tourism

  • Economy NewsSongkran: Academics predict 10 year low in festival spending this year

    Songkran: Academics predict 10 year low in festival spending this year

    Thailand academics predict the public’s spending during next week’s Songkran holiday will be the lowest in 10 years. An associate professor at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said he expects people to spend around 106 billion baht altogether across Thailand this year. This will be 5.4% less than last year, when public spending was recorded at about…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket hospital and resort launch ‘Prestige Wellness’ tourism campaign

    Phuket hospital and resort launch ‘Prestige Wellness’ tourism campaign

    A Phuket hospital and a local resort are teaming up to launch a new campaign called “Prestige Wellness” — offering tourists ‘reboot’ wellness programs, in addition to Phuket’s natural beauty, local cuisine and cultural activities. Now tourists won’t even have to leave the comfort of their hotel to benefit from some of the wellness programmes available under the government’s plan for…

  • World NewsThailand promotes tourism packages to attract 1 million Southeast Asian tourists

    Thailand promotes tourism packages to attract 1 million Southeast Asian tourists

    As countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region ease their pandemic-era travel restrictions and reopen their borders, Thailand aims to take advantage of the resumed international flights. By the end of the year, Thailand hopes to attract some 1.75 million international tourists via short-haul flights, with more than a million coming from Southeast Asian counties alone. To reach their international tourism target,…

  • Thailand NewsTourists ignore red flags on Samui beach, Thai man drowns, foreigner rescued

    Tourists ignore red flags on Samui beach, Thai man drowns, foreigner rescued

    Four Thai tourists ignored a red flag warning on the beach and went swimming anyway in strong waves at Chawaeng Beach of Koh Samui in the southern province of Surat Thani on Wednesday. One person drowned, but four others survived. Staff from a jet ski rental business on the beach reported that one foreigner was also saved not long before…

  • Bangkok NewsBusiness owners on Bangkok’s Khao San Road kiss goodbye their Songkran plans

    Business owners on Bangkok’s Khao San Road kiss goodbye their Songkran plans

    Businesses on Bangkok’s popular Khao San Road are axing their Songkran celebration plans, following news that they would have to abide by several restrictions. This would include an alcohol ban, having to provide free face masks to partiers if their masks got wet, and being held responsible if partiers took off their masks. The president of the Khao San Road…

  • Koh Samui NewsSpiking Songkran tourist demand on ferry services in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan

    Spiking Songkran tourist demand on ferry services in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan

    Ferry services in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are trying to meet an influx of tourist demands leading up to Songkran. Songkran will be between April 13 – 15 this year, followed up with a convenient weekend on April 16 and 17. A ferry port managing director at the Raja Ferry terminal at Don Sak told Nation Thailand that his…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket introduces new seafood and gastronomy “Tastival” festival

    Phuket introduces new seafood and gastronomy “Tastival” festival

    Following Phuket’s Roi Rim Lay seafood festival last weekend, the island’s officials have come up with another seafood and gastronomy festival for the first time yesterday. The festival is called “Phuket Tastival Seafood and Gastronomy: Roi-Yok-Lo”. It will run until Monday, April 4. Phuket Deputy Governor Anupap and several other officials attended the opening at Saphan Hin, the huge public…

  • World NewsUPDATE: Malaysian drivers bewildered by Thailand Pass, as southern border reopens

    UPDATE: Malaysian drivers bewildered by Thailand Pass, as southern border reopens

    THOU SHALL NOT PASS. That’s the message some northern-bound Malaysian travelers received when they attempted to drive their cars into Thailand on yesterday morning, only to find they’d forgotten the most important thing: you STILL need to register for Thailand Pass. In advance. Thailand finally reopened its land border with Malaysia on April 1 for travelers by private transportation. But…

  • Thailand NewsNo pre-travel PCR test for travellers entering Thailand starting today

    No pre-travel PCR test for travellers entering Thailand starting today

    Starting today, travellers entering Thailand will no longer need to take a PCR Covid-19 test before their flight, but visitors will still need to take a PCR test once they land. All travellers – vaccinated and unvaccinated – no longer need to take the pre-departure test, but requirements after entry vary depending on the scheme. And there are still some…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket to become world class medical tourism hub by 2028

    Phuket to become world class medical tourism hub by 2028

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha plans to turn Phuket into a world-class hub of medical tourism by 2028, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister. An international medical and public health service centre called “Medical Plaza” is planned, complete with an international elderly care centre, a palliative care centre and a rehabilitation centre. Thailand’s medical and public health services have been…

  • World NewsSouthern Thailand officials allocate 252 baht for Sadao connection with Malaysia

