tourism
- Economy News
“We Tour Together” launched to boost domestic tourism
The government has announced its “Rao Thieu Duaykan” (We Tour Together) program, created as a stimulus boost to domestic tourism and help the travel and hospitality sectors battered by closures and bans in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic. From July 15, Thai citizens can apply for a government subsidy to cover part of their hotel and dining expenses when travelling…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand sets new guidelines to govern “medical tourism”
Thailand’s medical community is rolling out a set of guidelines for medical tourism as the country prepares to open its borders to international visitors. According to the director-general of the Department of Health Service Support, yesterday’s first meeting of the medical hub committee resulted in 3 decisions. The first outcome from the meeting set a new policy pertaining to quarantine…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand re-opens its international borders today
Thailand is lifting its ban on international flights on July 1. But before you dust off the suitcase and book your flight, there are still many restrictions on the return of foreigners into the country. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand says the ban on international flights is being lifted from July 1 but “conditions for re-entry apply”. “People entering Thailand…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s major tourist islands may open soon to foreign travellers
Next month, 5 of Thailand’s major tourist islands may open up to foreign travellers. Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao are getting ready for potential visitors from overseas, albeit small numbers to start as the borders are slowely prised open. While a trip to a Thai island may sound nice after months of lockdown, officials…
- Covid-19 News
Government agency issues guidelines to help Thailand’s souvenir suppliers
Thailand’s Department of Industrial Promotion says it is working on ways to help the country’s souvenir makers recover from the devastation wreaked by the Covid-19 lock-down. Speaking to Nation Thailand, Nattapol Rangsitpol, director-general of the DIP, says the latest advice complements the government’s stimulus campaign Tiew Pan Suk (Trips to Share Happiness), aimed at boosting domestic tourism and the local…
- Covid-19 News
Mandatory 14 day quarantine for international arrivals to Thailand
Following the announcement that Thailand would once again open its doors to certain categories of international visitors, the government’s Covid-19 task force has confirmed most will have to agree to a 14 day quarantine. It’s understood the first group to be granted entry to the Kingdom from July 1 will include businesspeople, skilled workers and experts, teachers, students, and medical…
- Covid-19 News
Open letter to Thai government “We want to come back to Thailand”
There are many foreigners who are desperately trying to get back into Thailand to attend to urgent matters, or simply get back together with their Thai families. Many others have simply made Thailand their home for an extended time and have gone through all the legal hoops required by Thai Immigration only to find themselves locked out. The Thaiger is…
- Covid-19 News
Potential low-risk countries to reboot Thailand inbound travel
Thailand’s borders could be opened to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and certain cities in China. Those areas are now deemed to have a low-risk for spreading the coronavirus and being looked into as potential countries for the ‘travel bubble’ scheme. In an tourism agreement with the low-risk countries, foreigners would be allowed to enter the country, but with restrictions.…
- Tourism News
July Songkran plans pushed back to later in the year
People won’t be throwing or spraying water on each other next month. Celebrations for Thailand’s New Year – Songkran – were rumoured to be moved from April to July, but a 3 day soaking wet holiday might not happen until later this year. The large water celebrations could even be separated to be on non-consecutive days, according to a source in…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA officials plan to allow 7 groups of foreigners to enter Thailand
Authorities are still trying to figure out who will be allowed to enter Thailand, and how it should be handled. But today the government narrowed it down to 7 groups of foreigners, some under the developing ‘travel bubble’ scheme, and others that may require quarantine. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration still plans to discuss the proposed groups with government…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok’s revamped Khaosan Road may reopen in August, without international tourists
Bangkok’s Khaosan Road, for decades a pilgrimage for backpackers from all over the world, looks set to reopen in August. A well-loved tourist mecca for browsing, eating and night life, the thoroughfare has undergone a revamp during lock-down, and now boasts a new road surface, traffic barriers and newly-planted trees. Similar work is planned for the city’s Kraisi, Rambuttri and…
- Covid-19 News
Health minister wants travel bubbles to begin in July, but not for tourists
“No one will be allowed to arrive masquerading as a businessperson in order to go on holiday.” Thailand’s public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday that businesspeople, international students and ‘experts’ will be the first groups of foreigners allowed to reenter Thailand next month under the travel bubble model. Anutin revealed the timetable after discussing a travel…
- Covid-19 News
International flight talks resume as “travel bubble” debate rages on
“There must be thorough discussions, which may continue into next month.” As the Thai government mulls the possibility of “travel bubbles” with countries where Covid-19 appears under control, aviation representatives are talking with commercial airlines about a potential return to international services. Limited domestic flights have been operating again since May, with the exception of Phuket, which resumed its domestic…
- Covid-19 News
Resorts lower prices, offer promos for post-pandemic holidays
Hotels are ready to face off. After months of vacant rooms, prices are being cut to entice domestic tourists to book a post-pandemic holiday. Now provincial restrictions have been mostly removed Depending on the province and risk of coronavirus transmissions, some hotels were ordered to close their doors completely. Now restrictions are being lifted and domestic travel is picking up…
- Covid-19 News
Thai government still working on criteria for travel bubble arrangements
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says he has appointed “two senior figures” to determine the criteria for “travel bubble” agreements with other countries. According to a report in Nation Thailand, the Public Health ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Supakit Sirilak, and the director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai, will set the conditions that must be met for…
