Phuket

After 100 days, jury still out on Thaksin

Published

18 years ago

May 20, 2001

After 100 days, jury still out on Thaksin | The Thaiger

BANGKOK (AFP): After 100 days in office, the jury is still out on Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — literally. Thailand’s constitutional court is deliberating corruption charges against Thaksin. If convicted, he may be forced out of office and barred from politics for five years. That pressure has seen him scrambling to leave a legacy by pushing through his populist political agenda. But it has also caused him to stumble headlong into a series of embarrassing political gaffes. And those bloopers have left ordinary Thais mulling their own verdict on their impulsive new prime minister. Soon after being sworn into office on February 9, a Thai Airways jet he was due to board blew up on the tarmac at Bangkok’s airport. Thaksin was quick to announce that the blast was caused by a bomb, strongly hinting that he knew the culprits. But ensuing investigations pointed to nothing more than an accident. A US FBI report published in April confirmed that no explosive materials had been found, and concluded the blast was caused by overheated fuel tanks. That farce was followed by a potentially more embarrassing scandal over fake US bonds and claims by an eccentric senator that he had found enough gold left by the retreating Japanese after World War II to pay off Thailand’s massive foreign debts. Thaksin immediately rushed to the site of the stash – and into the limelight again – to examine the hoard, and lent further credence to the senator’s claims by ordering increased security there. The bonds turned out to be amateur fakes and the gold was nowhere to be seen. Thaksin quickly backed off, but not without a large helping of egg on his face, dished out by a scathing media which dined on it for weeks. “It is too early to say [whether Thaksin] has succeeded or failed with his job,” says Chaiwat Khamchu, Chulalongkorn University’s political science dean. “But I give full marks for his efforts in implementing his agenda to solve the country’s problems, in which, like a company chief executive, he tries hard to create concrete outcomes.” Analysts put his speedy action down to the constitutional court case hanging over his head. Thaksin is accused by the National Counter Corruption Commission of failing to disclose 100 million dollars in assets in official declarations filed four years ago. The prime minister says his wealth was gained through legitimate business and the commission’s charges against him are a “legal techinicality.” Either way, the jury is still out on Thaksin, and that “technicality” could cost him the country’s top job.

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News

30 dolphins greet visitors to Similan Islands

Published

9 hours ago

October 21, 2019

Greeley Pulitzer

30 dolphins greet visitors to Similan Islands | The Thaiger

Tourists were treated to the sight of a school of dolphins in the Similan Islands off the Phang Nga coast on Sunday.

Tour organisers said that around 30 dolphins swam close to the boat six or seven miles offshore, creating excitement for passengers. It was the first time dolphins had been seen in the vicinity since October 15.

The Similan Islands National Park director said they were bottlenose dolphins and were among several species now returning to the area following a five-year closure of the park for environmental rehabilitation. Food is again plentiful there for them, he said.

Tourists are forbidden to feed wildlife lest the free handouts alter the animals’ natural behaviour, and the park’s waters are also very sensitive to contamination from human disease and marine debris, according to the director.

SOURCE: nationthailand.com

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Patong

Phuket hotels slashing the price of rooms

Published

12 hours ago

October 21, 2019

The Thaiger

by Sophie Deviller

Hotels on Thailand’s most popular holiday island are being forced to slash prices, with rooms left vacant and beaches sparse as Thailand’s tourism chiefs struggle with a plunge in Chinese visitors caused by the US trade war and a stronger baht. Phuket was the most visited destination in the country last year, after Bangkok, and a good gauge of the state of its crucial travel industry.

Tourism accounts for 18% of Thailand’s gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up more than a quarter of total arrivals. But while 2.2 million people from the country visited in 2018, according to official figures, the numbers for January-September were down almost 20% year on year.

Claude de Crissey, the French Honorary Consul in Phuket and owner of about 40 rooms in the Patong Beach area, says Chinese tourists are usually present even during the current low season.

“That was not the case this year,” he said, adding he had to lower his prices by as much as 50%.

The problem is not only in Phuket, with hotels also struggling to fill rooms in the seaside resort of Pattaya on the mainland and on Koh Samui.

Trade tensions with the US have already made some Chinese reluctant to take holidays owing to uncertainty back home, while the Thai baht has risen about 10% against the yuan this year.

A boating disaster off Phuket’s coast that killed 47 Chinese holidaymakers in July 2018 also scared some off.

“We are worried,” said an industry insider, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic in a country where tourism provides tens of thousands of jobs. Adding to the headache is the fact that more than 3,000 new hotel rooms are being constructed on the island, raising the question of who will fill them.

“In terms of business, it’s not good,” said Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, vice-president of the association of hotels in Thailand and director of Vijitt Resort.

“Because … we have more hotels, more rooms to sell, we have more restaurants, more coffee shops.”

Still, tourism authority chairman Yuthasak Supasorn said he remained “optimistic.”

“We should reach our goal of 39.8 million foreign visitors.”

However, that is only up from 38.2 million in 2018, much less than the jump seen from the previous year’s total of 35.6 million.

Counting on India

Now hoteliers and tour package operators are targeting visitors from elsewhere, particularly India, which experts see as a huge untapped market.

A rapid expansion of the middle class in India, increased direct flights and visa-free travel have prompted Thailand to revise forecasts upwards.

It now expects two million Indian tourists this year, after an increase of nearly 25% on-year in the first seven months. But for now, the lower arrivals is evident on the streets of Phuket.

“I’ve never seen anything as bad as what it is at the moment,” said Paul Scott from Australia, who said he has been coming to Thailand for 15 years.

He mainly blamed the stronger baht for the drop-off but also the fact that Thailand wasn’t the untouched vacation paradise it once was. “Now it’s not so new … and it’s not cheap,” he said.

SOURCE: AFP

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Events

The 15th Mai Khao Marine Turtle fun run attracts more than 4,000 runners

Published

24 hours ago

October 20, 2019

The Thaiger

4,000 runners from Thailand and overseas took part in the 15th Mai Khao Marine Turtle Fun Run and Half Marathon 2019 yesterday, starting from the Phuket Gateway.

The event is expected to raise 700,000 baht for the charity, now in its 15th year. The money raised goes towards to The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, which is committed to protecting the marine and coastal environment, and ecosystems, for the wellbeing of sea turtles that nest in the Mai Khao beach and the surrounding areas.

The annual race also provides funds for thePhuket Marine Biological Centre’s Injured Turtle Rehabilitation Program and The Third NavalArea Command’s Turtle Hatchery Program.

The race was in its 15th year and runners of all ages and abilities took part in the race. The morning’s racing was divided into five categories – the 21.1km half marathon, 10.5km mini- marathon, 5km fun run and 3k family run and VIP participants for all the races. The route of 21.1 kilometre race took runners northwest along the Haad Sai Kaew beach towards Thao Thepkasattri bridge, past the rural road No. 3006, run along the road – Pi Lai viewpoint area returned back along the T. Baan Tha Nun to the iconic Sarasin bridge before finished the half marathon in the Phuket Gateway.

For Mini Marathon 10.5 km – Over all category, Mr. Chinnawat Changlek clocked 39 minutes and 40 seconds to clinch victory in the male half marathon, winning prize money and a trophy with the signature of Phuket’s Governor. The winner in the female mini marathon was Surakarn Wanna with a time of 47 minutes and 47 seconds.

Winners also received a prize gift voucher as well as a medal. Congratulations to all participants.

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