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 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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No more sandbox: Phuket private sector calls for full re-opening by December 1
The vice-president of the Phuket Tourism Association says businesses on the island need it to fully re-open by December 1 if they are to survive. According to a Bangkok Post report, Nanthida Atiset says fully re-opening the island could generate over 210 billion baht in revenue, adding that the sandbox scheme is simply not enough. “Only over 20,000 tourists have…
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Phuket Sandbox draws 28,000 travellers, 1.634 billion baht
The Phuket Sandbox has been lauded as a success and derided as a failure, but officials have released some raw data over the past few days that indicates the programme falls somewhere in between. Immigration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have reported on total incoming travellers and their opinions, and the Economics Tourism and Sports Division of the Tourism and…
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Jetstar launches weekly flights between Phuket and Singapore
Now that flight restrictions are finally easing, Jetstar Asia Airways has launched a weekly flight between Singapore and Phuket. The first flight departed Singapore Friday evening and arrived at Phuket International Airport an hour and 40 minutes later. The inaugural Jetstar flight was greeted with fanfare by various airport staff including the Deputy Director of Phuket Airport Operations and Maintenance. The…
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Tourists flood Khao Yai Park after viral video of curious bear
Attendance at Khao Yai National Park has boomed so much thanks to a viral video that they are now having to limit the number of people who can visit. People were drawn to the park after a video was posted to Facebook showing an Asian black bear visiting a food stall in the park attempting to eat an omelette and…
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Suvarnabhumi’s ranking plummets in World’s Best Airports index
The results of this year’s World’s Best Airports awards are in, and in the last 10 years, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi has taken a nosedive from number 13 to 66. The awards, voted for by passengers, are run annually by UK consultancy, Skytrax. This year’s results were decided by an online survey that ran for a 12-month period between August 2020 and…
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Pattaya officials concerned high costs of Covid tests will deter foreign tourists
Tourism officials in Pattaya are concerned that the demands being made of foreign tourists, including multiple costly Covid tests, will put people off visiting. Pattaya hopes to re-open quarantine-free under a sealed route scheme, but Thanet Supornsahasrungsi from the Chon Buri Tourism Council has expressed concern about the costs involved for visitors. The Bangkok Post reports that Pattaya is eyeing…
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Tourism Minister defends PM’s re-opening plan on day 3 of no-confidence debate
Thailand’s Tourism Minister has defended the PM’s promise to re-open the country, pointing out that Bangkok and another 4 provinces should be in a position to welcome tourists from next month. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the re-opening of those 5 provinces will be followed by a further 21 provinces around the country. He was speaking during yesterday’s no-confidence debate against PM…
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Hua Hin opts for quarantine-free re-opening, similar to Phuket sandbox
The head of Hua Hin Recharge, which aims to re-open the popular tourist spot from October 1, says the programme will be similar to the Phuket sandbox scheme. Krod Rojanastien adds that he’s confident Hua Hin can achieve the required herd immunity in time. The Bangkok Post reports that as of yesterday, 55% of Hua Hin’s 90,564 residents have been…
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Thailand tourism officials call for restrictions on Indian tourists to be lifted
Tourism officials say Thailand should allow Indian tourists to visit the country again as the Covid-19 situation in India has significantly improved. There have been no commercial flights between Thailand and India since April when Thai authorities suspended the issuance of Certificates of Entry, which are mandatory to enter the country, to Indian nationals due to the emergence of the…
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Koh Larn resorts accused of encroaching on coastlines
The island of Koh Larn, just off the coast of Pattaya, is the centre of a controversy as officials are threatening to pursue 39 private resorts accused of illegally encroaching on the coastlines. The Pattaya Marine Office says these resorts are cutting off the sea from the public, violating the Thai law that reserves beaches as state land and not…
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Thailand to be added to UK “red list” from Monday
Bad news for British sandboxers on Phuket or elsewhere, as well as anyone else planning to travel from Thailand to the UK: the country is being added to the UK’s red list. The British Department of Transport says that from Monday, Thailand joins Montenegro as the 2 new additions to the UK government’s red list. This means UK residents arriving…
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Phuket hoteliers looking to winter wonderland to bolster the Sandbox
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com As the Phuket Sandbox program continues to be the international gateway for overseas travellers to Thailand, island hoteliers are looking at what the winter season could look like. Traditionally a legacy market, many visitors during this period are called ‘snowbirds’ and are from Northern and Eastern Europe. Snowbird travellers are long-stay visitors, with a key…
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Covid-19 task force to debate partial re-opening of Thailand in line with PM’s pledge
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is expected to debate a plan to re-open the country before the end of the year, in line with the PM’s pledge last June. Back then, Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to re-open the country within 120 days, but Covid-19 infections have risen significantly since those words were uttered. Despite this, the Bangkok Post reports that…
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Phuket tourists rescued after being caught 3 kilometres off-shore while kayaking
Phuket Tourist Police have rescued a Dutch couple who became trapped 3 kilometres off-shore while kayaking. The Pattaya News reports that strong waves meant the couple, who are on the island as part of the sandbox scheme, were unable to paddle back to shore. The incident happened around 1.30pm yesterday, with police responding to a report of the couple’s plight.…
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Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen
Chiang Mai, which recently reported that, due to the Covid-19 situation and slow vaccination, they will delay their planned September reopening to October at the earliest, like many tourism areas that have seen plans to welcome back international tourists dashed by the intensity of the pandemic in Thailand. Now Pattaya has also acknowledged that their plan for reopening on September…
