Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
-
Sponsored Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Here’s your health checklist before the move
Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Thailand is a popular choice for retirees because of its beautiful landscapes, warm climate, and affordable living. Cities like Chiang Mai and coastal areas offer a relaxed lifestyle with friendly communities. The country also...
-
“Free parking” signs placed at Pattaya pier after complaints of scammers
After numerous complaints that people were soliciting money for parking spaces at Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier, some reportedly asking for up to 500 baht, city officials have installed signs announcing that parking is free and to report if they are being charged for a space. The Pattaya News has reported that the free spaces are located at the blue field…
-
Bangkok land prices rising, but still below pre-pandemic average
While Bangkok land prices are hardly on a tear, they continue to rise even amid the economic uncertainty brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures from the Real Estate Information Centre, known as REIC, show a quarterly rise of 0.5%, and a yearly rise of 7.6%, in the land price index in Greater Bangkok in the third quarter. As reported by…
-
Pacific City Club – Where business and leisure meet
Press Release Bangkok’s Most Prestigious Private Members Club Announces a Special Invitation The Pacific City Club is renowned for being the most prestigious and luxurious private members club in Bangkok since the early 1990s. Situated on the top three floors of the Two Pacific Place building on Sukhumvit Road, the Club is an oasis of calm in the bustling city.…
-
Monday Covid Update: 8,675 new cases; provincial totals
A low of 8,675 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the CCSA. A spokesperson says the daily count is the lowest it has been over the last three months, adding that the low count is “very good news” and hopes the daily case count will soon dip below 8,000. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA…
-
Huge quantities of used medical gloves shipped from Thailand to US
Huge quantities of used medical gloves have been shipped from Thailand as shady operators seek to cash in on Covid-fuelled demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE, according to a report from CNN following a months-long investigation. With demand having skyrocketed around the world, an underground industry based around reusing PPE has emerged in Southeast Asia, with the shoddy medical…
-
Foreign airlines give up 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports amid uncertainty of next 5 months
The managing director of Airports of Thailand says international carriers have returned around 80% of their slots at Thailand’s airports. Nitinai Sirisamatthakarn says around 80% of slots between October 31 and March 26 next year have been returned, indicating that airlines are uncertain about any imminent recovery in the aviation sector. Airport slots are the landing and take-off permissions that…
-
Thai government presents actor Russell Crowe with “thank you” gift basket
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe has met with Thai government officials during his much-publicised travels around Bangkok. The Bangkok Post reports that Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome presented the actor with a gift and flowers to thank him for his positive promotion of Thailand. Crowe, who is filming a movie in Thailand, has tweeted his 2.7 million followers about the friendliness of…
-
Government under pressure to lift alcohol ban, allow nightlife to resume
As Thailand prepares to waive quarantine for vaccinated tourists from low-risk countries, the government is coming under pressure to ease some Covid-19 restrictions. In particular, the Bangkok Post reports on calls to allow restaurants to sell alcohol and for nightlife to resume. Countless bars and clubs remain shuttered, with many operators questioning how Thailand’s re-opening can succeed under such conditions.…
-
Border shacks to be demolished for aiding Burmese immigrants
In a unique twist on a common encroachment story in Thailand, vendor stalls on government land in Kanchanaburi along the highway in Sangklha Buri are being ordered to be demolished. But this time it’s not a land ownership debate, rather the government suspects that the vendor shacks are being used to shelter people after crossing the Burmese border illegally. These…
-
Tourism calls for Russia and India to be added to safe list
Now that the 46 countries that can enter Thailand on November 1 without quarantine have been announced, many in the tourism industry are calling for some notable absences to be added to the list. Tourism groups in major travel hubs are calling on the government to add Russia and India to the list of approved countries, believing it will massively…
-
Bank of Thailand plans real-world test of digital currency in 2022
The Bank of Thailand recently announced plans to do some real-world testing of digital currency in the near future as the popularity of cryptocurrency continues to grow. They plan to test their Central Bank Digital Currency in a real-world environment sometime in the second quarter of 2022. The BOT has been studying the CBDC since 2018 and is aware that…
-
Covid-19 Sunday: Deaths fall to low of 56, provincial data
Today, the CCSA reported 9,351 new Covid-19 infections, down 391 since yesterday, and a long-time low of 56 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 18 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,821,619 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has…
-
Covid-19 in prison: outbreaks from overcrowding now subsiding
The Thai prison system has suffered from an overcrowding problem for years, but the Covid-19 pandemic has starkly illustrated the dangers of it. In prisons, there have been 72,359 Covid-19 infections, making them more infected than any single province except Bangkok (1st) and its neighbours Samut Prakan (2nd) and Samut Sakhon (4th) and Chon Buri (3rd). Thailand has the 6th…
-
Covid-19 deaths receding, but still here; 1 month old baby dies
Deaths as a result of Covid-19 in Thailand have fallen significantly from an average of around 250 at the beginning of last month, and today set a low over the past several months of 56 fatalities. But there is still a human toll to the tragedy of the pandemic, where 18,755 people have died since the beginning of the third…
-
Covid-19 forces 70 private schools out of business, 100 to follow
