tourism
- World News
Malaysia set to replace India as tourist king of Thailand
As Thailand Pass prepares to meet its end come July 1, it looks as if Malaysia is in line to replace the kingdom’s current tourist king, India. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said yesterday that once Thailand Pass is no more, a larger number of Malaysian tourists than Indians is expected to make their way to the ‘Land of…
- Phuket News
Mangrove tourism project coming to Phuket
One mayor in Phuket is planning a new eco-tourism project involving mangrove forests. Ratsada Mayor Nakarin Yosangrat plans to make mangrove forests in the Tha Chin Canal and Bang Chee Lao area part of a protected nature reserve. The initiative is officially named the Ratsada Green in the City Project. Phuket’s Department of Marine and Coastal Services will also build…
- Eastern Thailand News
Eastern Thailand province plans “Fun On The Beach’ event
Beach lovers get ready! Thailand’s Eastern province of Rayong will hold its “Fun on the Beach” event next weekend, with 2 Thai bands performing on Leam Charoen Beach. The event will take place from July 1-3, Friday to Sunday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is planning activities and food trucks at the event, as well as fruit buffets. The Thai…
- Koh Samui News
Koh Samui tourist viewpoint to temporarily close following troubling inspection
A tourist attraction in Koh Samui is set to temporarily close after officials inspected the site. Officials from the southern province of Surat Thani discovered yesterday that Overlap Stone viewpoint had been operating without a business operator licence. Furthermore, there was no bridge construction licence for the bridge that connects to the site’s giant rock mass. Now, the viewpoint is…
- Tourism News
Thailand to lift 2 – 5pm alcohol sales ban in hotels from July
Thailand seems to be lifting gazillions of restrictions lately. In its latest move announced yesterday, Thailand’s CCSA plans to lift its notorious alcohol sales ban from 2 – 5pm, in hotels at least, starting July 1. According to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, restaurants and tourist attractions may also sell alcohol during this time, at provincial governors’ discretion. Phiphat…
- Thailand Travel
Thais looking forward to travelling again, survey says
As Thailand slowly rises from the ashes of the Covid-19 pandemic, a survey has found that over half of Thai respondents plan to travel outside the country this year. The “2022 Holiday Barometer” conducted by Europ Assistance between April 26-May 16 found that about 56% of 1,000 Thai respondents planned to take outbound trips this summer. This is 7 percentage…
- Pattaya News
More drama with Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach vendors
There’s been more drama between beach goers and vendors at Jomtien Beach in the south of Pattaya. A photo posted earlier this week on the Facbeook page ‘Footpath Thai Style’ raised alarm bells about the lack of walking space available on the beach. The photo shows the beach crowded due to street vendors, entrepreneurial locals and other beachgoers. In April,…
- World News
Laotian tourists are flocking to Thailand
Crowds of eager Laotian tourists are flocking to Thailand now that Thailand and Laos have eased travel restrictions this month. Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said yesterday that the checkpoint in Nong Khai, which borders Laos in Northeastern Thailand, is now the fourth most popular entry point into Thailand. The top 3 most popular entry points are Suvarnabhumi and Phuket…
- Thailand Travel
Thailand’s cabinet approves budget to help Andaman tourism and development
Thailand’s cabinet is making it a priority to support development in the country’s Andaman provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, and Satun. The budget of 338.8 million baht will go towards 6 projects in environmental and tourism development. A budget of 80.8 million baht will go to health services and environmental systems projects at Lipe Island in Satun. A…
- Pattaya News
Completion of Pattaya’s Walking Street postponed again
Pattaya City authorities are kicking the can down the road again. After Pattaya city officials announced last month that construction of the city’s famous Walking Street would finish in August, they now say it will be completed in September (presumably September 2022). The contractor, DD Infrastructure Company, informed Pattaya’s city council chairman that the postponing is due to the delay…
- Eastern Thailand News
Officials in eastern Thailand scramble to save tree from tourists
Officials in eastern Thailand are scrambling to save a lone tree on a tiny islet off Trat province from tourist destruction. The islet is only a few metres wide, with nothing on it except the tree and its roots. The director of maintenance at Koh Mak Tambon Administrative Organisation, Lertrob Saithongpu, said the wee little islet can only handle 5…
- South Thailand News
Full Moon Party in Koh Pha Ngan sees double the tourists
The third Full Moon Party of the year on Koh Pha Ngan has drawn double the number of tourists to South Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan since the first party back in April. Last night, about 20,000 visitors arrived on the shores of Haad Rin. The tourists passed through 5 checkpoints to be screened for weapons and drugs before they could…
- Phuket News
Phuket desperate for more skilled hotel workers
Hotel managers in Phuket are panicking over a skills shortage in their industry. According to some managers, many skilled and experienced staff left the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, hotels have the numbers of staff needed, but they have half the age and experience of former workers. The area general manager of Angsana Laguna Phuket, Michael Zitek, said at…
- Tourism News
AirAsia targets Indian travellers as China remains grounded
Low-cost Malaysian airline AirAsia is turning to India for international travellers after China cut itself off from the rest of the world. AirAsia, which mostly targets the Southeast Asian market, is experiencing a surge in business from Indian travellers visiting Indonesia and Malaysia. This comes after China, historically one of Thailand’s prime tourism markets, cut itself off from travel with…
- Tourism News
1.4 million travellers have come to Thailand since January
Thailand has welcomed more than 1.4 million international travellers since the beginning of 2022, a massive increase from the 428,000 visitors during the same period of 2021. After the easing of restrictions, the tourism sector is gradually becoming more optimistic about the future, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Yuthasak Supasorn. The TAT target for the Middle East, Europe…
- Bangkok News
Suvarnabhumi increases check-in counters in preparation for high season tourists
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is increasing the number of check-in counters in preparation for an upcoming surge of tourists. But the ‘surge’ is still a few months away. The nation’s capital city is expecting around 70,000 travellers to arrive per day, and for it to increase to 100,000 people per day during the high season. Suvarnabhumi Airport General Manager, Kittipong Kittikachon,…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand Pass could be dropped on July 1
‘Thailand Pass’ could be scrapped completely on July 1, according to Thailand’s tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakan. The fate of Thailand Pass will be decided at the next meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA, next Friday on June 17. Thailand Pass was already dropped for Thai nationals on June 1, but foreigners flying into the kingdom are…
- World News
Cambodia officially becomes ‘Covid-Free’
Cambodia now claims it is now completely free of Covid-19, according to a statement released by the country’s health ministry yesterday. The last recorded case has recovered and Cambodia has entered a state of “Covid Zero.” The southeast Asian nation – which has a population of 16.7 million – recorded a total of 136,262 cases, 133,206 recoveries and 3,056 Covid-19…
- Pattaya News
5 million Indian tourists in Pattaya this year?
