tourists
- Phuket News
Phuket motorcycle crash leaves one tourist dead, another injured
PHOTO: Kamala Police The Phuket News reports that an Indian woman has been killed, and her male companion injured, following a motorcycle accident in Patong. The accident happened last night on the Patong to Kamala road. When police arrived on the scene shortly after 8.00pm, they found the tourists trapped under an SUV, with the 23 year old driver, Worachat…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s changing tourist demographic – the Indians
Take a walk around the markets of Pratunam in downtown Bangkok and you’ll soon discover there’s a new type of tourist in town. For years, Thailand’s tourism scene was dominated by Chinese visitors, with 10.5 million in 2018 alone, accounting for about 28% of total foreign arrivals. It still is. But after the tour boat Phoenix, carrying mostly Chinese tourists, sank off…
- Tourism News
Thomas Cook demise will affect British tourism to Thailand for the rest of 2019
“British tourists have contribute between 900,000 – 1,000,000 tourists to Thailand annually for the past seven years.” The failure of the British Thomas Cook travel business will cut the numbers of arrivals from Britain to Thailand for the remainder of this year. Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says they are also assessing a drop in northern-European…
- Crime News
Bangkok airport police arrest Canadian woman for theft
PHOTO: Pinterest.com Police at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport have arrested a 27 year old Canadian woman as she was about to board a flight with her husband. Heather Leslie Berg had been under surveillance following a number of thefts from baggage claim counters in the airport’s Arrivals area on August 27. After a check on CCTV cameras showed her taking luggage…
- Tourism News
Police warn about the dangers of visiting Thailand, directly contradicting Tourism Minister
PHOTO: Shutterstock Following the claim of Thailand’s Tourism Minister earlier this week that Thailand is “a completely safe environment”, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police appears to have directly contradicted that statement. Pol Col Krissana Patanacharoen is warning tourists and business visitors about the dangers of Thailand, after a taxi driver allegedly robbed a Chinese tourist of millions of…
- Tourism News
Indian visitors to Phuket surge whilst total numbers drop
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com The soaring number of Indian visitors to Phuket for the first seven months of 2019 has propelled Indian tourists into the Top 5 arrivals for the first time. Arrivals from India from January – July, compared to the same period in 2018, grew 354%, amassing a total of 186,360 arrivals. Mainland Chinese arrival figures continue…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Swimmers at Surin Beach left without lifesavers as Council removes funding
The President of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor (municipality), Ma Ann Samran, has not renewed the monthly contract for lifeguards protecting Surin Beach on Phuket’s west coast. As of yesterday, there are now no duty lifeguards keeping swimmers out of the water when the waves become dangerous, or saving them when they get into difficulty. Police arrived late yesterday afternoon at…
- Expats
Khao San Road vendors petition the BMA to postpone renovation
Street vendors in Bangkok’s chaotic ‘backpacker central’, Khao San Road, are lobbying the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority’s (BMA) plans to give the popular tourist street a makeover and clear stalls that have clogged up the sidewalks for decades. Read the earlier Thaiger story HERE. A formal letter has been submitted to Bangkok’s governor Aswin Kwanmuang. Vendors have been resisting attempts by…
- Tourism News
Proposal to offer 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian visitors steam-rolled
The new Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn’s proposal to provide 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian tourists, was steam-rolled yesterday by Cabinet. The cabinet resolved instead to extend the fee waiver on visas for visitors from China, India and other countries in the program. The program will now be extended beyond October 31 this year to…
- 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…
- Expats
Koh Samui tourists rounded up on year long overstay
PHOTO: Naewna.com Immigration and tourist police in Koh Samui have arrested a Turkmenistan couple on overstay. They had overstayed their visas by 366 days They were acting on the orders of the Koh Samui immigration chief Pol Col Supharik Phankoson. Naewna.com has named the couple as 30 year old Mekan Nazarov and 28 year old Alina Loginova. Police headed to a house…
- Crime News
Phuket police tracking down snatch & grab thief
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews A couple from Malaysia, 44 year old N Shiyamala Navaratnam and 45 year old Sivakumar Patchymuthu, reported to Saku police that they had been robbed near Nai Yang Beach, near the Phuket Airport. The incident happened on August 8. They told police they were riding a motorcycle heading back to their hotel between the beach road and…
- 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
Cabinet to consider visa-free travel for Chinese and Indian tourists
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, says he intends to introduce visa-free travel for Chinese and Indian tourists later this year. He wants to put the proposal to Cabinet as soon as possible. Chins and India are targets for Thailand’s latest tourism promotions, so visa-free-travel is back on the table for urgent consideration. Currently, citizens of both countries have…
- Road deaths
Koh Samui taxi driver killed, two tourists taken to hospital
PHOTO: Sanook.com Police have now filed a full report on an an incident back on July 19 when a taxi driver was killed and two tourists critically injured driving on the Khao Laem Yai Hill, Koh Samui. Sanook.com reports that a taxi, a yellow and brown Toyota Fortuner SUV, hit the footpath on the Khao Laem Yai hill in the northwest…
- Crime News
