good idea citing benefits to tourism and the…
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Thailand Finance Minister confident of success with “cash for tourists” incentive
PHOTO: ThaiVisa.com With 32,000 businesses having already signed up to the government’s “Eat, Shop, Use” tourism-stimulus campaign, the Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana says he’s confident it will be a success, and that thousands more will sign up before the deadline of September 20. Retailers, restaurateurs and service agencies can sign up to the campaign through the Thung Ngern Pracharat mobile…
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Uptick in Thai tourism – August arrivals up 5.6%
Foreign tourists arrivals in Thailand rose 5.6% last month compared to a year earlier, with Chinese visitor numbers rebounding strongly, according to audited numbers published by the tourism and sports ministry. (Percentages rounded up to the nearest .1) Revenue from the 3.41 million foreign arrivals in August was 170 billion baht, up 7.1% year-on-year. The number of Chinese tourists, Thailand’s largest…
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Hundreds of Pattaya tour guides rounded up in crackdown
PHOTOS: Sophon Cable TV A crackdown by the tourist police in Pattaya had resulted in 475 tour guides being fined for disregarding regulations related to tour company business, since the start of 2019. Sophon Cable TV report that local tourist police chief Lt-Col Piyapong Ensarn says eighteen illegal tour guides face a year in prison or fines up to 100,000…
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Welcome to Wat Samphran, unlike any Thai temple you’ve seen
The Emerald Buddha? The Grand Palace? Khao San Road? A cruise on the Chao Phraya? And now for something completely different. It’s big, it’s pink and it’s unlike any temple you’ve ever seen. Wat Samphran, aka. The Dragon Temple, is located about 40 kilometres west of the city centre of Bangkok in Nakhon Pathom. Somehow this excessive architectural wonder has…
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Police warn about the dangers of visiting Thailand, directly contradicting Tourism Minister
PHOTO: Shutterstock Following the claim of Thailand’s Tourism Minister earlier this week that Thailand is “a completely safe environment”, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police appears to have directly contradicted that statement. Pol Col Krissana Patanacharoen is warning tourists and business visitors about the dangers of Thailand, after a taxi driver allegedly robbed a Chinese tourist of millions of…
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Indian visitors to Phuket surge whilst total numbers drop
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com The soaring number of Indian visitors to Phuket for the first seven months of 2019 has propelled Indian tourists into the Top 5 arrivals for the first time. Arrivals from India from January – July, compared to the same period in 2018, grew 354%, amassing a total of 186,360 arrivals. Mainland Chinese arrival figures continue…
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The Suvarnabhumi shopping shambles
Retailers want ‘in’ at the world’s 21st busiest airport in the world. With through-traffic of 60 million+ each year, and growing, Thailand’s biggest retailers want a slice of the passenger spend. But if you can’t get a shop inside the airport, build your own shopping centre just outside to capture passengers, and some of their money, just before they arrive at the…
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Swimmers at Surin Beach left without lifesavers as Council removes funding
The President of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor (municipality), Ma Ann Samran, has not renewed the monthly contract for lifeguards protecting Surin Beach on Phuket’s west coast. As of yesterday, there are now no duty lifeguards keeping swimmers out of the water when the waves become dangerous, or saving them when they get into difficulty. Police arrived late yesterday afternoon at…
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Koh Samui is looking to the skies, an island tethered to an airline
by Bill Barnett “I’m looking to the sky to save me. Looking for a sign of life” There is much to be said about the Thailand’s phenomenal rise in tourism over the past decade and that trend has eclipsed the borders of the Kingdom into other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Fueled by a rising Asian consumer…
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Bangkok Airways posts losses, Samui routes performing badly
Following the opening of its swanky new passenger lounges at the Phuket Airport last week, Bangkok Airways has just posted a net loss of 190 million baht for the first half of 2019. In posting the figures yesterday the company’s President promised to turn results around in the second half of the year to ensure an annual profit. The Koh…
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Plans to ease Arrivals congestion at Bangkok’s airports
PHOTO: Bangkok.com The government has ordered an increase in the number of check-in counters and officials at Bangkok’s Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports from next month. It’s understood that the move is a result of severe overcrowding, as both airports struggle to cope with the growing number of tourists in need of visas on arrival. A government spokesperson says the…
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New 222 room development announced for Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach
A new 222 room development for Mai Khao Beach, on the northern coastline of Phuket, is currently undergoing its environmental impact assessment. Thai-Chinese Property Holdings has announced it is partnering with APlan Properties to develop the new hotel and residence project, Radisson Phuket Mai Khao Beach. The development is costing 1.6 billion baht and will be operated by the Radisson…
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Bangkok Airways opens new lounges at Phuket Airport
Bangkok Airways has opened up its new passenger lounge at the Phuket International Airport domestic terminal, offering Bangkok Airways passengers somewhere to sit, relax and snack while waiting for their flights. The popular Bangkok Airways lounge has been missing since the old domestic airport had a man-over in the past two years. There are now three lounges, separating the Premier…
