Business
Phuket Airport shops given three days to clean up, or get out

PHUKET: Owners of the stores operating inside Phuket International Airport have until Thursday to present official proof from the Airports of Thailand (AoT) that they have permission to operate, or see their shops shut down, a Navy captain has warned.
“Any airport shops open past the deadline without the appropriate papers posted at the store, or found selling products not listed on the permit, will be ordered to close immediately,” said Capt Somphong Narkthong of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based in Phuket, who led the airport sweep this morning (story here).
The military has set a July 31 deadline for all illegal operators, including taxis, to be cleared out of Phuket’s critical tourism portal, Capt Somphong explained.
“The army will be patrolling the airport 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from now until the end of the month in order to stamp out illegal operations,” he said.
“One place they will patrol is outside the airport terminal building to look for any illegal taxis. If they find one, an Army officer stationed at the exit will be notified and will stop and question the driver before the taxi will be allowed to leave the premises.
“We also have information about a taxi mafia operating here. We are collecting more evidence in the hope of making an arrest soon.”
Capt Somphong declined to name any suspects or reveal the number of taxis allegedly involved in the mafia.
“Army officers will need cooperation from taxi passengers in order to have success and increase safety of customers at the airport. We hope that they can understand our situation,” he added.
The crackdown this morning netted three illegal shop vendors, one taxi service counter offering services beyond its permitted scope, and two black-plate taxi drivers.
“We found two illegal black-plate taxi drivers transferring customers from Patong and Karon to the airport, one taxi service counter selling SIM cards and top-ups to foreigners, and three shops inside the airport that had expired contracts,” said Capt Somphong.
“These three shops have to move out by Thursday; the taxi service counter operators have been warned; and the taxi drivers have been blacklisted.”
— Saran Mitrarat
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)4 days ago
Foreign tourists must use Covid-19 tracking app when travelling to Thailand
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
International travellers allowed to transit Thailand from Monday
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
PM Prayut postponing Covid‐19 vaccination citing paperwork issues
- Crime3 days ago
Motorbike taxi attacked tourist in Pattaya because he was annoyed
- Bangkok2 days ago
Bangkok police raid house where model died after playing hostess
- Crime3 days ago
Thai man accidentally kills himself with homemade bomb
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)4 days ago
Did the Covid-19 virus actually originate in Thailand? | VIDEO
- Eastern Thailand3 days ago
Roadtrippers take a break at petrol station only to find dead body under car