tourism
- Tourism News
TAT proposes 4am closing time at nightspots to promote tourism…ummmmm
The Thai government are coming up with new ideas to actually lure people to visit Thailand. Go figure!?! Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is suggesting to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to extend the closing hours of night entertainment establishments in Thailand’s party zones by another 2 hours, from 2am until 4am. Of course, in most of the…
- Tourism News
Greater Pattaya hosts hotel and tourism forum
On Thursday, September 5 a hotel and tourism market update event covering Greater Pattaya will be held at the Holiday Inn Pattaya. Jointly organised by industry leaders STR, Horwath HTL, C9 Hotelworks and the AMCHAM Thailand, the event will feature key hospitality operating and performance metrics. A special panel on the emerging trend of hotel residences will include senior executives from…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s Koh Chang by numbers, another island on the rise
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Despite being one of the country’s biggest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Chang has remained somewhat off the mass tourism development footprint. C9 Hotelworks has taken a look into what makes the island tick in their newly released Koh Chang Tourism Market Review. Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat in far…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Mae Sa and Tad Mork waterfalls in Chiang Mai closed
PHOTO: Mae Sa waterfall Doi Suthep-Pui National Park officials in the north of Thailand have closed the Mae Sa and Tad Mork waterfalls after heavy rainfall have caused high water flows and slippery paths “that may endanger tourists”. Mae Sa waterfall is approximately 30 minutes drive north-west from Chiang Mai and Tad Mork waterfall about an hour drive north-west of…
- Tourism News
Thai tourism will be badly hit if Hong Kong airport mayhem continues
The mayhem at the Hong Kong airport could cost Thailand tourism 1.4 billion baht in lost income according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. The centre estimates the Thai tourism industry would be adversely hit if flights from Hong Kong are disrupted for more than seven days and notes that the number of flights cancelled, heading to Thailand, have already cost…
- Tourism News
Radisson brand add another Phuket hotel to its portfolio
The Radisson Hotel Group has signed a deal for a 222 key mixed-use hotel on Phuket’s north west coast at Mai Khao. Set to open in early 2023, the hotel has sales and leaseback units under a hotel residences program. Radisson Phuket Mai Khao Beach is being developed by Thai-Chinese Property Holdings. Phuket’s ongoing development surge continues to attract Chinese…
- Business News
Thai Airways faces more bad news with bigger losses in Q2
Thai Airways’ problems appear to be compounding with a perfect storm of an ageing fleet, a plateauing of tourist intake and increased competition from newer, more nimble budget airlines. The country’s national pride and joy had a poor Q2 this year, compounding years of declining profit results. The second quarter loss more than doubled losses for the same quarter last…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s wake-up call. The hard work starts here.
OPINION More hotels, a changing tourist mix, an exodus of expats and a decline in tourist numbers. Despite the new Tourism and Sports Minister pumping up the local tourism tyres during his visit last weekend, there’s a lot of hand-wringing and the sound of closing shop shutters around the tourist island of Phuket. To make things more complicated the situation…
- Tourism News
Phuket’s tourist bookings looking good – Diversity is the best option Part 3
by Guest Writer Over the past few months or so, we have read and noted much negativity in the world of tourism to Thailand’s most popular island of Phuket. As everyone is aware, May and June were particularly poor months for most tourism operators and hoteliers with several factors being mentioned to justify the drop which everyone is fully aware…
- Events
TAT’s #WeDareYouThailand online video campaign wraps up today
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) WeDareYouThailand online video sharing campaign that ‘dared’ foreign tourists and expats in Thailand to accept four challenges by creating videos to post on social media, finishes today. The campaign has been running since June 3. Each of the four activities allowed participants to discover more about Thai culture through four different types of challenges…
- Tourism News
TAT governor predicts Thailand tourism will bounce back in second half of 2019
Yuthasak Suphasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says all is good for tourist arrivals in Thailand. He predicted that 9.7 million foreigners were expected to visit in Q3 (July to September), up 7% year-on-year. He reported that trends show that domestic and foreign tourists will be spending 820 billion baht. That would be 9% up on the same…
- Tourism News
13 Bangkok passengers refused entry into Thailand by immigration police
PHOTO: Naew Na Region 2 immigration police at Suvarnabhumi airport report that they denied entry to 13 foreigners who weren’t able to provide proof of funds to support their travelling whilst visiting Thailand. Immigration officials claim the ‘tourists’ were not visiting Thailand for tourism. Apart from not being able to provide evidence of sufficient funds, the arriving passengers didn’t have…
- Opinion
Thai visitors leaking to Vietnam – a personal view
by Guest Writer (who asked to be anonymous) In response to an article ‘Pattaya tourist slump – visitors leaking to Vietnam‘, a responder on The Thaiger Facebook page has provided a balanced response we thought we would share with you. Is nostalgia making us think that Pattaya and Thailand were really that great in the past or are the golden…
- Environment News
WWF Thailand pushes for sustainable tourism and preservation
An animal lover, nature lover and a Thai national, CEO of World Wide Fund-Thailand, Natalie Phaholyothin is particularly proud of Thailand’s national environment and wildlife heritage. “We have 127 national parks, which is quite a high number, and that in itself should be an indication of the potential for Thailand to become more of a sustainable tourism destination. “All Thais…
- World News
Philippines tourism surges, despite last year’s Boracay closedown
The Philippines Department of Tourism is reporting that 2018 closed with a 7.68% increase in tourist arrivals. Last year’s six month closure of tropical paradise Boracay, from May to October, seems to have little affect on the overall growth of the country’s tourism. The island closed down last year for a ‘makeover’, mainly to tackle pollution after the country’s president…
