Tourism News
Thailand tourism news, travel updates, visa policies, and destination highlights—stay informed on hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and major infrastructure projects. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand travel news.
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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...
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Phuket Food Festival 2022 will feature hemp recipies
As Phuket hosts Thailand’s biggest light festival, Aqua Lumina, another event on the island province is on the way next week. Phuket’s Food Festival 2022 will start on May 28 (Saturday) and run until June 5. It will be held at Saphan Hin Centre Stage area, on the east side of Phuket Town, from 4pm – 11pm every night. This…
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Thailand’s biggest light festival kicks off on Phuket shores
Thailand’s biggest light festival arrived on the shores of Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach yesterday. Officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand welcomed partiers to the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival with, as you’d expect, lots of colourful lights. The Phuket edition of the festival is set to last until May 31. Aqua Lumina’s theme in Phuket is “Land of the Guardians…
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Thailand Pass remains, at least until the end of June
A good news and bad news day yesterday as the Thailand Pass was scrapped for Thais at the end of May, but remains an online digital gateway requirement for foreigners, at least until the end of June, perhaps beyond. The only good news for foreign travellers, in yesterday’s briefing, was the removal of quarantine for unvaccinated, or under-vaccinated, inbound arrivals.…
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In Phuket, Indians are the top tourist group since Test & Go scrapped
Now that Thailand Pass has dropped its much hated ‘Test & Go’ scheme, Indian tourists are the biggest tourist group on the island province, according to Phuket International Airport Immigration. Between May 1-18, 12,200 Indians have travelled to Phuket. The other countries on a list of 10 with the most tourists in Phuket, in order, are Australia, Singapore, UK, Russia,…
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No reason given for permanent closure of popular Saphan Pla Hua Hin Walking Street
Saphan Pla Walking Street, in Hua Hin district of the southern province Prachuab Khiri Khan, has closed permanently. The announcement of the closure appeared on the walking street’s official Facebook page on Wednesday, May 18. The page announced, “Saphan Pla Hua Hin Walking Street closes permanently for some reason. Sorry to everyone who is interested to visit and contact us…
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Nok Air gamble fails to take off costing airline millions
Low-cost budget airline Nok Air’s gamble of investing in a special route to boost tourism has backfired to the tune of 40 million baht. The Thai airline, which mostly operates domestic services out of Don Mueang International Airport, introduced the Bangkok to Betong route in February but plan to scrap it in July after suffering heavy losses. The Betong International…
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Thailand’s biggest light festival is headed to Phuket
After it began last week in Krabi, Thailand’s biggest light festival, known as the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival, is headed towards Phuket. The festival will dazzle the shores of Nai Harn Beach from this coming Friday until May 31. The festival in Phuket will display lit up sculptures and multimedia shows, as well as projection mapping with 3D images with…
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Mixed fortunes for Thai Airways but nation’s flag carrier confident of financial take off
Financial figures released yesterday by Thai Airways International revealed mixed fortunes for the Bangkok-based airline. Thailand’s flag carrier airline declared a net loss of nearly 3.4 billion baht on revenue of 11.2 billion baht in Q1, an improvement on the 11.2 billion baht net loss from the same period last year, but on the positive side the company also noted…
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Thai officials visit Saudi Arabia for roadshow, push for more tourists
As part of a push to draw more Middle Eastern tourists to Thailand, tourism officials visited Saudi Arabia on May 15-16 in a roadshow. There, the Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation with Almosafer, the biggest OTA in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The TAT also signed an MoC with Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, to promote a…
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Thai aviation industry says international flights at only 20% of pre-pandemic level
The Thai Airlines Association says that in the first 4 months of this year, domestic flights have returned to nearly 100% of their pre-pandemic level. However, international flights have still only reached 20% of pre-Covid-19 levels. TAA president, Putthiphong Prasatthong-Osot, says the lifting of some travel restrictions has led to an increase in passenger numbers, but adds that it will…
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More Thai national parks to close to allow for recovery during monsoon season
The national parks at Mu Koh Similan and Mu Koh Surin have joined Mu Koh Lanta in Krabi province in closing for the monsoon season. The famous tourist attraction of Maya Bay, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, kicked things off recently, when officials announced that it would once again close to allow the bay’s fragile eco-system to recover. Maya Bay re-opened…
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TripAdvisor’s 2022 Best of the Best Awards includes 2 Thai hotels
Online travel company, TripAdvisor, has released its list of the 25 best hotels in the world for 2022 and it includes 2 Thai properties. The “Traveller’s Choice 2022 – Best of the Best Awards” ranks the Pimalai Resort and Spa, on Koh Lanta, in Krabi province, at number 12 and Sukhumvit Park – Marriott Executive Apartments in Bangkok at number…
