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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Eastern Thailand province plans “Fun On The Beach’ event
Beach lovers get ready! Thailand’s Eastern province of Rayong will hold its “Fun on the Beach” event next weekend, with 2 Thai bands performing on Leam Charoen Beach. The event will take place from July 1-3, Friday to Sunday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is planning activities and food trucks at the event, as well as fruit buffets. The Thai…
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Koh Samui tourist viewpoint to temporarily close following troubling inspection
A tourist attraction in Koh Samui is set to temporarily close after officials inspected the site. Officials from the southern province of Surat Thani discovered yesterday that Overlap Stone viewpoint had been operating without a business operator licence. Furthermore, there was no bridge construction licence for the bridge that connects to the site’s giant rock mass. Now, the viewpoint is…
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Getting rid of masks and revised closing times in Thailand – waiting for official rubber stamp
Whilst we might be rid of the Thailand Pass on July 1, there appears to be an administrative delay to the changes in mask requirements and changes to the closing times. In clarifying new face mask guidelines, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesperson for CCSA says that all 77 provinces in Thailand would be redesignated as green zones. Previously there were…
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Thai tourism targets half a million Korean visitors by end of the year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand aims to draw in over 500,000 South Korean travellers in 2022 and hopes to increase that to 1.3 million next year. This comes after the easing of travel restrictions in South Korea and Thailand. In 2019, South Korea was an important market for Thailand, with around 1.9 million visitors bringing in 75 billion baht in…
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Airline passengers to reach 83% of pre-pandemic figures in 2023
The International Air Transport Association is confident global airline passenger numbers will reach 83% of pre-pandemic figures in 2023, and the aviation industry’s recovery to profitability will be “within grasp” next year despite ongoing uncertainties. The Covid-19 outbreak caused chaos in the aviation industry, with passenger numbers falling by 60% in 2020 and 50% in 2021. Over the course of…
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That sinking feeling – the Maldives is building a new ‘floating’ country
Run out of space? No problem. Just build another room. In the case of an entire country that is sinking into the Indian Ocean, the situation becomes a bit more acute. Technically, the Maldives isn’t sinking, the sea levels are rising and slowly swamping the low-lying Indian Ocean nation, scattered south west of India. The Maldives, a country of some…
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Come fly with me in Thailand, with a face mask – OPINION
July 1 is looming as the day Thailand really opens up again, with all the ‘Covid’ paperwork (aka. The Thailand Pass) being binned. They’re even scrapping the TM6 form, at least in the short to medium term (maybe permanently?). But if you want a reminder about some of Thailand’s more hypocritical and absurd Covid restrictions, just go for a flight,…
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‘Phuket Durian Fair’ promotes Thailand’s popular fruit for tourism
Hold your nose. Agriculture officials in Phuket have opened the ‘Phuket Durian Fair’ this week, seeking to promote the famous Thai fruit to bring income to local farmers. The Phuket Provincial Agriculture Office held the opening event in front of its offices on Narisorn Road in the island province’s main city district. The late Anthony Bourdain once said of the…
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Thailand to lift 2 – 5pm alcohol sales ban in hotels from July
Thailand seems to be lifting gazillions of restrictions lately. In its latest move announced yesterday, Thailand’s CCSA plans to lift its notorious alcohol sales ban from 2 – 5pm, in hotels at least, starting July 1. According to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, restaurants and tourist attractions may also sell alcohol during this time, at provincial governors’ discretion. Phiphat…
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More drama with Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach vendors
There’s been more drama between beach goers and vendors at Jomtien Beach in the south of Pattaya. A photo posted earlier this week on the Facbeook page ‘Footpath Thai Style’ raised alarm bells about the lack of walking space available on the beach. The photo shows the beach crowded due to street vendors, entrepreneurial locals and other beachgoers. In April,…
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Fare hike on ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan from July 1
Surat Thani province in the south of Thailand announced that fares of ferry services to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan would increase from July 1 onwards due to the rising diesel price. The report revealed that fares had not been raised in more than 14 years. Following the meeting between Surat Thani officials and representatives from ferry businesses on…
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Retire to Thailand? Think again, unless you’ve got the dosh!
