Tourism News
Get your daily dose of Tourism News in Thailand with the latest updates on exciting destinations, events, and travel industry developments. We provide relevant and insightful information about Thailand’s diverse travel scene, which includes innovative hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and sustainable tourism practices. Stay informed on various tourism-related matters, including visa policies and major infrastructure projects, to ensure you’re always one step ahead in the vibrant world of travel.
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Sponsored Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers plenty of excitement and adventure, but the local healthcare system can be complex to navigate as an expat. From unique health risks to high costs at private hospitals, having a comprehensive health insurance plan is essential....
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Thai travel agents propose opening borders to tourists from “low risk” Chinese provinces
Foreign tourists are entering Thailand slowly… very slowly. Only around a couple hundred tourists have entered the country since travel restrictions were put in place 7 months ago. Thailand needs to step up, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents. Travel agents warn that around 2 million people could lose their jobs if foreign tourists aren’t allowed to enter…
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Hoteliers to discuss how to revive Thailand’s crippled hospitality industry
The hospitality industry has taken a beating from the pandemic and a 2 year revival plan is now in the works to at least address the urgent problems faced by Thai hotels and hospitality outlets. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is holding a brainstorming session and around 15 hotel operators are expected to join to discuss recovery solutions for the…
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Krabi’s Ao Nang businesses shut up or sell up
Ao Nang, Krabi’s tourist strip, is struggling under the strain of no customers or tourists. Thai Residents reports that there are now at least 10 hotels up for sale valued at billions of baht. Businesses and hotels along the popular Ao Nang tourist strip have been shutting down because of the prolonged closure of Thailand’s borders to general tourism. Even…
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Thai immigration officials confirm several yachts have applied for STV entry
Immigration officials say a number of Special Tourist Visa applications have been received from yachts hoping to enter Thailand. It’s understood most of the yachts, thought to be around 10 in total, are from Malaysia and Singapore, and seeking to dock in Phuket or Pattaya. Archayon Kraithong, deputy commission of the Immigration Bureau, says everyone on board the yachts will…
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TripAdvisor slaps warning on Thailand’s ‘Sea View Resort & Spa’ review page
Be careful if you want to trash a Thai hotel in the land of fragile egos who use the handy tools of eager lawyers and draconian libel laws. Now TripAdvisor, the review website everyone loves to hate, is warning potential travellers to a particular Thai hotel that they could face severe consequences for sharing negative opinions about their experience. One visitor,…
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Secrets in the covid era – the future of Thailand hospitality | VIDEO
Banyan Tree founder KP Ho speaks to Bill Barnett. With a sudden lack of tourists and customers, many Thai hotels had to quickly review their business models and come up with new ways to pay their bills and retain staff. Some succeeded, many didn’t. In fact some hotels have thrived in the face of a seismic change to the hospitality…
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TAT says government has relaxed tourist visa criteria for European nations
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the government has relaxed tourist visa requirements for some countries considered, “medium-risk”, in an effort to kick-start international tourism. Thapanee Kiatphaibool says tourist visa holders can be admitted for up to 60 days, with the possibility of extending their stay to 90 days, adding that, as of November 5, 1,465 foreign nationals have been…
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Health officials declare all recent STV arrivals Covid-free – so far
Thai health officials say that, so far, none of the foreigners who arrived in the Kingdom on the Special Tourist Visa have tested positive for Covid-19. However, they are urging the public to continue with the safety and hygiene measures introduced at the start of the pandemic, after a number of recent asymptomatic cases tested positive outside of quarantine facilities.…
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Less Thais visiting temples due to Covid-19, religious tourism at a loss
While Google searches for “prayers” spiked during the Covid-19 outbreak, people in Thailand are spending less time going to temples to pray. In a recent poll, less people are travelling to temples and making merit due to the pandemic, according to the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office. The office recently did a poll and found that 44% of…
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Government pledges help for Phuket tourism industry
As Phuket’s tourism industry continues to fight for survival amid ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the PM is ordering an advisory team to finish work on recovery proposals received from the private sector and submit them to the government’s Covid-19 task force for approval. Danucha Pichayanan, from the National Economic and Social Development Council, says this is expected to happen shortly, as…
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Play 18 holes during your quarantine in Thailand – new STV proposal
Quarantine, whilst wandering around a golf course, maintaining social distancing of course. That’s the latest STV proposal tabled for consideration by the CCSA to expand the current Special Tourist Visa and quarantine restrictions for golf tourists who may visit Thailand and do their quarantine in a secure golf course, whilst enjoying a few rounds at the same time. The proposal…
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Phuket & Koh Samui face financial ruin in the short to medium term – VIDEO
Phuket and Samui are both islands, fed mostly by arrivals at their international airports. Of course, both remain closed and the islands are trying to survive on a dribble of domestic tourists. And there’s no sign of hope any time soon for the future. Bill Barnett is ‘Mr Hotel & Hospitality’ for Thailand and the region. What does he see…
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10 day quarantine proposal passes first stage of approval
A health sub-committee of the government’s Covid-19 task force has approved a reduction in quarantine from 14 days to 10, for visitors arriving from “safe” countries. They would be those that are at a similar risk level to Thailand, or slightly higher. Those arriving from countries considered “high risk” will still need to carry out 14 days’ quarantine. The proposal…
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Thailand considering no-quarantine travel bubble with China
With no new Special Tourist Visa applications for November, the Thai government is considering a no-quarantine travel bubble plan with China. Officials hope that if approved, the scheme could be put into operation in time for Chinese New Year in February. China currently has 22 low-risk provinces, as they have not recorded a Covid-19 case in over 150 days. The…
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Foreign minister meets with Phuket-based diplomats to discuss the island’s future