    Southern Thailand officials allocate 252 baht for Sadao connection with Malaysia

    Now that Thailand’s Sadao border with Malaysia will finally reopen tomorrow, officials in southern Thailand have approved nearly 252 million baht to connect the two countries there. Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Interior announced today that the development committee of the southern border provinces approved construction of the road to connect the new Sadao Customs House and Bukit Kayu Hitam border…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya fireworks festival named 1 of 3 top Asian marine festivals

    Pattaya fireworks festival named 1 of 3 top Asian marine festivals

    The International Festival and Event Association of Asia has named the Pattaya International Fireworks Festival one of three “major marine tourism festivals in Asia”. Pattaya’s city manager said yesterday that almost 20 countries participated in the international firework competition. The Pattaya festival was then selected for the final round. The festival is held every year in Pattaya, usually later in…

  • Tourism NewsTourism Council of Thailand calls for PCR testing on arrival to be dropped asap

    Tourism Council of Thailand calls for PCR testing on arrival to be dropped asap

    Tourism businesses in Thailand are struggling to survive and barriers to increasing the number of foreign visitors to the kingdom must be removed immediately. That’s the view of Chamnan Srisawat from the Tourism Council of Thailand, who says the Omicron variant, coupled with Russia’s war on Ukraine, has dealt a double blow to the sector. “Tourism operators are still struggling…

  • Pattaya NewsForeigner in Pattaya bleeding after alleged altercation with security

    Foreigner in Pattaya bleeding after alleged altercation with security

    A foreign man in Pattaya was left bleeding from several serious injuries in what witnesses say was an altercation with security. The witnesses found the man lying on the ground in the middle of Pratumnak Soi 5. The altercation allegedly happened at night in front of a ‘restaurant’ there. As the man lay on the ground, a few other foreigners…

  • Bangkok NewsBMA and CCSA will meet Monday, decide on Songkran water splashing in Bangkok

    BMA and CCSA will meet Monday, decide on Songkran water splashing in Bangkok

    Thailand’s CCSA and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will meet on Monday to decide (again) if Bangkokians can splash water during Songkran. This news comes after officials announced last week that Songkran will be dry, for both alcohol and water splashing, for the third year in a row. That week, Thai officials said only traditional Songkran activities would be allowed. This…

  • Tourism NewsTest & Go, Thailand Pass could be gone by June if no Covid surge after Songkran

    Test & Go, Thailand Pass could be gone by June if no Covid surge after Songkran

    Thailand’s tourism minister says if there’s no surge in Covid cases following next month’s Songkran holiday, entry restrictions could be eased further. According to a Bangkok Post report, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says Test & Go and Thailand Pass could be scrapped from June 1, if there’s no spike in Covid cases or deaths after the Thai New Year holiday. Phiphat is…

  • Thailand NewsThailand’s elephant crisis: 22 elephants die during pandemic at Chiang Mai camp

    Thailand’s elephant crisis: 22 elephants die during pandemic at Chiang Mai camp

    Another elephant from Maesa elephant camp in Chiang Mai died on Friday, making it the 22nd elephant to die at the camp in the past two years. Without almost no income from tourists during the Covid-19 pandemic, many camps and sanctuaries have been struggling to provide care and food for the animals. A 50 year old male elephant named Krung…

  • Phuket NewsUpcoming seafood festival at Nai Yang Beach this Friday and Saturday, Phuket

    Upcoming seafood festival at Nai Yang Beach this Friday and Saturday, Phuket

    Phuket’s Roi Rim Lay seafood festival will be hosted at Nai Yang Beach this coming weekend on Friday and Saturday. The festival will start at 4pm on Friday, and end at 11pm on Saturday, March 25-26. The festival will host over 100 food stands, live ‘Luk Thung’ Thai folk music, and cooking competitions with chili paste and grilled seafood. The…

  • Visa InformationDeadline this Friday to apply for 60-day “Covid” visa extension

    Deadline this Friday to apply for 60-day “Covid” visa extension

    This Friday is the deadline to apply for the 60-day “Covid” visa extension, which is no longer offered to those on a Non-Immigrant Visa under the latest order. The extension is intended for those who cannot return to their home countries due to the pandemic and the deadline has been pushed back numerous times, without any formal announcements from the…

  • Thailand NewsTourism officials push for all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers to be lifted by June 1

    Tourism officials push for all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers to be lifted by June 1

    Thailand’s tourism officials want an end to all entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers by June 1. That means no quarantine, no Test & Go rules, no Sandbox zones, no Covid-19 tests. A plan to gradually lift restrictions over the next few months, leading up to the removal of all restrictions by June 1, has been drafted by the Tourism and…