With Covid-19 shutting down classroom learning for months on end, private schools are struggling, with about 70 going out of business in the past 9 months. The Office of the Private Education Promotion Commission has already received notice from nearly 100 more private schools planning on closing. The president of the Association of Private Education Promotion and Coordination Committee explain that…
-
Thammasat University says vaccines slowed by government docs
After striking several deals to import vaccines, Thammasat University has expressed frustration with how bureaucratic red tape is delaying the arrival of 3 million Moderna vaccines donated from Poland. They called for the government to expedite the process to get the Moderna vaccine into Thailand. The 3 million vaccines that Poland had donated to the university were scheduled to arrive…
-
Thailand reopening roundup: What happens November 1
Things are moving fast towards the November 1 reopening which in the last few days swelled from 10 countries being allowed entry to Thailand to 46 countries, 3 entry plans, replacing the Certificate of Entry, and even an attempt to reopen nightlife. Below is a round-up of the plans as they stand now. “TEST & GO”: COUNTRIES THAT CAN ENTER…
-
Thailand is open for tourism again, sort of
OPINION The opening you have when you’re not quite open. Quarantine-free arrival, except that you’ll still need to book at least 1 night of stay in an approved hotel or AQ (alternative quarantine). No bars are open (officially) and, in most parts of the country, most shops remain closed. In tourist-dependent places like Phuket, more than 90% of the formerly…
-
Thailand Pass website launching, accepted from November 2
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun the process of replacing the Certificate of Entry with the new Thailand Pass which will be accepted from November 2. The Ministry announced that tp.consular.go.th will be live for people arriving in Thailand after November 2 to register for the Thailand Pass. The information comes from the Ministry of Interior’s Phuket office who…
-
Tourism Minister proposes reopening entertainment venues November 1
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha may be opening up Thailand to international travellers, but Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakan is aiming to open up entertainment venues to those international travellers. The Tourism Minister plans on officially proposing that entertainment venues, bars, nightclubs, karaoke lounges, pubs and other nightlife venues be reopening in the Blue Zones, the new term for the…
-
Curfew lifted October 31 for all or part of 17 Thai provinces
Just ahead of the big November 1 reopening to international tourists, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced that curfew will be lifted entirely in all or part of 17 provinces on October 31. The order has already been signed into effect and published in the Royal Gazette late last night. The order means that when the doors are opened to fully…
-
Covid-19 Friday: 66 deaths, 9,810 infections, provincial data
Today, the CCSA reported 9,810 new Covid-19 infections, up 83 since yesterday, and 66 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 7 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,802,526 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 10,513 recoveries, up 438 from…
-
Thai car production expected to grow
Car production in Thailand is expected to grow, according to the Federation of Thai Industries. With the rates of Covid-19 infections falling and the careful management of the semiconductor shortage, the target of 1.6 million units is expected to be surpassed. Lockdowns and other restrictions are being eased in many countries that buy cars produced in Thailand, which means that…
-
Thailand’s focus on wealthy tourists won’t benefit small business
With the November 1 reopening, the government has not been looking to welcome back any and all travellers that want to come to Thailand. Instead, they’ve been narrowly focused on attracting the “right” tourists, attempting to lure wealthy investors and retirees to dump money into Thailand, while often brushing aside the moderate and budget tourists that have for years been…
-
Largest petrochemical producer to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Thailand’s largest petrochemical producer has vowed to do its part in helping in the fight against climate change. PTT Global Chemical Plc announced that by 2030, it intends to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. The company also aims to accomplish the goal of net-zero, or carbon neutrality, by 2050. Carbon neutrality is achieved when the emissions of carbon dioxide…
-
Expect thunderstorms and strong winds in parts of Thailand until Sunday morning
Thailand is expected to see thunderstorms and heavy winds across Thailand that may last through tomorrow. A rain warning was issued for October 21-23. There are easterly and southeasterly winds prevailing over northern Thailand, the Gulf of Thailand, the South and the Andaman Sea. The South will see continuous rains with the Gulf of Thailand seeing wave heights over 1…
-
Road safety group says bad roads to blame for many motorbike accidents
The director of the road safety group, ThaiRAP, says bad roads are a significant contributor to motorbike accidents in the kingdom. Kasem Choocharukul was commenting on Thailand having the highest number of deaths from motorbike accidents in the world. According to a Bangkok Post report, he says 3 out of 4 roads, covering a distance of 1,000 kilometres, have been…
-
Government outlines 3 entry schemes for international travellers from November
With confirmation that international travellers from 46 “low-risk” countries can enter Thailand with minimal quarantine, the government has outlined 3 entry schemes effective from November. The Bangkok Post reports that the first scheme, “Test & Go” will apply to tourists from the aforementioned countries, who will need to show evidence of being fully vaccinated at least 14 days before their…
-
46 countries permitted to enter Thailand from November 1
… and everything you want to know, as of today, about re-entry into Thailand. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just released a list of 46 countries and/or territories that have been approved to take part in the planned reopening of the country from November 1. The list of countries is detailed below as per a .pdf file that was…
-
Court rules “Jo Ferrari” suspect died of deliberate suffocation
In the wake of the Jo Ferrari scandal that uncovered police brutality and opulence in a painfully public way, a court just ruled that the suspect – who died after having his hands tied and plastic bags placed over his head – was the victim of deliberate suffocation. Pol Col Thitisan “Jo Ferrari” Utthanaphon was captured on video in a…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.