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is making optimistic predictions about Indian tourists arriving in the Kingdom, this time in Pattaya! TAT officials announced yesterday that TAT expects 5 million tourists to visit Pattaya by the end of this 2022. Just last week, TAT said that its goal for the number of Indian tourists in Thailand overall was 3,000 per day…
- Tourism News
Hospitels close the door on Covid and hotels reopen for business as usual
With Covid-19 projected to be labelled as endemic next month, hospitels and alternate quarantine sites have resumed normal operations. Hospitels are hotels that provided rooms for people who had mild Covid symptoms. They helped ease the strain on the kingdom’s hospitals during the peak period of the coronavirus pandemic. But now the service is consigned to history, according to the…
- World News
Indonesia opens office doors to remote workers with 5 year visa offer
Temping tourists to travel to Indonesia shouldn’t be a difficult task. After all, the largest archipelago in the world is rich with cultural gems, stunning beaches, and every kind of natural beauty. But the Indonesian government has decided against taking the scenic route, instead they are tempting the business community with an appetising 5 year visa. The nation’s Tourism Minister,…
- Tourism News
Tourism minister calls for an end to the Thailand Pass scheme
The queue to beat up on the much-hated Thailand Pass is growing longer by the day. Now Thailand’s Tourism Minister is joining in. Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakan, says he will use the next Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting to push PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to pull the plug on the Thailand Pass digital gateway. If the scheme is…
- Pattaya News
Famed cabaret show sold out as tourists flock to Pattaya after 2 years of closure
“Life is a cabaret old chum”, so sang Liza Minnelli’s character in the musical Cabaret, and it was no different in Pattaya at the weekend. Every seat was sold out at the famous Alcazar theatre after it reopened on Friday night for the first time in 2 years. Following the official easing of restrictions on entertainment venues on June 1,…
- Thailand News
Underwater utopia being created out of decommissioned oil rigs
An Aquaman-type underwater utopia is being developed near Koh Pha Ngan island in Surat Thani province, out of redundant oil and gas rigs. Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environment department revealed plans are well underway to utilise decommissioned oil rigs to develop a new diving destination for tourists located around 7.5 nautical miles north east of Koh Pha Ngan island. The…
- Thailand Travel
Phuket hopes to attract Saudi and Australian tourists
After Thai tourism officials’ major efforts to attract Saudi tourists to the Kingdom, Phuket’s tourism industry is hoping to bring in more Saudi tourists to the island province. It also hopes to draw more Australian tourists – a staple of the island’s tourism market for 30 years. The director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Sydney office, Suladda Sarutilavan, said…
- Thailand News
Thai AirAsia X launches cheap flights between Bangkok and Seoul, South Korea
Thailand’s airline Thai AirAsia X has launched flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The route will take place 3 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The first flight on the new route landed in Seoul yesterday, June 1. To celebrate the launch, the airline is offering return flights from Bangkok to…
- Tourism News
After Middle East, Thailand’s TAT brings tourism road show to Europe
After the Tourism Authority of Thailand travelled to Saudi Arabia in a roadshow last month, the TAT has now brought its tourism campaign to Europe. From May 23-25, the TAT travelled to 3 European countries to promote its campaign “Visit Thailand Year 2022: Amazing New Chapters”. The campaign promotes medical tourism, beaches, and shopping in Thailand. In the European roadshow,…
- Pattaya News
Popular tourist island off Pattaya adds hundreds of security cameras
Officials on Koh Larn, a popular tourist island off Pattaya, are stepping up security measures. The municipality has installed 200 CCTV security cameras at 7 beaches around the island. Meanwhile, authorities are working on renovating a pier on Koh Larn. Pattaya Deputy Manager Kiattisak Sriwongchai said the installation is almost finished, and the cameras will be fully working early this…
- Technology News
Go City tourist app boost to Bangkok
A new tourist app has been launched in Bangkok by global travel giants Go City that allows culture buffs to visit more than 30 attractions for the price of one ticket. The London-based sightseeing tour agency invested around US$35 million in preparation for the resumption of international travel after pandemic restrictions eased to help operators digitalise their ticketing services, and…
- Tourism News
Proposal to develop Koh Tao, Samui, and Koh Phang Ngan as “entertainment islands”
Another day, another idea, as Thailand desperately tries to revive its decimated tourism sector and by extension, the economy. While things are looking up since entry restrictions were eased, suggestions for further improvement continue to circulate. One such proposal is to develop and market 3 islands in the Gulf of Thailand as an “entertainment cluster”. Tourism operators on Koh Samui,…
