Tourism News
Thailand tourism news, travel updates, visa policies, and destination highlights—stay informed on hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and major infrastructure projects. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand travel news.
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Sponsored 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Inflation causing a problem for airlines coming to Thailand
The Thai tourism industry is trying to recover as fewer international flights are now arriving due to inflation as prices of fuel are rising. There are also problems in both Europe and the US with flights being cancelled or with long delays, causing additional travel chaos as the world’s travel and aviation tries to recover. World inflation is also hitting…
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Koh Pha Ngan ranked top workation location in the world
Open your suitcases and your chakras – Koh Pha Ngan has been ranked as the top destination for a workation – an increasingly popular way of squeezing in a getaway while continuing to work. The popular tourist island in the southern Thailand province of Surat Thani ranks number one out of 16 choices gathered and analyzed by William Russell, a prominent…
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Bangkok is best city in Southeast Asia according to travel mag
Bangkok is at the top of a list of the 2022 10 best cities in Southeast Asia, ranked by travel magazine Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia. The list was published last week. The next 9 best cities in Southeast Asia, in order, are: Singapore, Danang, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Saigon, Phenom Phen, and Jakarta. So why is…
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Thailand tourism: 9.3 million arrivals predicted, south busy
In its latest estimates, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports predicts that the second half of 2022 will bring more than 7 million travellers to Thailand. The first 6 months nearly hit the 2 million tourist mark, with 1.987 million visitors arriving from abroad from the beginning of January until June 28. Tourism generated around 114 billion baht so far…
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What will be Thailand’s new tourism mix? – VIDEO
This is an hour-long discussion with our YouTube audience… Now the Thailand Pass is history, Thailand’s tourism moves into a new era. From now until high season there will be many new dynamics that will affect how the kingdom recovers its vital status as a top 10 world tourism destination. Also, the mask dilemma. We’re sick of talking about face…
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Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures
The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…
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Thailand tourism looking up, predictions of 1.5 million per month
After years of devastation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand looks hopefully toward a resurgence of tourism with the further easing of restrictions starting yesterday. The required Thailand Pass for entry into the country is no longer needed as the restriction was lifted yesterday, with tourism authorities predicting an influx of travellers entering the country as a result. Tourism and Sports…
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Pattaya eyes tourism revival with nightlife until 2am again
Pattaya is expecting a tourism revival now that the government has lifted another Covid-19 restriction and nightlife is allowed to open until 2 am. Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet praised the easement, predicting it will open the door to tourists from around the world including the Middle East and the UK, and about 3 to 4 million tourists from India, who…
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Goodbye, adios, good riddance Thailand Pass – OPINION
From today, July 1, there is no more Thailand Pass. The digital online pre-travel registration for people coming into Thailand has had a checkered history and left a bad taste in the north of many foreigners, and Thais, who have had a poor experience with the digital gateway. After the launch of the Phuket Sandbox on July 1, 2021 –…
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China key to Thailand’s tourism industry recovery
The Tourism Council of Thailand yesterday confessed that building up tourism to pre-Covid-19 levels is going to be a challenge to the kingdom despite encouraging signs of recovery this year. And without Chinese tourists, the task remains even harder. The last of Thailand’s Covid-related restrictions were lifted today. Tourists no longer need a Thailand Pass or insurance, and you don’t…
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Thailand’s magical festivals, but which one is the best?
There are so many magical festivals on Thailand’s calendar it’s difficult to choose the best one. But being involved in one of these celebrated events is always enjoyable. It’s also a fantastic way of learning about the tradition and culture in the Land of Smiles. Here is a list of festivals The Thaiger recommends you experience when you’re in Thailand.…
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Thai Airways has sold 11 of its old aircraft, 26 to go
Thai Airways has managed to sell the first 11 aircraft out of a total of 37 it has put up for sale as part of its bankruptcy recovery program. The airline’s acting president, Chansin Treenuchagron, ay Thailand’s transport minister has permitted Thai Airways to sell 1 older Boeing 737-400 plane and 10 Boeing 747-400 ‘Jumbo’ jets. Thai Airways had found…
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Phuket welcomes more than 1.7 million travellers so far in 2022
The southern Thai island of Phuket welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors from January to the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office. Phuket, the most reliant of Thai provinces for a steady flow of tourists, has suffered over the past 2 years and has relied on the government’s travel stimulus packages to keep some…
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Majority of international travel to Phuket is from India
The majority of international visitors to Phuket since the beginning of 2022 came from India, but half of the hotels on the island remain closed as they wait for the high season to begin. Even if the number of arrivals doubled by the end of the year, Phuket’s tourist numbers are still falling well short of pre-Covid levels. Between May…
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Fake voucher victims demand action against Pattaya travel agent
Angry victims lured into buying fake vouchers worth millions of baht are demanding immediate police action against a Chon Buri-based travel company after six months of procrastination. Sixty victims yesterday submitted a letter to the Central Investigation Bureau commissioner asking him to follow up on their complaints about being conned into buying fake vouchers from the Colour Ocean Group. A…
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Welcome to Thailand’s Post Pandemic Day – July 1. What will change?
