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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Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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Tourist number limitations mulled for tourist spots after reopening
As the government considers allowing the resumption of more businesses and activities, the Department of Health, under the Ministry of Public Health, is pushing for measures to curb the number of visitors to tourist spots, to prevent a surge in Covid-19 transmission. The DOH director-general says that even though some restrictions on domestic travel have been relaxed, travellers should adopt…
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Covid-19 crisis sees nearly 100 Koh Samui hotels put up for sale
The economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sectors has been inestimable, with foreign arrivals banned since March and hotels nationwide ordered shut in April. Some around the country have since re-opened but nearly 100 hotels on the tourist island of Koh Samui are now for sale. The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui…
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Phuket’s hotels can now open. Someone forgot to tell the hotels.
Phuket is open. Sort of. And the hotels on the island are officially allowed to re-open but few are flinging open their doors anytime soon to welcome the hordes of tourists lining up to book a room. The holiday island is in a Catch 22 situation with the hotels waiting for the guests to return and potential visitors waiting until…
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Phuket governor courts envoys of 16 nations to promote tourism
“I would like Phuket to organise activities leading the consulates from various countries to travel to Phuket in order to see the beautiful tourist attractions and to promote tourism for Phuket.” Phuket’s governor called yesterday for foreign envoys to visit and inspect Phuket for themselves as a mark of confidence that the island is ready to receive tourists. The call…
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TAT will use domestic tourism as dress rehearsal for international returns
“…the tourism sector will continue to be stifled by disease control measures until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.” Due to the current ban on international arrivals, extended several times and now in effect until at least July, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has created a strategy to support domestic tourism and “learn from the experience”, as it eases into the…
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As Thailand’s beaches reopen, crowds flock back
Yesterday, the Queen’s birthday and a public holiday, saw many of Thailand’s popular beaches heaving with visitors as they reopened for the first time since their closure by the Emergency Decree in March. People across the country took advantage of the easing of inter-provincial travel restrictions that took effect Monday. Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach in Chon Buri was almost…
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No date for resumption of international arrivals: PM
In an apparent effort to quell rumours and undue optimism, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is downplaying the notion that international tourists will be allowed to return to Thailand in July. The government had set a tentative deadline of 1 July for lifting all restrictions put in place under the Emergency Decree to combat the spread of Covid-19. Last week it was…
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Major makeover proposed for Pattaya’s Walking Street
… but few are impressed. Images on the Facebook page of Pattaya City reveal plans for a major re-imagining and makeover of one of the resort’s most notable, and notorious, landmarks – Walking Street. Gone are the grotty road, broken pavements and lurid signs and frontages, and in their place will be an easy to navigate walking area fit for…
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PM says Thailand needs to guard against easing lock-down too early
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is appealing to Thai citizens to be patient when it comes to entering Phase 4 of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. Phase 4 would be the final phase and include the re-opening of bars and pubs. The PM says easing of the lock-down must be done gradually and with caution and will require full cooperation from…
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Travelling Bangkok’s klongs with Manit
Should you move to Thailand? In this video I interviewed my friend @Christopher Lau , originally from California, USA and got a little insight of his experience behind living in Thailand for two years. Then I took him for the famous canal boat ride in “Klong Saen Saep” Bangkok. By the end of the vlog we had a very delightful…
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Tourist and environment groups share concerns for new access piers for Maya Bay
The Chairman of Krabi Tourism Industry Council has shared his concerns about new piers and landing facilities on Koh Phi Phi Ley after being made aware that the Department of National Parks had the initiative to build a pier so tourist can travel by foot to Loh Samah Bay area behind Maya Bay, Ao Nang Subdistrict, Muang District, Krabi. Maya…
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Phuket officially reopens Monday, but with restrictions
Phuket is scheduled to reopen to outsiders on Monday, to coincide with the start of Phase 3 of the easing of Emergency Decree restrictions enacted to fight the spread of Covid-19. It will also be a pleasant respite for the islanders who have been cooped up on the island since the last week of March. Phuket’s outgoing governor says his…
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Government to introduce financial incentives to boost domestic tourism
The Thai government is set to introduce some financial sweeteners to stimulate domestic tourism – essentially paying its citizens to holiday in their own country. A report in Bangkok Biz News, says that from July, Thai nationals will receive a discount of between 40-50% on hotel accommodation within the Kingdom. The scheme, aimed at a domestic kick-start to the country’s…
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July 1 will end all lockdowns in Thailand, including international travel
The Thai government says it will lift all remaining business and activity lockdowns on July 1, according to the National Security Council chief. “This includes interprovincial and international travel, as well as the end of emergency decree and curfew.” The lift of all restrictions, imposed under the country’s emergency decree, would be a “complete reopening of the country”. Officials and…
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Bank report predicts extended timeframe for Thai tourism recovery
As the severity of the current situation facing Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry starts to sink in, Kasikorn Bank Research Centre have released a report with some stark predictions. Thailand’s tourism and hospitality industry faces losses of 1.69 trillion baht in 2020 and recovery “may not be clearly evident” next year. The report also foreshadows strict ‘new normal’ procedures as government measures…
