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 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...
-
AirAsia X disagrees with government’s proposed tourism fee
AirAsia X’s chief executive disagrees with the Thai government’s proposal of a tourism fee on flights. Tony Fernandes, the acting group chief executive of AirAsia X says, instead, that the government should bank on the influx of travellers as aiding the economy. He says the tourism fee would be a smaller impact on the economy than an increase in tourism.…
-
Central department stores to get facelift funding
The Central department stores, seen throughout Thailand and other countries, may be looking a lot less shabby as the retail giant has approved a 15 billion baht makeover for its stores. Central Department Store Co, under Central Retail Corporation, has approved the funding as part of its efforts to expand the retail business from 2023 to 2027. Oliver Bron, the…
-
Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
-
Thailand to apply alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer
Not only is Thailand planning on increasing existing tax on all types of alcohol, but it also plans on applying alcohol tax to non-alcoholic beer, according to Director-General of the Revenue Department Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Ekniti said that the department will increase tax on all types of alcohol, in the fiscal year 2023, to help combat alcoholism among Thailand’s youth. More…
-
Horny monk sexually harasses former OnlyFans actor
A former gay OnlyFans actor claims he was sexually harassed yesterday by a randy monk in his clothing store in a shopping mall in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat. The former OnlyFans actor, who goes by the name of Graf, posted a video of the alleged horny monk on his TikTok account @graf19. The video caption said……
-
Gran’s drowning attempt thwarted by her strong swimming ability
An 81 year old granny from the Baan Pom sub-district in Mueng Ayutthaya district tried to kill herself by drowning yesterday because she felt a burden on her family. But her attempted suicide failed when she was fished out of the Chao Phraya River at 7am by a fish farm owner – four hours and 20 kilometres after she took…
-
Small hotels call for looser regulations to allow them to be legal
Hot on the heels of the Ministry of Interior proposing to loosen laws that would let small hotels operate more simply as homestays, a coalition of hotel associations is calling for a relaxation of building guidelines that have made 20,000 small hotels illegal. The group of 10 hotel and tourism associations submitted a letter on June 29 to the prime…
-
Thailand importing 2nd gen vaccines, producing 3 domestically
Next month should see the start of procurement of the second generation of Covid-19 vaccines, as the Ministry of Public Health plans to import them to Thailand. The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) will convene to discuss the plan sometime in October, according to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control. Up for debate is how many vaccines are…
-
2nd of 3 statements to court may support PM Prayut until 2025
The ongoing saga continues of whether suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will be able to extend his tenure more than the eight years he has already served, with speculation rife about a court document suggesting his constitutional eight years ends in 2025. The Constitutional Court is currently considering a pitch by Prayut himself as well as documents from two legal…
-
New study shows smallpox vaccine ineffective against monkeypox
Despite previous hopes, the Department of Medical Sciences warned that most adults and seniors who have been previously vaccinated against smallpox are not protected from monkeypox, unfortunately. The news comes after testing in labs of people who received the smallpox vaccine when they were younger and are now over 40 showed no correlation between the inoculation and any immunity from…
-
Locals pray to blue snake in northeast Thailand
On Sunday, villagers in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand spotted a blue snake in a tree that has never been seen before in Thailand. Villagers lit incense and prayed to the snake, believing it is sure to bring them good luck. Isaan is brimming with snakes, but no one has ever reported seeing this kind of snake before. The bright…
-
New MRT Pink Line causes flood to local school & community
The director of a school in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok said a flood to her school and nearby community is because of construction work to a new train station for the MRT Pink Line. The school director filed a complaint with the police and urged the construction company to take responsibility. The provincial governor demanded that the water is drained…
-
Opening day of 2022 welfare sees 1.86 million people register
Yesterday marked the opening date for registration for state welfare for 2022, and people flooded the registration process both online and in person. By 3pm on the opening day, officials reported that 1.86 million people across Thailand had already registered for the state welfare card project. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, who also serves as the director-general of…
-
Study uses mobile data to improve domestic tourism trends
A new study used mobile data from mobile operator DTAC’s customers to analyse their movements and extrapolate strategies for increasing domestic tourism within Thailand. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and Boonmee Lab, and used data from June 2020 to October 2021 of 10% of DTAC’s customers who fit the travel parameters…
-
Woman bitten by cockroach suffers allergic reaction in Thailand
A Burmese woman suffered a serious allergic reaction to being bitten by a cockroach while she slept in Kanchanaburi province, in the central part of Thailand. The 40 year old Burmese woman, Minor, woke with a start, nudging her sleeping husband saying she felt as if she had been bitten. He husband switched on the light to find a big…
-
Proposal would allow small hotels to operate as a homestay