- Events
Phuket fights for sustainable tourism at PHIST 2019
Phuket readies to host PHIST 2019 in the fight against environmental degradation in Southeast Asia’s idyllic island destinations. PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism) 2019 is a free-to-attend one-day conference that takes place on Thursday, September 23, 2019 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. The important event will gather approximately 1,000 delegates, including more than 70 of…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s marijuana and massage-led tourism recovery
The new Thai minister for tourism and sports says he can lure Europeans and Americans back to Thailand with the promise of massage and marijuana – medical marijuana! The newly sworn-in political “newbie” told the media on Wednesday that he is well aware of the drop in visitors from the US and Europe. He says he hopes plans to promote the…
- Hot News
UPDATE: 3,000 baht Phuket van fare for Australians tourists “all a misunderstanding”
As a follow up of the complaint about an overcharged van fare of 3,000 baht from Phuket International Airport to Kata by two Australians, a meeting was held yesterday between the driver, the tourists and a representative from the Phuket Land Transport Office. They agreed, in the end, that it was all “a misunderstanding”. The complaint about the expensive fare…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s tourism copes with surging baht headache
PHOTO: Thailand’s new tourism & sports minister, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, hoping the finance ministry will listen to his pleas about the high baht Thailand’s new tourism & sports minister, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, is blaming the surge of the baht for sucking the life out of tourist arrivals into Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Piphat yesterday said he’ll discuss with the Bank of Thailand…
- Environment News
Visiting time to see baby dugong Mariam is now restricted
Tourists and local well-wishers are flocking to get a glimpse of ‘Mariam’. She’s become an internet hit. But that’s also caused other problems. The high number of Thai and foreign tourists heading to Duyong Bay in Tambon Koh Libong in Kantang district, Trang, to watch officials looking after seven month old orphan dugong Mariam is prompting authorities to issue regulations to…
- Tourism News
Pattaya – 30% down this year, European tourist drop-off
PHOTO: afarangabroad.com The strength of the baht, rising tourist locations elsewhere around the region, fickle tourists has seen a demographic shift in Pattaya’s tourists and what they are doing during their visits. A leading tourism official has now confirmed what many Pattaya expats and locals have been saying for the past year… “The days of Europeans visiting Pattaya in large…
- Tourism News
Indian tourists filling the gap as Chinese eschew Thailand
PHOTO: The Vijitt Resort, Rawai, Phuket Thailand’s currently patchy tourism industry, down but not out, is getting some interim support from visitors from the population colossus to its west, India. The new arrivals are filling in the gap, not quite a gaping hole as yet, of bumper arrivals from China. At a beachfront hotel on Phuket’s south west coast, the occupancy…
- World News
Thai travel agents post figures showing a drop of 11.5% in inbound traffic
Travel bookings have dropped by 11.46% during the first six months of the year. For the first six months of 2019 the Association of Travel Agents’ member companies handled 2,786,204 customers. That translates into a real loss of 360,470 clients for inbound travel agents based on the turnover of guests at Bangkok’s two gateway airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang. The data is…
- Tourism News
Phuket’s tourist evolution – Diversity is the best option Part 1
by Guest Writer Today’s guest writer has been managing resorts around Phuket for two decades and has represented his brand at international expos along with promotions for Phuket over the years. His knowledge is first-hand and steeped in local experience. He has asked to remain anonymous. At the end of the 1990’s into the early 2000’s Phuket saw the drastic…
- Tourism News
SURVEY – Do the Tourism Authority of Thailand invent their statistics?
The internet has spoken, well The Thaiger’s Facebook page anyway, and there is a strong distrust in the statistics about tourist arrivals issued by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. 83% of people that voted said they didn’t believe the numbers quoted by the TAT. 17% believed the numbers were accurate. The reasons for people’s disbelief aren’t fully understood as their…
- Tourism News
Ayutthaya Elephant Palace to be relocated for park make-over
Ayutthaya Historical Park has sent a notice to the popular Ayutthaya Elephant Palace, located on Pa Ton road, to vacate the area within 30 days to allow for improvements of the park’s landscape. The elephants, keepers and mahouts are still providing services to tourists visiting the park. Laithongrient Meephan, owner of the Elephant Palace, told Thai PBS that he is…
- Krabi News
Red swimming flags out at Koh Hong in Krabi
Red flags have been dusted off and set up along the beach at Koh Hong in Ao Luek, Krabi today. In an unrelated story, dead fish have also been found along a beach in Ao Nang, Krabi. National park officers at Mu Koh Hong in Krabi have planted the red flags along the beach to warn swimmers not to go…
- Tourism News
“Nothing but rude Indians, Chinese and Arabs” – Pattaya locals go feral online
“Where are all the nice ones – like Americans – who spend cash and behave well!?” PHOTO: Sophon Cable Sophon Cable TV on Facebook has quoted the head of the Eastern Seaboard Hotel Association, Sanpetch Supphabowonsathian, saying advance bookings for this high season in Pattaya showed a 5-10% increase on last year. But as the local hotel association were upbeat over…
- Tourism News
Thailand to see rise in tourists as fallout continues in the US-China trade spat
Thailand may end up being a beneficiary in the ongoing US-China trade spat as mainland Chinese tourists will decide to travel closer to home or could even find it difficult to gain entry into the US. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is monitoring the situation to see if Beijing blocks Chinese tourists from making trips to the US. The restriction…
- Environment News
Maya Bay’s closure could be further extended – Dr Thon
Maya Bay, closed to the public since last June to allow its beach and coral to recover, will remain shut to visitors for at least another two years as its ecology needs more time to heal. “The director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Tanya Netithammakul will have the final say on whether to reopen the…