The Thai Foreign Minister and Deputy PM, Don Pramudwinai, has met with a group of European and Asian diplomats based in Phuket to discuss the future of the southern island province. Attendees came together to talk about economic stimulus measures that could help Phuket, which has been hit hard by Covid-19 travel restrictions and the closure of Thailand’s borders. According…
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First group of Special Tourist Visa travellers complete quarantine
The first group of foreign tourists to enter Thailand after a 7 month ban due to the pandemic have completed the mandatory 14 day quarantine and are ready to travel the country. Some of them will be visiting beaches, but Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yutthasak Supasorn says their exact whereabouts are confidential. Thai PBS reports 33 tourists, who arrived…
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Tourism Minister optimistic high season will see 10 million domestic trips a month
The Tourism and Sports Minister is aiming to see domestic tourists undertake 10 million trips a month during the forthcoming high season. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is hopeful the stimulus measures approved by Cabinet will boost tourism numbers and help off-set some of the economic devastation caused by the closure of Thailand’s borders. Domestic tourism first began to pick up in May,…
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PM calls for long-term plans to revitalise Phuket and Koh Samui
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is calling for long-term plans to rehabilitate Thailand’s tourist destinations following his visit to Koh Samui and Phuket where he saw first hand how the Covid-19 pandemic affected both islands. Prayut says conditions at Phuket are much more drastic as the province heavily relies on international travel. The prime minister says Phuket generates the second-highest income from…
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Hotels reluctant to apply for ASQ status due to government’s cap on tourist arrivals
With the number of foreign arrivals who can enter Thailand on the special tourist visa limited to just 1,200 a month, hotel owners say they’re reluctant to apply for alternative state quarantine status. Hoteliers say a lack of tourists in sufficient numbers, coupled with the number of quarantine facilities already in existence, means the investment required to gain ASQ approval…
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Government to consider rescue packages for tourism businesses in South
The government will hold a mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket today to consider potential rescue packages for tourism-related businesses that have been ravaged by the closure of international borders. The proposals, which include soft loans for airlines and other businesses, come after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met with Phuket business representatives and local officials yesterday. The Bangkok Post reports that the…
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Minister declares Phuket Airport ready to welcome STV arrivals
The Thai Transport Minister has declared Phuket International Airport ready to welcome tourists arriving under the recently-launched Special Tourist Visa scheme. A similar announcement was also made in the days before the much-discussed October 8 STV tourists who never arrived. Now we wait again… Peppering all these apparent preparations is a visit from the PM and cabinet officials to Phuket.…
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PM in 2 day visit to economically-ravaged islands of Phuket, Samui
The PM and his Cabinet are visiting Phuket and Samui today and tomorrow, in order to meet with business leaders and provincial government, to discuss ways to help the decimated local economies. Since the closure of borders in late March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began its worldwide rampage, former tourist hotspots like the southern islands have borne the brunt of…
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Answering the question, who will fight for Phuket’?
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Thailand’s tourism industry is sadly at the short end of the stick as policies gyrate over the reopening of the country to international travellers, yet no single province has more to lose than the resort island of Phuket. Phuket’s economic engine is leveraged on tourism. It’s a place where on a combined basis, one…
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When hoteliers emerge from 2020, the business will be hard
OPINION Is it time re-imagine the guest relationship? Globally, more than a hundred million travel and hospitality jobs will be lost in 2020 due to Covid-19. Here in Phuket, where I moved in 1988 as the opening general manager at Amanpuri, we have seen as many as 60,000 job losses in the hotel sector alone, which accounts for 86,000 registered rooms,…
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Nearly 5,000 Thai Airways staff to deplane in voluntary resignations
Officially, 4,977 staff at Thai Airways have applied for different stages of its Mutual Separation Plan for the survival of the airline. In other words they’ve been politely asked to resign. The airline employs about 20,000 people. The beleaguered national carrier has endured a decade of substantial losses, endless headlines about systemic corruption, padded senior staff contracts and executive perks.…
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Suvarnabhumi’s new terminal ready for 2022
The extension of the Suvarnabhumi terminal will be operational by the start of 2022, according to Thai transport minister Saksayam Chidchop. The new Satellite Terminal 1 at Suvarnabhumi International Airport will increase the total capacity of Thailand’s largest airport terminal by 15 million passengers a year, allowing the total airport capacity to cope with traffic up to 90 million per…
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From tourist heroes to zero – how the world’s former tourist magnets are coping
If over-tourism became the buzzword in the travel industry in 2019, the opposite applies in 2020 when most of the world’s most popular tourist magnets are now facing a genuine economic crisis, forced on them by government closures and a risk-averse travel public, most of whom are prevented from travel beyond their own borders. We visit Dubrovnik, Santorini, Ibiza, Barcelona,…
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Ang Thong National Park – Thailand’s most beautiful islands?
Today Manit takes you to Thailand’s second-largest island Koh Samui and then on to the stunning Ang Thong National Marine Park off the coast of Surat Thani in the Gulf of Thailand to seek the answer to the question… are the Ang Thong National Marine Park islands Thailand’s most beautiful. Then we will explore a magnificent turquoise lagoon, enjoy paddling…
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PM to visit Phuket on Monday as island’s economy lies in tatters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is to arrive in Phuket on Monday, where he will meet with local business leaders and discuss proposals for reviving the southern island’s devastated tourism sector. It’s understood a representative of Phuket’s Old Town area is to put forward an idea for promoting the historic centre as a tourist destination. Since borders were closed in late March,…
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Health officials propose reducing quarantine to 10 days
Health officials are suggesting cutting mandatory quarantine for international arrivals to 10 days. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the proposal will be submitted to the government’s Covid-19 task force for approval. It’s hoped that a reduction in the quarantine period could help revive Thailand’s battered tourism sector. ”The priority now is to strike a balance between people’s health and the…
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