Pattaya tourists take a quick swim, return to find their belongings gone
Am Iranian man and his Russian wife were tourists in Pattaya doing all the usual things when they had a sudden urge to go for a swim. They were swimming at Dongtan Beach, Jomtien. They left all their belongings on the beach – phones, cash, hotel keys – but when they returned everything was gone. The Pattaya Police were notified…
- Phuket News
Patong police visit motorbike garages to warn them about illegal modifications
PHOTOS: Patong Provincial Police Patong police paid a visit to several motorcycle garages yesterday (July 25) in order to clarify that motorcycle racing is illegal and modifying motorcycles in certain ways can be illegal as well – modified exhausts, removing side mirrors, extra large tyres, air horns, etc. The police ‘drop in’ only asked for cooperation and requested owners and…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya police crackdown on middle eastern bike renters
PHOTO: Pattaya Update News Regular and traffic police have been out in force overnight were out in force in Soi Yen Sabai and Soi VC, South Pattaya following about complaints about middle eastern men keeping residents awake with noise from motorbikes. Pattaya Update News reported that some fled before police arrived but many other had their bikes seized. a total of 20 motorbikes…
- Tourism News
Pattaya tourist slump – visitors leaking to Vietnam
The new Minister of tourism and sports says tourism in Thailand is up nearly 1% (0.89% to be precise) in June year compared to last year. But as ministers bicker over the numbers – up or down – other business leaders says that tourism on the ground in Pattaya is much worse than the figures suggest. According to ThaiVisa, the “outlook…
- Transport News
UPDATE: Thai PM tells Phuket people to “stop ripping off tourists”
PHOTO: Two Australians file their report with Karon police this morning Everyone is having their say about a van charging two Australian tourists 3,000 baht for a trip from the Phuket International Airport to Kata, even the Thai PM. The PM took time out today to issue a warning to “Phuket people” that its reputation as a tourist destination will…
- Phuket News
UPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket
PHOTO: siangtai.com Officials are still trying to push on with a search for two Filipino tourists who were washed out to sea by waves at Freedom Beach in Phuket last night around 5pm. With nearly 24 hours having passed since the pair’s disappearances grave fears are now held for their survival. Conditions have been quite rough and squally for most…
- Tourism News
TAT reach out to the NY Pride March to attract more LGBT tourists to Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is reaching out to the US LGBT community to help broaden Thailand’s tourism base and attract more travellers. The TAT sent a contingent to New York’s annual pride parade, held on World Pride Day, to lure more tourists to the Kingdom. The parade was held last Sunday. TAT are using the branding “Go Thai Be…
- Tourism News
British travellers to Thailand make more insurance claims than any other country
According to a survey, the ‘Travel Smart Insurance Index’ recently released by the UK Post Office, more British travellers to Thailand made insurance claims for medical costs of repatriation after visiting Thailand than any other country. According to the report, the Post Office teamed up with the Centre for Economic & Business Research and analysed 17,295 claims from its Travel…
- Tourism News
TAT chief blames high baht for drop in tourists to Thailand
Thailand’s tourism numbers have been dropping over the past three months, against projections and when compared to year-on-year figures. And the blame game has started. TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) chief Yuthasak Suphasorn is blaming the high value of the Thai baht for the worse than expected tourist figures. He admits that European visitors are being more careful over their money and…
- Environment News
Thailand’s Maya Bay settles into an extended period of rest – VIDEO
You can look but you can’t touch. Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, is likely to remain closed to visitors for many years, even up to five. The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach and bay, made famous in the 2000 movie The Beach, needs time for its ecology to fully recover years…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok tuk-tuk driver is caught after over-charging three American tourists
PHOTOS: Tourist Police A tuk-tuk driver, who charged three American tourists 1,500 baht for a trip in Bangkok, has apologised for his actions and admitted to over-charging them. He also faces a hefty fine. Lt Gen Terapon Kuptanond, commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau says, “tourist police had tracked down the accused driver after the JS100 Facebook page posted a…
- Tourism News
100 baht tourist tax to cover basic insurance and repatriation
Every foreign tourist arriving or departing Thailand will be charged 100 baht for basic insurance which would cover money for emergencies and repatriation of their body if they meet with misadventure. As reported yesterday, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports proposes that every foreign tourist visiting Thailand should be charged a levy to cover basic insurance and life insurance.…
- Thailand News
Tourist arrivals stagger and drop 1% – March figures
What goes up must go down, or at least falter occasionally. Newton’s law of gravity applies to just about everything, including’s Thailand’s rise and rise of tourist traffic. At some stage the numbers will actually (horror!!) start to plateau and even go down. For the first quarter this year the numbers have actually stalled. The Kingdom suffered a combined drop in…
- Pattaya News
Big, wide beaches, but where are the stars of the show?
The video opens with travelogue music from the 1970s and the rest of the segment was missing the main stars – tourists. MCOT Presenter Preewat Bupsiri explains to the viewers about the 400 million baht that had been spent on new sand to widen the beach from a mere 5 metres to the artificially bloated 35 metres wide. A 2.8…
