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.
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Airlines raise concerns over Thailand’s 300-baht tourism fee, coming in Q3
Thailand continues to be a troublesome destination for airlines keen on resuming flights into the Kingdom. Firstly with the lingering Thailand Pass digital gateway, and now a new tourism tax (which will include compulsory insurance). Thailand’s tourism ministry has confirmed the proposed 300 baht tourism fee looks set to be implemented from the third quarter of 2022. Ministry official Mongkon…
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Government says Thailand Pass not being cancelled, being “streamlined”
The Thai government says the Thailand Pass is not being cancelled (at least, not for now) but the process will be streamlined to make it faster and more convenient. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Sumanee Wacharasint from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the cancellation of Test & Go from May 1 means there will no longer…
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31 land border checkpoints in 17 provinces to reopen on May 1
Land border checkpoints in 17 border provinces will reopen on May 1, according to the Department of Disease Control. Vaccinated Thai citizens and travellers from neighbouring countries can enter Thailand via the checkpoints. Foreigners will still need to register for Thailand Pass prior to entering via land border. Today, Assistant Spokesperson of the Covid-19 Situation Administration Centre Sumanee Watcharasin revealed…
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BTS urges passengers not to cross their legs while sitting
Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain is asking for cooperation from the passengers to avoid crossing their legs while sitting on the train during a rush hour to avoid annoying people… Yesterday, the official Facebook page รถไฟฟ้าบีทีเอส (BTS Skytrain) published a post saying… “We ask for your cooperation, please do not cross your legs while sitting on the skytrain. Admin would like to…
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Survey says Thailand’s worker’s debt has hit a high after over a decade
A survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce says the average debt of each worker’s household in Thailand is 217,000 baht this year. This is a 14 year high for Thailand. At the end of 2021, the country’s overall household debt was 14.6 trillion baht, one of the highest in Asia, per capita. Most service sector workers…
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Woman drowns in Chao Phraya River
A 42 year old woman has drowned in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River this afternoon. The woman was washing her clothes on the riverbank in the Phra Pradaeng District in Samut Prakan province, between Bangkok and the mouth of the river, when she fell into the water. At 12:30 today, officers from Phra Pradaeng Police Station received a report of a…
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Officials inspect Phuket airport ahead of entry restriction ease
Ahead of Thailand’s plan to ease entry restrictions starting May 1, officials have inspected a Phuket airport yesterday to inspect how ready it was for an expected rise in tourist numbers. The secretary-general of Thailand’s National Security Council went to make sure Phuket International Airport was ready to welcome tourists back to the island province. Among the officials joining the…
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Suicide among young people in Thailand has increased ‘alarmingly’
Suicide rates among Thai teenagers and young adults in Thailand have increased ‘alarmingly’ over the past five years, according to Thailand’s Department of Mental Health. The department’s director-general blames the high rates of suicide on increased stress caused by impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thailand, the Land of Smiles, has the highest suicide rate in Southeast Asia. In 2021, there…
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Robber arrested after attacking, stealing from disabled man in Pattaya
Police arrested a man in Pattaya yesterday who allegedly violently attacked and stole from a disabled man on Monday. The robber, 26 year old Tanaphon ‘Beer’ Janthamol, admitted to robbing the man, a lottery ticket seller who is in a wheelchair, while under the influence of methamphetamine. The ticket seller, 39 year old Surachet Sithong, said he was rolling down…
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Price of ‘Mama’ noodles to increase
One of the cheapest ways to satisfy your hunger in Thailand is to eat instant ‘Mama’ noodles, which have cost an affordable 6 baht per packet since 2014. However, Mama’s producer said they plan to increase the price of their instant noodles next month to compensate for rising costs of transport and raw materials. Thailand’s Minister of Commerce said he…
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Melbourne City player mocks Bangkok Glass players’ height during match
Thai football fans are calling for Melbourne City FC to apologise on behalf of a player who mocked the height of two Thai football players during an AFC Champions League match between A-league club Melbourne City and Bangkok Glass, or BG Pathum United FC, at the BG Stadium in Pathum Thani province yesterday. Melbourne’s 34 year old defender Rostyn Griffiths,…
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Thursday Covid Update: 14,887 new cases; provincial totals
127 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 28,271 with 6,573 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 14,437 new Covid-19 cases and 18,509 recoveries. There are now 158,768 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. The trend in daily infections continues…
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Rector of top university caught secretly photographing female flight attendants
The rector of a top university in Thailand, later specified as Silpakorn University’s rector, has been identified whilst secretly taking pictures of female flight attendants on board a flight. The pictures he took went viral on Thai social media after netizens saw his sexually inappropriate caption… “I always take pictures of the flight attendants and send them to junior team…
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Doi Suthep’s controversial land and houses returned to treasury department
After almost 4 years of waiting, protests and arguments, the Court had returned the controversial land and housing project at the foot of Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai to the Treasury Department. The Department’s Director-General revealed 45 houses would be demolished, and land would be adjusted for the “benefit of the residents”. For the other 9 condominiums in the area,…
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Thailand officials say diesel will be 32 baht per litre from May 1
Get ready to say goodbye to Thailand’s 30 baht per litre price cap on diesel on May 1. Starting on Sunday, the price will be 32 baht per litre, according to the Oil Fuel Fund Office. Thailand’s permanent secretary for energy said the current 11 baht subsidy per litre is falling to 9.6 baht per litre. Officials from Thailand’s energy…
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Thai virologist predicts more research into Covid treatments, not vaccines