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Horse riding makes a comeback on Hua Hin beaches
From next Friday, horses are expected back on the beaches of Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Thailand. It follows the easing of more Covid-19 restrictions last week as Prachuap Khiri Khan officials allowed some businesses, including horse-riding operations, to reopen. It’s understood that hotels, department stores and shopping malls are also back in business. Hua Hin is starting to…
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Thailand depending on Chinese travellers for tourist reboot
Thailand is looking to China to rebuild its battered travel industry. As the Covid-19 pandemic subsides in Asia, countries are discussing the idea of “travel bubbles,” in which reciprocal nations establish guidelines that enable their citizens to move freely across their borders. The wider tourism industry accounts for 18-20% of Thailand’s GDP and provides jobs for almost a tenth of…
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“Amazing Trusted Thailand” – tourism rebrands
International tourists still can’t enter Thailand, so the country is using this time to rebrand their tourism promotions. The aim is to add some “trust” in regards to the country’s health profile with hopes that tourists will visit Thailand worry-free. Tourism is going from the “Amazing Thailand” brand to “Amazing Trusted Thailand.” The intention is that they want tourists to…
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Hotels across Thailand angered by European tour group’s failure to pay up
Around 173 Thai hotels are appealing to the PM for help after a European tour group reneged on up to 2 billion baht in unpaid bills. Daily News reports that the TUI tour group has left hotels in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani struggling with significant cash flow problems after trying to renegotiate its contract so that it would…
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Phi Phi’s Maya Bay won’t reopen until fully rehabilitated
Maya Bay, Krabi’s main tourist attraction since it was featured in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio film ‘The Beach’, will remain closed as natural rehabilitation of the beach and bay continues, after vast areas of coral were destroyed by excess tourism and boat traffic. Indefinitely. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says that in future boats will not be allowed…
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Phuket’s economy is more than just tourism
by Bill Barnett While Phuket’s brand and economic reality is that nearly half of its contribution to GPP (gross provincial product) comes from tourism is true, it’s important to understand that there are other generators that will aid in the island’s post-crisis recovery. The island’s real estate sector, that currently has a market value of over 100 billion baht (according…
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Tourism sector prepares to resume business
Businesses that have been battered by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those in the Eastern Economic Corridor (straddling Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao provinces) that rely mainly on tourism, are in desperate need of support. But the vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce says it’s still too early to predict when tourism will recover, as it largely relies on arrivals…
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Thai billionaire urges government to allow tourists to return
The senior chairman of Thailand’s largest food and agriculture business, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP All), is appealing to the Thai government to open up the country to overseas visitors once more. The Bangkok Post reports that billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont says Thailand needs to start easing travel restrictions in a bid to restart the tourism industry. “Thailand’s economic losses from the lockdown…
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South Korea asks Thailand to remove it from list of “high risk” countries
South Korea is asking to be removed from Thailand’s list of “high-risk” countries. The list was drawn up in early March, when South Korea was second only to China for Covid-19 case numbers. It now ranks 40th, and is considered one of the countries most successful at managing the outbreak. To date, none of the 7,000 Thai citizens, who have…
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Major slump in tourists expected this year
It’s not looking to good for Thailand’s tourism industry. This year will have the lowest numbers the country has seen in over a decade, and that’s assuming there’s some reopenings for international travel sometime later in the year. With the coronavirus pandemic freezing up international travel, the number of foreign tourists are expected to fall by 65% this year, according…
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Phuket’s tourist-driven economy faces crisis – Phuket Chamber of Commerce
Phuket’s tourism-driven economy is facing what one city official calls a crisis, comparing the economic impact to what it was after the 2004 tsunami. Phuket’s economy has become increasingly focused on tourism and hospitality over the past 2 decades. The Phuket Chamber of Commerce President Thunusak Phungdet said at a meeting last Thursday that Phuket has no income right now.…
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Foreigners arrested for swimming at closed Pattaya beaches – VIDEO
Police in Pattaya arrested 3 foreigners who were violating public orders to stay off of public beaches at around noon today, at the back of a hotel in the province’s Pratumnak area. Pattaya City police officers told reporters they issued several soft warnings to the foreigners while they were in the water, but they refused to stop swimming and simply…
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Thailand’s hotels face more pain after European tour group asks to defer debt
Hotels in Thailand, particularly in Phuket and some surrounding regions, have been hit with a double whammy. First the whole Covid-19-related wipe-out, now a cash-flow problem brought about after the TUI Group – an Anglo-German multinational travel and tourism company – has stalled repayments for hotel rooms. The amount owed to Thailand hotels is believed to exceed 2 billion baht. TUI is…
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Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market is reopening
Chatuchak, Jatujak, JJ, whatever you choose to call it, Bangkok’s legendary weekend market is reopening tomorrow. The massive indoor/outdoor market, popular with both Thai and foreign tourists, will reopen this weekend after weeks of being shuttered, but visitors will be required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks…. you know the drill. Walaya Wattanarat, deputy permanent secretary of the…
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Air Asia publishes fit-to-fly guidelines when they take to Asia’s skies again
Captain Ling Liong Tien, the Chief Safety Officer @ AirAsia, has sent out an email to customers laying down a detailed list of new requirements for early-adopters in the post-covid regional travel world. It doesn’t look like a lot of fun, but there will at least be a means for airlines, airline staff, and passengers, to again take to the skies…
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