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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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UK travel icon Thomas Cook bankrupt, stranding tourists
PHOTO: Axios.com “This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.” British travel giant Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy today after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal. The collapse triggers the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178 year…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Thai tourist numbers recover mid-year after a shaky few months in Q2
After a few dips in April and May, tourists to Thailand flocked back, up 4.72% for July compared to a year earlier. Tourist arrivals in June were up a much more modest .89%. 3.33 million tourists visited the country during July and spent 167.3 billion baht (USD5.47 billion), up 3.11% from a year earlier. Visitors from China, where there’s been…
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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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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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Khao San Road vendors petition the BMA to postpone renovation
Street vendors in Bangkok’s chaotic ‘backpacker central’, Khao San Road, are lobbying the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority’s (BMA) plans to give the popular tourist street a makeover and clear stalls that have clogged up the sidewalks for decades. Read the earlier Thaiger story HERE. A formal letter has been submitted to Bangkok’s governor Aswin Kwanmuang. Vendors have been resisting attempts by…
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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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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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Thai’s go west during rainy season – study
Thailand’s rainy season might be bad for the country’s beach hot spots but is typically associated with travel to the western regions of the country, where nature becomes its most beautiful during the period. New data from Hotels.com reveals a 26% jump in searches among Thai travellers for accommodation in the Western region over the past 12 months. The data…
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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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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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Central opens first luxury outlet at Suvarnabhumi on August 31
Central Village, “Thailand’s first international luxury outlet”, located near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, will officially open on August 31. The Nation reports that the design of the 5 billion baht facility, owned by the Central Pattana group, will “highlight Thai architecture and cultural identities” and shoppers will find at least 130 well known international luxury and lifestyle brands. “More than half…
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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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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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Thailand’s Koh Chang by numbers, another island on the rise
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Despite being one of the country’s biggest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Chang has remained somewhat off the mass tourism development footprint. C9 Hotelworks has taken a look into what makes the island tick in their newly released Koh Chang Tourism Market Review. Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat in far…
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