Medical researchers will shift their focus from Covid vaccine development to specific Covid treatment, says one of Thailand’s top virologists. Dr Yong Poovorawan, citing the lower investment costs as a reason for the shift. “To study a vaccine’s efficiency, it is necessary to have more than 10,000 volunteers use both real and placebo jabs. However, a study on drug efficiency…
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Krungsri Research gives conservative estimate of 5.5 million tourists this year
The research arm of the Bank of Ayudhya is forecasting just 5.5 million international visitors for Thailand in 2022, following the cancellation of Test & Go. Krungsri Research says that although the cancellation of the Test & Go entry scheme has generated some promising signs, the recovery of international tourism will be sluggish as a result of several factors. According…
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No more testing for fully vaccinated visitors coming on to Phuket
The governor of Phuket, Narong Woonciew, says all Covid-19 screening measures will be dropped for fully vaccinated visitors coming to the southern island. His announcement refers to DOMESTIC travellers. The announcement came on the back of the infection rate dropping to 98 cases a day. In addition, Narong says 70% of the island’s residents have now had a booster dose…
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Get the best quality dental treatment at Edelweiss Dental House
Press Release Do you dread visiting the dentist? Are you searching for the best quality dental treatment for you and your family? If yes, then Edelweiss Dental House would be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Edelweiss (ay-dal-vise) Dental House is named after the ‘Edelweiss’ flower, which represents purity and cleanliness. Living up to its name, Edelweiss’s utmost value is…
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Phuket officials announce electric scooters to be used for security operations
Even though Phuket officials banned electric scooters from all public roads in February, they have now approved their use for security operations around Phuket Provincial Hall Complex. Yesterday, officials announced at Provincial Hall they have approved the use of electric scooters as a test phase to determine how safe they are. Representatives from Beam Mobility Team Co Ltd handed two…
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Thailand’s postal rates to go up after nearly 2 decades
For the first time in 18 years, Thailand’s postal rates are going up. The country’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry said that according to data from 2011-2020, Thailand Post has a social service burden of up to 18.4 billion baht, and it’s likely to keep rising. Yesterday, the Cabinet approved a proposal by the ministry to raise rates. Thailand’s profit…
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Truck drivers rally in Bangkok against spiking diesel price
Now that Thailand has announced the upcoming end of its diesel price cap, Bangkok truckers have rallied today to demand that the price cap continues. Currently, the price for diesel is capped is 30 baht per litre. But On Tuesday, Thailand’s Energy Minister said the retail price is now at 40 baht per litre, so the government have had to…
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Dog owners prosecuted for bathing dogs at waterfall inside Thai national park
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has prosecuted dog owners who brought dogs and bathed them at a waterfall inside the Khao Luang National Park in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The authorities said pets were banned from entering the national parks in Thailand to prevent the spread of diseases from the urban area. One…
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UPDATE: Police identify foreigners involved in shooting at Pattaya’s Harley-Davidson shop
Following a report on the shooting at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop in Pattaya, police expected that influential Thai residents and foreigners were involved. The officers say the group might have had some sort of conflict over the business and personal issues between members of two influential groups. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop located on Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya was the location…
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Phuket gets ready to shift into ‘endemic’ stage
Phuket Governor Narong announced in a meeting yesterday that the island province is getting ready to shift into an ‘endemic’ stage for its Covid-19 situation. At the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, it was noted that Phuket recorded an average of 162 cases a day. 87.7% of those were local infections. Only 2-3% of people confirmed infected required hospital…
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Thai ex boxer allegedly steals British tourist’s bag in Krabi
Police in Krabi arrested a former boxer at a house in Meuang district today for allegedly stealing a British tourist’s bag. The British man, 23 year old Fraser William, said he left his bag on the beach when he and his friend went swimming on Sunday. The bag had 5,000 baht in cash, along with credit cards and the key…
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Anutin says Thailand Pass may be scrapped, if Covid-19 continues to improve
The Covid-19 situation in Thailand is beginning to stabilise and if cases continue to decrease, the Ministry of Health will consider completely cancelling the Thailand Pass, according to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. In an interview today, Anutin said the Covid-19 situation in the kingdom is improving. He said the total number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths are all decreasing, as…
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As tourists return, Pattaya’s Walking Street set to close to cars again
Pattaya officials say that starting tomorrow (Thursday), the city’s tourist magnet, Walking Street, will close to cars again, as it did in pre-Covid days. This news comes as more former bars have opened as ‘restaurants’, a loop hole in the Thai government’s Covid restrictions that’s been forced on bar owners so they can get their businesses open again. From 7pm…
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UPDATE: Police charge 6 suspects, close Tangmo investigation
Recklessness. That’s the conclusion police came to about what caused the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who fell from a boat and drowned in the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok, on the night of February 24. Police presented a summary of their monthslong investigation yesterday and announced charges against 6 suspects, including all 5 people…
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Man becomes first person ever to rollerblade across Thailand
A Thai man set a new record on Sunday by becoming the first person in the world to rollerblade from the northernmost to the southernmost tip of Thailand. The man’s journey from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai to Betong district in Yala covered 2,051 kilometres and took 55 days. People have famously run the same route and many Thai’s…
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