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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Thailand's view on gender affirmation surgery
Thailand has long been a world-renowned destination for those seeking gender affirmation surgery (gender reassignment surgery), with agencies like Allied Health (Thailand) helping facilitate this transformative journey. The obvious reason is that the country has built an impressive reputation as...
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Professor: Military government too interested in tourism – not people’s welfare
A professor of Rangsit University has criticised the previous military government for focusing too much on tourism and not enough on the welfare of the Thai people. The professor was speaking at Chulalongkorn University at a seminar discussing street stalls and urban development. She questioned the National Council for Peace and Order’s policy of clearing street vendors in all but a…
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Measures outlined to reach 39.8 million tourists’ target by end of 2019
PHOTO: TAT News – Hua Hin Beach The cabinet of economic ministers has approved 18 measures with the aim of attracting 39.8 million tourists in the coming year. A government spokesperson says the measures “comprise short, medium and long-term initiatives”. They include financial and legal steps to stimulate tourism markets, such as the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale “Passport Privileges” which…
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Finance Ministry approves stimulus package to spur tourism
PHOTO: Among other things, the TAT are organising some big concerts over the last three months of 2019. Some of the 50,000 that attended the BTS ‘Love Yourself’ stadium concert in Bangkok in April 2019. The Finance Ministry has now approved a stimulus package for the last three months of the year to boost Thailand’s tourism sector. The aim is…
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Phuket Town – In CNN Travel’s “Asia’s most picturesque towns”
“Though most famous for its beaches, the Thai island of Phuket offers ample opportunities for cultural immersion as well.” Phuket’s Old Town was listed as one of Asia’s 13 most picturesque towns by CNN Travel. The article mentioned, that whilst the island is renowned for its world-class beaches and leisure, offshore and adventure tourism activities, Phuket Town delivers on romance, history…
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Thai government introduces new measures to improve tourism
Proposed measures to improve tourism in Thailand have been approved in principle by the council of the economic ministers. The steps, proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry, are expected to be put in place before the end of 2019 and will mean an increase in the number of places and agents offering a VAT refund service to visitors to…
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Airbnb reveals top 20 trending world destinations to visit in 2020
Latest Airbnb booking data has revealed growing interest in lesser-known destinations and eco-conscious cities across the globe, as Airbnb travellers look for new, local and authentic travel experiences beyond big cities. Thailand made #3 in the list and it’s not Bangkok, Phuket or Chiang Mai. And Paris, London and Sydney are nowhere to be seen. In Thailand, emerging destinations across…
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Tourists rush to climb Australia’s Uluru before ban kicks in on October 26
by Holly Robertson Large numbers of tourists are rushing to scale ‘Uluru’, aka. Ayers Rock, ahead of a looming ban on climbing the enormous natural monolith in the centre of Australia, sacred to indigenous Australians. Critics have been lashing the last-minute climbers as “ignorant”, saying they’re going against the wishes of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land, the Anangu.…
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Chiang Mai hotels face a quiet end to 2019
PHOTO: Spice Roads Chiang Mai hotels are bracing for a quiet end to 2019, along with other Thai tourist hotspots, due to the strength of the baht, an over-supply of rooms and the growing popularity of home-sharing accommodations like Airbnb. Hoteliers in the northern city are also suffering the fall-out from the smoke haze crisis earlier in the year which…
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Thailand’s changing tourist demographic – the Indians
Take a walk around the markets of Pratunam in downtown Bangkok and you’ll soon discover there’s a new type of tourist in town. For years, Thailand’s tourism scene was dominated by Chinese visitors, with 10.5 million in 2018 alone, accounting for about 28% of total foreign arrivals. It still is. But after the tour boat Phoenix, carrying mostly Chinese tourists, sank off…
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Bangkok’s Dream World has unexpected new attraction
PHOTOS: Matichon Online Upside down roller coaster? Scary Haunted House? Dinosaurs? What’s the exciting new attraction??? The Dream World Amusement Park in Tanyaburi district of Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, has an unexpected new attraction and Instagram opportunity with its, wait for it…. Male toilet. The new men’s urinals have become a hit according to Matichon Online. So what’s all…
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Round two of the “Eat, Shop, Spend” tourism stimulus
Round one of “Eat, Shop, Spend” (Chim, Shop, Chai) was a resounding success with the allotment for registrations completely subscribed on the days of registration. It was a 1,000 baht ‘gift’ to encourage Thais to travel and spend outside their home provinces. Now the government are rolling out the second round of the stimulus packages to keep the local tourism…
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Thomas Cook customers may have to wait 2 month for refunds