Between the start of this year and last Sunday, June 26, just over 2 million foreign travellers were stamped into Thailand at immigration points, mostly at 2 airports – Suvarnabhumi and Phuket. During this time the impediments to arrival in Thailand also became less restrictive. This Friday, July 1, there will be an official declaration that Thailand is now in…
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Thailand is open NOW – masks off, bars open until 2am
Thailand is open for business. The whole country is now a ‘green’ zone, allowing a full-scale resumption of business and activities with even the Thailand Pass being dropped next Friday. It’s about as back to normal as it can be at this time. Decisions made by the CCSA on June 17 were put into effect yesterday after being published in…
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Pattaya bans local vendors from Na Jomtien Beach
Local authorities have banned vendors from operating on Na Jomtien Beach after they colonized a new stretch of the seaside resort in Pattaya to sell their products. The authorities issued the directive following a conflict over the public spaces on the popular beach between local sellers in Pattaya and visitors. In April, authorities added more sand to the seaside spot…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Getting rid of masks and revised closing times in Thailand – waiting for official rubber stamp
Whilst we might be rid of the Thailand Pass on July 1, there appears to be an administrative delay to the changes in mask requirements and changes to the closing times. In clarifying new face mask guidelines, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesperson for CCSA says that all 77 provinces in Thailand would be redesignated as green zones. Previously there were…
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Why your flights are getting more expensive, not cheaper
There’s a short-term situation and a longer-term evolution that will make your flights more expensive than they were in the past. If we briefly look back at the past 65 years of world aviation, there has been a slow, incremental decrease in passenger seat prices on flights. That was until the start of 2020. For the modern era (despite the…
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Thai tourism targets half a million Korean visitors by end of the year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand aims to draw in over 500,000 South Korean travellers in 2022 and hopes to increase that to 1.3 million next year. This comes after the easing of travel restrictions in South Korea and Thailand. In 2019, South Korea was an important market for Thailand, with around 1.9 million visitors bringing in 75 billion baht in…
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That sinking feeling – the Maldives is building a new ‘floating’ country
Run out of space? No problem. Just build another room. In the case of an entire country that is sinking into the Indian Ocean, the situation becomes a bit more acute. Technically, the Maldives isn’t sinking, the sea levels are rising and slowly swamping the low-lying Indian Ocean nation, scattered south west of India. The Maldives, a country of some…
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Come fly with me in Thailand, with a face mask – OPINION
July 1 is looming as the day Thailand really opens up again, with all the ‘Covid’ paperwork (aka. The Thailand Pass) being binned. They’re even scrapping the TM6 form, at least in the short to medium term (maybe permanently?). But if you want a reminder about some of Thailand’s more hypocritical and absurd Covid restrictions, just go for a flight,…
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July 1 – Thailand more open than ever
OPINION On July 1, Thailand will be more open that it’s been since April 2020 when the boom gates first came down on the borders, locking out international travel. Since then it’s been a tedious and drawn out lessening of restrictions, with a few stumbles on the way. That finishes in just 11 days time as the country rids itself…
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‘Phuket Durian Fair’ promotes Thailand’s popular fruit for tourism
Hold your nose. Agriculture officials in Phuket have opened the ‘Phuket Durian Fair’ this week, seeking to promote the famous Thai fruit to bring income to local farmers. The Phuket Provincial Agriculture Office held the opening event in front of its offices on Narisorn Road in the island province’s main city district. The late Anthony Bourdain once said of the…
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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,…
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Fare hike on ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan from July 1
Surat Thani province in the south of Thailand announced that fares of ferry services to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan would increase from July 1 onwards due to the rising diesel price. The report revealed that fares had not been raised in more than 14 years. Following the meeting between Surat Thani officials and representatives from ferry businesses on…
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