Retiring to Thailand is the dream of many foreigners. And why not? The Land of Smiles has it all: sun, sea, sand, sexy senoritas, and a cheap way of living so, let’s do it! But what about the red tape? Is there any? How does Johnny Foreigner retire to Thailand? Well, Thailand’s Board of Investment is set to make an…
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Free massages in Pattaya until end of June
Feeling stressed? A project training aspiring massage therapists is providing free massages at Pattaya City Hall from Monday to Friday from 9am-3pm, on the fourth floor. The project began this week, and will last until June 30. If you’re dying for relief from your hectic daily life, 20 massage trainees are happy to help. Massages are free for both Thais,…
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Completion of Pattaya’s Walking Street postponed again
Pattaya City authorities are kicking the can down the road again. After Pattaya city officials announced last month that construction of the city’s famous Walking Street would finish in August, they now say it will be completed in September (presumably September 2022). The contractor, DD Infrastructure Company, informed Pattaya’s city council chairman that the postponing is due to the delay…
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Democrat MP gives blessing for party-goers to get high
Democrat Party MP, Kanok Wongtrangarn believes the nation’s party zones should be allowed to throw “ganja parties” to draw in more tourists in a bid to boost the Thai economy. Kanok, who quit as deputy leader in April after the party failed to take stronger action over a sex-abuse case, says specific areas, like the Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon…
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Full Moon Party in Koh Pha Ngan sees double the tourists
The third Full Moon Party of the year on Koh Pha Ngan has drawn double the number of tourists to South Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan since the first party back in April. Last night, about 20,000 visitors arrived on the shores of Haad Rin. The tourists passed through 5 checkpoints to be screened for weapons and drugs before they could…
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Government to temporarily waive TM6 immigration forms
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha briefed media yesterday after the cabinet’s weekly meeting and revealed the government has agreed to temporarily scrap the Tor Mor 6 immigration form. The TM6 form is the arrival/departure card foreigners fill in providing passport details, name and address, etc., on their entry and exit from Thailand. Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Traisoranakul says scrapping the TM6 would…
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Phuket desperate for more skilled hotel workers
Hotel managers in Phuket are panicking over a skills shortage in their industry. According to some managers, many skilled and experienced staff left the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, hotels have the numbers of staff needed, but they have half the age and experience of former workers. The area general manager of Angsana Laguna Phuket, Michael Zitek, said at…
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AirAsia targets Indian travellers as China remains grounded
Low-cost Malaysian airline AirAsia is turning to India for international travellers after China cut itself off from the rest of the world. AirAsia, which mostly targets the Southeast Asian market, is experiencing a surge in business from Indian travellers visiting Indonesia and Malaysia. This comes after China, historically one of Thailand’s prime tourism markets, cut itself off from travel with…
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Taxis don’t need to use their meters going out of Bangkok
Taxis licensed in Bangkok are now allowed to drive without using meters outside of the city’s 7 main provinces, allowing more service flexibility. Taxi drivers and passengers travelling outside of these 7 provinces will have to negotiate prices instead of using metres. The 7 provinces include Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Chachoengsao, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi. Taxis and…
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Central Pattana’s 10 billion baht investment in 37 new hotels
Central Pattana is launching 37 hotels in 27 provinces in Thailand with 4,000 rooms, valued at a total of 10 billion baht, under the Centara Hotels and Resorts brand. The kingdom’s largest retail property development and investment company aims to hire about 3,900 people across the country in the process. The company will focus primarily on second-tier locations, as it…
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Suvarnabhumi increases check-in counters in preparation for high season tourists
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is increasing the number of check-in counters in preparation for an upcoming surge of tourists. But the ‘surge’ is still a few months away. The nation’s capital city is expecting around 70,000 travellers to arrive per day, and for it to increase to 100,000 people per day during the high season. Suvarnabhumi Airport General Manager, Kittipong Kittikachon,…
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Thailand’s tourist entry charge delayed until Q4
Tourist tax, tourist surcharge, call it what you want. The Tourism and Sports Ministry yesterday said that they need more time before the 300 baht tourism “fee” is introduced. The tourism fee was penciled in for discussion at this week’s cabinet meeting but the ministry withdrew the proposal. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Tourism and Sports Minister, says fee collection for tourists arriving…
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5 million Indian tourists in Pattaya this year?
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is making optimistic predictions about Indian tourists arriving in the Kingdom, this time in Pattaya! TAT officials announced yesterday that TAT expects 5 million tourists to visit Pattaya by the end of this 2022. Just last week, TAT said that its goal for the number of Indian tourists in Thailand overall was 3,000 per day…
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Hospitels close the door on Covid and hotels reopen for business as usual
With Covid-19 projected to be labelled as endemic next month, hospitels and alternate quarantine sites have resumed normal operations. Hospitels are hotels that provided rooms for people who had mild Covid symptoms. They helped ease the strain on the kingdom’s hospitals during the peak period of the coronavirus pandemic. But now the service is consigned to history, according to the…
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Tourism minister calls for an end to the Thailand Pass scheme
The queue to beat up on the much-hated Thailand Pass is growing longer by the day. Now Thailand’s Tourism Minister is joining in. Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakan, says he will use the next Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting to push PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to pull the plug on the Thailand Pass digital gateway. If the scheme is…
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Famed cabaret show sold out as tourists flock to Pattaya after 2 years of closure
“Life is a cabaret old chum”, so sang Liza Minnelli’s character in the musical Cabaret, and it was no different in Pattaya at the weekend. Every seat was sold out at the famous Alcazar theatre after it reopened on Friday night for the first time in 2 years. Following the official easing of restrictions on entertainment venues on June 1,…
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Check-in mayhem for Thai Airways flights last Friday
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has ordered airlines and airports to make urgent adjustments after acknowledging long queues for Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi airport. The early morning flight check in delays at the Thai Airways counters in Suvarnabhumi Airport was caused by a lack of check-in staff at the Thai Airways counters, according to the Civil Aviation…
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Don’t forget Bangkok’s first real Pride parade tomorrow
In case you didn’t know, Bangkok will hold its first real Pride parade tomorrow (Sunday), Bangkok Naruemit Pride, as a celebration of Thailand’s LGBT+ community. The parade is set to start at 4pm at Maha Uma Devi Temple, a Hindu temple sometimes called ‘Wat Khaek’ or ‘South Asian temple’ in Thai slang. The temple is located on Pan Road and…
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