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Phuket tourism hopes for cash flow from the long weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office, is hoping for cash to flow over this 4 day weekend (Friday was a public service holiday for Ploughing Day and tomorrow is the substitute holiday for today’s Visaka Bucha Day). TAT Phuket’s director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, said yesterday that the average hotel room occupancy rate is 44.5%, and it’s expected to jump to…
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Romanian tourist dies after falling from Koh Samui waterfall
A young tourist has tragically perished in Koh Samui yesterday. The woman, 23 year old Romanian national Nane-Iosana Bodea, fell from Koh Samui’s Na Muang waterfall near the centre of the island, and hit her head on a rock. She reportedly had large wounds on the back of her head. There are numerous signs and internet articles warning people about…
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Another Full Moon Party in southern Thailand coming up this LONG weekend
Mark your calendars for another Full Moon Party in Thailand’s south, coming up this Monday, May 16. The Full Moon Party has historically been held on Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani on the night of, before, or after every full moon, although it was cancelled for 2 years during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the party is coming up on…
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South Korea to add 230 international flights to meet demand
As South Korea’s Covid-19 situation improves and several restrictions have been eased, the country also plans to add 230 international flights next month, to meet a jump in travel demands. South Korea has been known as a Covid hotspot earlier this year after being one of the World Health Organisation’s ‘postcard’ countries for controlling the virus in mid 2020. But…
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Islands in Krabi to temporarily close for restoration
Following last week’s announcement that Krabi’s Maya Bay will close from August to September, other national park tourist attractions in the province also plan to temporarily close for restoration. The Mu Ko Lanta National Park has announced in a legal notice that several islands under its control will close from May 16 to October 14. The islands to close are…
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Carnival in Pattaya coming up next week
A recreation centre called Wonder Space Pattaya is hosting a an event dubbed ‘The Carnival’ next week on Saturday, May 21. The carnival will feature a concert by Thai singer Singto Numchok, and of course, food and drinks. There will be a play zone for children, a circus parade, dog shows, and games. The event will start at 3pm, and…
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The Bikini Beach Race to take place in Pattaya this October
Central Festival Pattaya Beach has confirmed its annual running event, the Bikini Beach Race 2022. The event is run on the beach in front of the Central Festival shopping centre on October 29 this year. The Bikini Beach Race was actually held last year, even though the Covid-19 prevention rules weren’t relaxed, as they are this year (let’s hope it…
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German tourist missing in Phuket
After a German tourist in Phuket was rescued after getting stuck between rocks last week, another German tourist in the island province is also in a tricky situation. The 76 year old woman, who so far has only been identified as Ms. Barbara, reportedly went missing from a hotel in Thalang district on Monday (May 9). This is reportedly the…
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300,000 travellers arrive in Thailand during first week of May
About 300,000 international travellers have arrived in Thailand within the first week after the Thailand Pass program was simplified and the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes scrapped on May 1. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s “happy with the number of visitors” according to Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. A proportion of the ‘visitors’ continues to be Thais. After removing the…
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Pattaya to ‘officially’ reopen floating restaurants and water activities
The Pattaya Marine Committee has held a meeting with representatives from local marine business to discuss legally reopening floating restaurants and other water activity services, like jet ski and parasailing. The committee unofficially agreed on the reopening plans but insists restaurants offer only traditional Thai shows at this stage – no parties, no dancers. The Pattaya News reported that some…
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Tourism operators not getting their hopes up, still wary of government U-turns
Despite a further easing of entry restrictions at the start of the month, with the lifting of PCR testing on arrival, Thailand’s tourism sector is not getting its hopes up. According to a Bangkok Post report, tourism operators are concerned about several factors that have left them uncertain about any potential recovery. Chief among these is the risk of new…
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After big reopening, Krabi’s Maya Bay to temporarily close again
Just four months after its epic reopening in January, officials are announcing that Thailand’s Maya Bay, located on Koh Phi Phi Leh in Krabi, is planning to temporarily close again from August to September this year. The bay had reopened in January after closing in 2018, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, because of how much tourism had damaged the ecosystem.…
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Phuket official suggests drawing tourists with sharks
After an animal, which some suspect was a shark, bit a child at a Phuket beach on this week, one official thinks sharks could be a cool new tourist attraction. Earlier, a lifeguard had voiced concern that if the attack was indeed a shark attack, this would impact tourism in the area. But Jutha Dumlak, the president of the Kamala…
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