- Covid-19 News
Travel bubble idea up in the air, no foreign tourists anytime soon
Don’t get your hopes up about international travel. Tourism in and out of Thailand won’t be happening anytime soon, officials said yesterday. The idea of “travel bubbles” has floated by, but the plans are still up in the air. The public health minister says he’ll propose a solid plan next week. The Thai government is making it clear that they…
- Covid-19 News
Billions of baht thrown at domestic tourism
The coronavirus pandemic has nearly killed tourism in Thailand. Now, Thai authorities are giving some life to domestic travel by rewarding health volunteers with a free holiday as well as subsidising hotel and transportation costs. 3 stimulus packages worth 22.4 billion baht are planned to boost up the industry and are set to run from July to October. The money comes…
- Covid-19 News
Not so fast, Thailand’s international flight ban might be extended
Commercial international flights may have to wait a little longer to get back in the air. Scheduled international flights in and out of Thailand were geared to take off by July 1, but aviation authorities are wary about opening the country back up again. They say, if anything, those traveling for business will be the first group allowed to enter…
- Covid-19 News
Aviation authorities to talk about the return of international flights, business trips first
Aviation authorities will talk to international airlines today about resuming flights into Thailand. So far, business trips will be allowed first and tourists from low-risk countries while be allowed later. More details about the re-opening of Thailand’s borders will be discussed at a CCSA meeting tomorrow. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, or CAAT, will discuss safety measures to prevent…
- Tourism News
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble – Thailand’s international travel quandary
With apologies to William Shakespeare. You’re going to hear a lot more about travel bubbles in the next few months. Indeed it will become the ‘new normal’ in the short-term for Thailand’s battered tourism and hospitality industry. The world is NOT going to magically re-open up and travel as they did before, at least not in the next few years.…
- Covid-19 News
Up to 1,000 foreigners per day with smart phone tracking – plan to open Thailand up to foreigners
If approved by authorities, foreigners from low-risk countries will be allowed to enter the country and travel in so-called “travel bubbles” without going through the 14 day quarantine period. They’ll be tracked through a smart phone application to make sure they stay in their “bubble.” The plan is being prepared for an approval from the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration…
- Covid-19 News
Borders start to reopen in Europe but restrictions on free travel remain
From today, a number of European countries will tentatively open their borders to some travellers, but total freedom of movement is still a long way off. The 22 EU countries, that are members of the Schengen area, normally enjoy restriction-free border crossings, but Covid-19 has put an end to that for now, and while some are opening up strict controls…
- Thailand News
Prepare for delays in re-opening international borders
“The third or fourth quarter of 2020.” That’s as precise as deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak could say when Thailand would re-open its borders for foreign tourists. “…priority will be given to those arriving from coronavirus-free areas.” Mr. Somkid says that relaxing inbound travel restrictions is the first step to kickstart Thailand’s tourism industry. “The government has to be prudent in…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s tourism and MICE business will first reboot with low-risk countries
When Thailand’s international borders are prised open, sometime after July 1 this year (that’s the current date anyway), the first tourists and travellers are likely to come from a select group of fellow Asian nations who have had either low Covid-19 cases or been able to manage the number of cases to low, manageable levels. Countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, South…
- Covid-19 News
Health department urges strict “new normal” measures at beaches
With Phase 3 of the easing of lockdown measures across Thailand, many beaches across Thailand were allowed to reopen, including Chon Buri’s popular Bang Saen beach, which was flooded with so many visitors that traffic came to a halt and police ordered the beach temporarily re-closed. And beaches in Phuket are set to reopen this Tuesday, as the island has…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to rebrand itself as “trusted” tourist destination
Tourism in Thailand, like most of the world, has been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns and travel restrictions. Now, though, capitalising on its relative success in containing the outbreak, Thailand is preparing to position itself as a “trusted” destination for international tourists after travel restrictions ease. As the first country to report a Covid-19 virus case…
- South Thailand News
Monkeys drown in water tank after food and water shortage
15 monkeys were found dead in a water tank yesterday in Songkhla, near the Malaysian border. The province’s long-tailed macaque monkeys are facing a food shortage due to the lack of tourists in the area. Officials say the monkeys found yesterday must have been thirsty when they jumped in the 3 metre deep tank and drowned. There hasn’t been much rain in…
- Covid-19 News
TAT will use domestic tourism as dress rehearsal for international returns
“…the tourism sector will continue to be stifled by disease control measures until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.” Due to the current ban on international arrivals, extended several times and now in effect until at least July, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has created a strategy to support domestic tourism and “learn from the experience”, as it eases into the…
- Environment News
Unemployed elephants: Some return to the wild, others sent to work in logging business
The drop in tourism has had a huge impact on the elephants in Northern Thailand, leaving many elephants, you could say, unemployed. While some elephants are out of business and been taken back to their natural habitat, others are struggling in captivity and might be sent off to work in animal labour which some people may deem as unethical. A reporter…
- Covid-19 News
Bank report predicts extended timeframe for Thai tourism recovery
As the severity of the current situation facing Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry starts to sink in, Kasikorn Bank Research Centre have released a report with some stark predictions. Thailand’s tourism and hospitality industry faces losses of 1.69 trillion baht in 2020 and recovery “may not be clearly evident” next year. The report also foreshadows strict ‘new normal’ procedures as government measures…