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Charming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later
With Covid-19 still running rampant in Thailand, several tourist locations that were anticipating reopening in August or September are revising their plans to push back until October or later. Officials say that Chiang Mai will now delay their plans to reopen to international tourists due to Covid-19 issues. The deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced yesterday that…
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Phuket Sandbox order revises rules to cancel or modify
A new updated Phuket Provincial Order revises the international reopening scheme to include the new Sandbox 7+7 program but also slips in a revision to the parameters for cancellation or modification of the Phuket Sandbox. The order issued yesterday mostly revises the rules to include conditions for travelling to other destinations in Thailand after the first 7 days in Phuket.…
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Airlines pushing for September reopening for domestic flights
Struggling airlines are backing a push to reopen domestic flights in September from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, a hub for low-cost carriers. Negotiations are in progress with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, and budget airlines to create travel and safety regulations to resume flights. Airlines are struggling to remain liquid as nearly all domestic…
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Thailand planning travel bubble with South Korea once Covid crisis eases
Thailand plans to launch a travel bubble arrangement with South Korea once the Covid-19 situation improves, according to tourism officials. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the plan would allow for quarantine-free travel between the 2 countries, with hopes it will provide Thailand with a much-needed tourism boost. The plan has been confirmed by the TAT’s Thanet Petchsuwan, who will…
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Flights from Phuket to Bangkok to resume for sandbox tourists next month
Domestic flights from Phuket to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports are set to resume next month, according to the Transport Ministry. The Bangkok Post reports that the flights are being given the green light to facilitate the travel needs of tourists in Phuket as part of the island’s sandbox re-opening scheme. On July 21, the Civil Aviation Authority of…
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Happy Paradise plan to welcome tourists, encourage spending
In an attempt to boost revenues and welcome more tourists to the Phuket Sandbox and beyond, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a “Happy Paradise” programme. The plan aims at creating activities and excitement for Sandbox travellers and has kicked off with 1,000 Happy Paradise Welcome Kits. The program helps to invigorate not just Phuket arrivals, but also travellers…
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Betong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport
Thailand’s southernmost province is set to open Thailand’s southernmost airport as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is nearing completion of safety inspections for Betong International Airport in Yala province. The CAAT is doing safety and security inspections now, which will be followed by a license and certification that will allow commercial flights to operate in and out of the…
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Vietjet to launch 4 direct cross-country routes from September
From next month, Vietjet will resume a number of domestic routes between Thai provinces without the need to connect in Bangkok. The carrier is promoting 4 routes for around 389 baht when taxes and other fees are factored in. According to TTR Weekly, the airline has dropped its 1pm – 3pm booking window so passengers now have more time to…
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CCSA approves Sputnik vaccine, allowing Russian Sandboxers
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration quietly okayed the Russian Sputnik vaccine as one of the accepted vaccine brands for international travellers entering Sandbox destinations in Thailand. The vaccine had previously failed to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration for import and use in Thailand. The Department of Disease Control is now expected to approve the order from…
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TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19
Many of the original Sandbox-style plans to reopen tourist destinations to international travellers have been delayed as Covid-19 outbreaks spread and domestic travel has been mostly shut down, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still hoping to launch its 7+7 model to allow Phuket Sandbox travellers to stay one week before continuing on to a handful of other destinations.…
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Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated
A sweeping new announcement from Canada’s Transport Minister at a virtual press conference yesterday declared that most passengers travelling commercially in Canada will be required to be vaccinated by this fall. The new requirement will apply to anyone travelling by plane, interprovincial train, and cruise ships or other ” large marine vessels with overnight accommodations”. Canada has 71% of people…
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Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism
Doubting PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to reopen Thailand fully to international tourists by mid-October, the Thai Hotels Association is calling on the government to focus on plans to boost domestic tourism. The association says that the Thai government is laser-focused on international tourism and on achieving the reopening goal, but a backup plan is needed to encourage domestic tourism if…
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Phuket Sandbox Express Bus to be ended August 16
On the back of the news that the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has approved airlines to schedule charter flights in and out of Phuket, officials announced that the Sandbox Express Bus set up last week to transport Phuket Sandbox travellers to their exit flights from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport will be discontinued after August 16. The bus was set up…
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Phuket officials identify “risky” tourist spots following holidaymaker’s murder
Following the murder of a Swiss tourist at an isolated waterfall on the island of Phuket last week, officials have been busy identifying other potential danger spots. Nation Thailand reports that the Phuket sandbox command centre has named 6 locations that could pose a risk to tourists. Provincial governor Narong Woonciew has called on local authorities to tighten security at…
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Tourism officials to launch major Phuket marketing campaign overseas
Following the recent murder of a Swiss tourist, and the US government advising citizens to avoid travel to Thailand, Phuket’s tourism sector faces some serious challenges. The southern island re-opened to international tourists on July 1 under its sandbox scheme but now officials fear that may be in jeopardy. The Bangkok Post reports that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is…
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