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New rules to fine bad practices with tour guides and tour companies
PHOTO: Tiger Tours Thailand The Tourism Department is hoping to fast-track the penalising of unregistered and illegal tour guides and the tour companies using them. The Department will propose amendments to the tourism business and tour guide act so that penalties will be able to be imposed on violators more expediently. Thaweesak Wanitcharoen, director general of the Tourism Department, says…
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Japan’s Okinawa takes on Bali and Phuket
by Bill Barnett While Okinawa is often called the Hawaii of Japan, a changing Asian travelscape driven by low-cost airline carriers is seeing the resort destination attract a rising number of regional tourists. Last year, arrivals hit 9.84 million which is now elevating the market to the likes Asia’s twin resort icons, Bali and Phuket. Summing up the current shift…
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Airports of Thailand block entrance to new Central Village at Suvarnabhumi
PHOTO: The Nation Please be seated and fasten your seat belts due to severe turbulence at the front of the almost-open Central Village “luxury outlet” shopping area next to Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. A dispute between Airports of Thailand and Central Pattana, the owners of Central Village, has hit some mid-air turbulence after AOT officials set up tents blocking the entrance…
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British tourist killed at Phuket resort, Norwegian charged
PHOTO: Tourist Assistance Centre A late night fight that broke out at a Karon resort has ended in a Norwegian man killing a British tourist. The fight started at 4.00am, when British national Amitpal Singh Bajaj, who was on holiday with his Singaporean wife and two young children, confronted Roger Bullman over the amount of noise coming from his room.…
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More than four million guests stayed in an Airbnb on August 10, 2019
“Airbnb has created an opportunity to meet people from all around the world.” – Pim, an Airbnb Host in Thailand Exactly 11 years since Airbnb was founded, the home-sharing hospitality company and ‘accommodation disrupters’ celebrated its biggest night ever, with more than 4 million people spending the night in an Airbnb listing on August 10, 2019. To date, there has…
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Arrival projections for Thai tourism downgraded for 2019
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has downgraded the forecast for foreign arrivals this year to a range of 39-39.8 million. This is down from the upbeat projections at the start of the year that 40.2 million tourists would arrive in the Land of Smiles. Thai tourism for the first half of 2019 grew only 1.4%, less than expected, prompting…
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Bars and clubs in Thailand open until 4.00am? Not everyone is in favour
PHOTO: Hotels.com Some academics oppose the Tourism and Sports Minister’s idea to allow entertainment venues to remain open until 4.00am. Udomsak Saengow of the Centre for Alcohol Studies is one of those suggesting that more research is needed before such a move. “Civic groups have worked hard to limit access to alcohol and they succeeded in lobbying for shortening the…
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Proposal to offer 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian visitors steam-rolled
The new Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn’s proposal to provide 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian tourists, was steam-rolled yesterday by Cabinet. The cabinet resolved instead to extend the fee waiver on visas for visitors from China, India and other countries in the program. The program will now be extended beyond October 31 this year to…
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TAT proposes 4am closing time at nightspots to promote tourism…ummmmm
The Thai government are coming up with new ideas to actually lure people to visit Thailand. Go figure!?! Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is suggesting to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to extend the closing hours of night entertainment establishments in Thailand’s party zones by another 2 hours, from 2am until 4am. Of course, in most of the…
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Greater Pattaya hosts hotel and tourism forum
On Thursday, September 5 a hotel and tourism market update event covering Greater Pattaya will be held at the Holiday Inn Pattaya. Jointly organised by industry leaders STR, Horwath HTL, C9 Hotelworks and the AMCHAM Thailand, the event will feature key hospitality operating and performance metrics. A special panel on the emerging trend of hotel residences will include senior executives from…
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Thai Tourism Minister pushes ahead with visa-free entry for Indian, Chinese visitors
PHOTO: ThaiVisa Despite criticism from both the Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and Deputy Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, the Tourism and Sports Minister says he will push on with plans for visa-free entry for Chinese and Indian tourists. Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn plans to put the proposal to Cabinet on August 20, despite the national security concerns of both ministers. “I…
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‘One Night In Bangkok’. The song, 35 years later
PHOTO: Doi Kuro, Bangkok 1980 When ‘One Night In Bangkok’ was released in 1984 it was an unlikely hit- 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, and Number 3 in Canada and the United States. It has remained a staple of…
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Thai foreign minister criticises visa waiver proposal
The Foreign Ministry opposes the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s proposal to waive visas for Indian and Chinese tourists, calling it a “risk to national security”. The proposal was put forward at a meeting last Friday, as part of a series of measures to boost the economy through an injection of over 300 billion baht in tourism. It would permit Chinese and…
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