The Ministry of Interior’s proposal for relaxing regulations on small homestay hotels has been met with opposition from the Thai Hotels Association. The plan would expand a “homestay” exemption in the Hotel Act for small businesses with no more than 20 guests in no more than four rooms, increasing the maximum size and occupancy to 10 rooms and 30 guests.…
-
Hike on traffic fines delayed, but ticket prices will be consistant
Writing news in Thailand frequently means announcing something and then the next day announcing the opposite. And true to form, the new major hike in penalty fines for traffic violations announced before the weekend and scheduled to go into effect yesterday… have been retracted. But when they do go into effect, repeat offenders will be further penalised, and a new…
-
British tourist hospitalised after accident at the Grand Canyon in northern Thailand
A 21 year old British tourist ended up in hospital after a backflip gone wrong off a giant inflatable at the notoriously dangerous ‘Grand Canyon’ water park in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The Grand Canyon – somewhat less spectacular than its American counterpart but still beautiful – is located in a once-deserted quarry in the Hang Dong district. The park…
-
Sweary tuk tuk driver tries to rip off tourists in Bangkok
A sweary Thai tuk tuk driver who tried to rip off a Singaporean couple on holiday in Bangkok has been fined by police and ordered to take a good driving awareness programme. The tuk tuk driver, Thongkham Cherdchai, picked up John Chen and his girlfriend on Sunday at about 2.45pm at Central World. The couple wanted to go to their…
-
Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
-
Truck carrying elephant overturns in northern Thailand
A rescue mission has been launched for a badly injured elephant after the truck transporting it overturned in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, this morning. The elephant could not get up due to its injuries. At 10.23am today, Thai Elephant Alliance posted a picture of the injured elephant, named ‘Pooh Kham’ on its Facebook page. Thai Elephant Alliance said they…
-
Thai minister quits post to fight alleged impropriety charge
Nipon Boonyamanee today quit his position as Deputy Interior Minister to fight an alleged corruption and misconduct case. Nipon is to face trial in the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on a charge of malfeasance, or impropriety, for refusing to pay about 52 million baht to Ponlavit Tech Plus Company for the purchase of two multi-purpose trucks while…
-
Royalists in Thailand target one-man German activist
Police are under pressure from royalists to prosecute the German activist who staged a one-man protest against the government of Thailand. The founder and leader of the King Protection Group, Songchai Nienhorm, filed a complaint against the activist, Moritz Pfoh, at Nua Khlong police station in Nua Khlong district of Krabi on Saturday. Songchai is urging police to take action…
-
Thailand provides over 600,000 free cancer treatments in 9 months
Under the universal healthcare ‘Gold Card’ scheme, the government of Thailand provided 603,060 free cancer treatments in nine months. The free cancer treatments were provided by the National Health Security Office between October 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to Deputy Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The number exceeded the government’s expectations by almost double. The government initially predicted that the…
-
Bridge over troubled waters for Thailand-bound Russian snowbird tourists
Russian travellers have ritually sought out islands in the tropical sun since the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hellbent on escaping bitterly cold winters, these snowbirds in the lead-up years to the pandemic became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s mass market tourism surge. Now, coming out of the pandemic in the age of a return…
-
Cat goes missing in Hat Yai, turns up 1000km away in Bangkok, Thailand
‘Moota’ the stripy cat turned up in Bangkok after going missing more than one month ago, almost 1000 kilometres away near the border of Malaysia in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, southern Thailand. On Wednesday, the Facebook page ‘Traffic on the Si Rat – Outer Ring Road Expressway of Bangkok‘ posted pictures of a beautiful striped cat with a red collar…
-
Phuket hotels team up with HSMAI for digital tourism and travel marketing workshop
Phuket’s tourism industry continues to wait and wonder when Mainland Chinese will be allowed to travel overseas, in the wake of China’s zero-Covid policy. As Thailand’s leading resort island moves towards the high season, hoteliers are looking to bridge the China gap and look to new markets to replace the expected lower volume of travel-challenged Russian tourists. Addressing these challenges is…
-
Machine invented to replace monkeys climbing coconut trees
Monkeys climbing coconut trees have been an icon in Thailand for years, but have also drawn the ire of animal rights groups like People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Now the Agriculture Department has invented a machine that can help farmers climb coconut trees themselves, eliminating the need to train and use monkeys to harvest coconuts. PETA released…
-
Ice Woman: Interview with the world’s first Thai Wim Hof Method instructor
Kam Waritsara, aka ‘Thai Ice Woman,’ is the first Thai-certified Wim Hof Method (WHM) instructor in the world. Once Kam tried and tested the WHM, it became such an important part of her life that she vowed to make the technique accessible to Thai people. The WHM – discovered by Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof – comprises three pillars: breathwork,…
-
UPDATE: Governor rushing to feed over 800 Phuket flood victims
UPDATE Phuket Governor Narong is rushing to get food to over 800 victims of the island province’s recent floods. A total of 871 people, making up 372 households, have been affected by heavy floods that hit Phuket on Friday. Narong yesterday led officials in handing out 1,800 meals to people at Wat Nai Yang temple in the Thalang district. This…
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.