  • World NewsAirAsia to resume Malaysia-Thailand flights, open 3 routes in April and May

    AirAsia to resume Malaysia-Thailand flights, open 3 routes in April and May

    AirAsia plans to resume international flights from Malaysia to Thailand, with 3 new routes opening in April and May. The three new routes include Penang-Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur-Hat Yai on April 13, and Johor Bahru-Bangkok on May 3, according to an announcement on the airline’s website on Tuesday. In an effort to provide passengers with more options to travel to…

  • Thailand TravelThailand to scrap pre-arrival Covid-19 tests from April

    Thailand to scrap pre-arrival Covid-19 tests from April

    The CCSA has announced that starting April 1, travellers arriving in Thailand from abroad won’t have to take pre-arrival Covid-19 tests (before they travel to Thailand). The scrapping of pre-arrival tests will also apply to Hat Yai airport, in addition to the current Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and U-tapao airports. A CCSA spokesman said the CCSA…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya security guards allegedly attack foreign tourist following bill dispute

    Pattaya security guards allegedly attack foreign tourist following bill dispute

    Security guards at a nightlife complex in central Pattaya are accused of attacking a foreign tourist in a dispute over a bill. The Pattaya News reports that the incident took place around 11.30pm last night at the Tree Town complex, with a 58-year-old man, reportedly Irish, injured in the brawl. For their part, the guards claim the tourist refused to…

  • Phuket NewsClub Med Phuket reopens after over 2 years

    Club Med Phuket reopens after over 2 years

    After closing its doors for over two years since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Club Med Phuket is now back in business. The resort reopened yesterday following efforts to clean up the area and bring back tourists. The island province’s Vice Governor Pichet, who attended the reopening, said the reopening should help Phuket’s disheveled tourism economy. “Club Med is known around…

  • Koh Samui NewsThailand marine officials look into building cruise ship terminal on Koh Samui

    Thailand marine officials look into building cruise ship terminal on Koh Samui

    Marine officials in Thailand are looking into building a cruise ship terminal on Koh Samui, a popular Gulf of Thailand island off the Surat Thani coast. A terminal is considered to be more convenient and safe for travellers as, at the moment, cruise ships must anchor by the island and smaller boats transfer travellers to the island and back to…

  • Tourism NewsProvince in Western Thailand works to revive tourism in new scheme

    Province in Western Thailand works to revive tourism in new scheme

    The governor of one Western Thai province whose tourism income plummeted this year announced yesterday the need for a “comprehensive strategy” to revive tourism. The province of Prachuap Khiri Khan made 1.85 billion baht in tourism in 2020, but that dropped to 36 million baht in 2021. “We expect travel activities to pick up once Covid-19 is classified as an…

  • South Thailand NewsTourism officials in South encouraged by opening of Yala’s Betong Airport

    Tourism officials in South encouraged by opening of Yala’s Betong Airport

    The newly opened Betong Airport, in the southern province of Yala, has inspired hope of a tourism revival in the town. The Bangkok Post reports that the airport received its operating licence from the Aviation Authority of Thailand on January 28. The 920-rai facility can handle up to 300 passengers an hour, or 80,000 a year. The airport is seen…

  • Thailand TravelTourism officials plan Saudi visit to attract Middle Easter travellers to Thailand

    Tourism officials plan Saudi visit to attract Middle Easter travellers to Thailand

    In the wake of both the Chinese and Russian tourist taps being turned off, Thai tourism officials are planning to travel to Saudi Arabia with a goal of attracting 200,000-500,000 Middle Eastern tourists to Thailand this year. The Thai tourism ministry and Tourism Authority frequently run travel roadshows around the world as part of an ongoing marketing program to push…

  • Thailand TravelTAT says Phuket is ready for boat tourists

    TAT says Phuket is ready for boat tourists

    After four Indonesian tourists arrived in Phuket on a yacht on Tuesday, the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket says the island is ready to welcome back boat tourists. The people who arrived on Tuesday were the first tourists to arrive in Phuket under Test & Go’s new extension for sea tourists, which started on March 1. Under the policy, sea…

  • Tourism NewsEnd in sight for Thailand Pass once Covid-19 declared endemic – TAT

    End in sight for Thailand Pass once Covid-19 declared endemic – TAT

    The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says tourism numbers may need to be revised down due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which includes surging oil prices and rising inflation. Yuthasak Supasorn adds that entry restrictions will be relaxed in stages as officials move to declaring Covid-19 endemic. Cabinet has already approved a Public Health Ministry…