PHOTO: Rick Findler/PA Wire Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority says that refunds of bookings by failed travel giant Thomas Cook’s customers could take longer than expected. At this stage the regulator says they don’t have all information needed from the collapsed travel firm. The British Civil Aviation Authority says it was launching a new, online payment system next week for bookings…
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Economic ministers to meet next Monday for economic and tourism ‘Council of War’
The council of economic ministers will meet next Monday, on October 7 in Bangkok, to discuss the current economic and tourism situation. Kobsak Pootrakool, the deputy secretary-general to the PM for political affairs, says the meeting will confront obstacles facing the country’s tourism industry. “The ministers will also discuss the country’s export situation”. The Nation reports that the Commerce Ministry…
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‘Krabi Premium’ launched by the Tourism Authority of Thailand
PHOTO: Sunset Cruise at Nam Mao Bay, Krabi – TAT The Tourism Authority of Thailand Krabi Office is launching its ‘Krabi Premium’ marketing concept aimed at delivering ‘the best of the best’ of the southern Thai province. The TAT says it will offer “meaningful experiences to tourists” to hopefully stimulate spending and generate additional revenue for local communities in the…
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Samui airport ‘spy cam’ taken offline after police raid home of British expat
FILE PHOTO: panvimanresortkohphangan.com Police, immigration and airport authorities have closed down a ‘spy cam’ that was providing real-time video of activities at Koh Samui’s Airport. Police headed to a house next to the Koh Samui Airport after complaints that a CCTV camera was recording take-offs and landings at the airport. The authorities deemed that the camera could pose a security risk.…
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Renting a motorbike in Thailand? Have a valid license.
Transport minister Saksayam Chidchob says he’s intent on tackling Thailand’s shameful road toll. Recognising that motorcycles are the main culprit (75% of road deaths in Thailand involve motorcycles and motorbikes), he’s proposing some new laws, at least for tourists at this stage. Up until now tourists have been easily able to rent a motorcycle by just showing a passport, according…
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12 month “Medical Visa” proposed among updates to Thai visa offerings
A new visa category is being proposed that could allow people to stay in the Kingdom for up to a year for medical treatments. The so-called “Medical Visa” (Non-MT) would visitors to stay for 12 months. The Thai deputy PM and health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and the tourism and sports minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced yesterday that countries that will benefit are wealthy…
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Chinese company rewards 10,000 employees with trip to Pattaya
PHOTO: www.77kaoded.com Chinese firm Aurance has celebrated its 10th anniversary by taking its employees on a trip to Pattaya – all 10,000 of them. And apparently, it’s not the first time they’ve rewarded their staff so generously. Sontaya Khunpluem, mayor of Pattaya welcomed the visitors to a cultural show at Nong Nuch gardens, followed by a bit of Muay Thai…
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Two flying lantern events in Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong get their permits revoked
PHOTO: Rove.me Chiang Mai’s City District Office has scrapped permits previously granted to organisers of two ‘sky lantern’ events that would have released a total of 5,000 flying lanterns during the upcoming Loy Krathong Festival, on November 11. The two events, one at the dinosaur-featuring Hidden Village Chiang Mai attraction and the other at the Royal Park Rajapruek in tambon…
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Thomas Cook demise will affect British tourism to Thailand for the rest of 2019
“British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years.” The failure of the British Thomas Cook travel business will cut the numbers of arrivals from Britain to Thailand for the remainder of this year. Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says they are also assessing a drop in northern-European…
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UK travel giant Thomas Cook collapses leaving 150,000 holiday-makers stranded
PHOTO: Bye bye Thomas Cook – The Independent Thomas Cook, the iconic British travel and airline company, has collapsed after last-minute negotiations failed to find a solution for the debt-ridden company. The tour operator’s failure affects 22,000 jobs worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK alone. Thomas Cook had been operating for 178 years. The company is now bankrupt. The collapse…
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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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Why the Chinese are more important than Western tourists to Thailand
OPINION by Dan Cheeseman – Dan About Thailand We need to wake up and smell the roses, us Westerners are no longer an important group for the Thailand tourism industry – in fact, we are what you would call ‘niche’ – and with good reason. The Chinese are here in numbers and not only will this continue to grow but…
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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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Thailand’s tourism industry ponders drop of Chinese tourists
Thailand’s tourism authorities are getting jittery as the Kingdom continues to bleed Chinese tourists in the wake of a surging baht. They fear Thailand is losing its reputation as one of the most affordable destinations in south east Asia for Chinese tourists. Thailand’s most popular resorts, Pattaya and Phuket, have been particularly suffering from the discernible drop in Chinese visitors. Chinese tourists have…
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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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