Tourism News

Get your daily dose of Tourism News in Thailand with the latest updates on exciting destinations, events, and travel industry developments. We provide relevant and insightful information about Thailand’s diverse travel scene, which includes innovative hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and sustainable tourism practices. Stay informed on various tourism-related matters, including visa policies and major infrastructure projects, to ensure you’re always one step ahead in the vibrant world of travel.

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    Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?

    Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...

  • Tourism operators express frustration over rumours Test & Go may be dropped

    Tourism operators express frustration over rumours Test & Go may be dropped

    Thailand’s tourism operators have expressed frustration and concern over the possibility that the Test & Go entry scheme could be scrapped. However, Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand has rushed to reassure them, pointing out that nothing has been decided yet and that all viewpoints will be taken into consideration. “We still have to hear from the CCSA…

  • Thailand expected to review list of countries eligible for “Test & Go” scheme

    Thailand expected to review list of countries eligible for “Test & Go” scheme

    The Thai government is expected to review the list of countries eligible for the Test & Go entry scheme, as concerns over the Omicron variant mount. Supoj Malaniyom from the CCSA says Covid-19 screening will be intensified and the list of eligible countries will be revised. According to a Bangkok Post report, the CCSA is expected to identify a number…

  • 3 passengers test positive for Omicron when they arrive on Koh Samui

    3 passengers test positive for Omicron when they arrive on Koh Samui

    Three recent arrivals on the Gulf island of Koh Samui have been detected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 – 2 British citizens and 1 Belgian. The 3 include a 54 year old British woman, a 55 year old Belgian man and a 56 year old British man. The 3 new cases are the first, not only for the holiday…

  • Bangkok street food vendors welcome return of tourists to Khao San Road

    Bangkok street food vendors welcome return of tourists to Khao San Road

    Street sellers on Bangkok’s Khao San Road are celebrating the welcome return of foreign tourists and say life is finally beginning to return to normal. The Bangkok Post has spoken to a number of tourists and the street food vendors serving them. 51 year old Wan Suripar is one of them and she hopes this is the beginning of the…

  • TAT planning A-to-Z tourism campaign with social influencers

    TAT planning A-to-Z tourism campaign with social influencers

    “Amazing New Chapters: From A-to-Z Thailand has it all” is the new brainchild from the Tourism Authority of Thailand that aims to use influencers to attract people to Thailand. Like the 26 letters of the alphabet, the TAT hopes to sign up 26 influencers, both regional and global, in an attempt to reach 26 million travellers around the world. The…

  • “Tourist Police i lert u” mobile app launched to help tourists quickly

    “Tourist Police i lert u” mobile app launched to help tourists quickly

    “Tourist Police i lert u” is a new mobile app launched yesterday to allow tourists quick access to emergency response and general assistance. The app was launched by the Tourist Police as a means to improve safety by providing easy access to help when needed. The app comes at the same time as the Ministry of Tourism launched a tourism…

  • Tourism cities welcome easing of Covid measures ahead of New Year celebrations

    Tourism cities welcome easing of Covid measures ahead of New Year celebrations

    Officials in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Pattaya have all welcomed the CCSA’s decision to ease some Covid-19 restrictions to allow for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Alcohol can now be sold until 1am on New Year’s Eve, with the exception of Phuket, where alcohol sales can continue from 11pm to 6am on December 31. According to a Bangkok Post report,…

  • Thailand launches new tourism portal to make visiting the Land of Smiles easier

    Thailand launches new tourism portal to make visiting the Land of Smiles easier

    The Tourism Ministry has launched a new online portal it hopes will make visiting Thailand easier for the 8 – 15 million tourists currently expected next year. According to a Bangkok Post report, the website, called Entry Thailand, has been allocated a budget of 49.6 million baht for its first phase. The portal lists the information and documents travellers need…

  • Maya Bay re-opening to go ahead with strict conditions attached

    Maya Bay re-opening to go ahead with strict conditions attached

    The tourist hotspot of Maya Bay, in the southern province of Krabi, will re-open as scheduled on New Year’s Day. However, the re-opening comes with some strict conditions attached. There had been some doubt about whether the re-opening of the beauty spot would go ahead, but Thailand’s prominent marine ecologist, Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat from Kasetsart University, says it’s happening. According…

  • No confirmation on whether January 1 re-opening of Maya Bay can go ahead

    No confirmation on whether January 1 re-opening of Maya Bay can go ahead

    The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation says it’s still waiting to hear from the Natural Resources and Environment Minister if the re-opening of Maya Bay can go ahead. The hugely popular tourist draw was expected to re-open from January 1 and Damras Phoprasit from the DNP says he’s already reassured Minister Varawut Silpa-archa that the newly-constructed pier…

  • Thai aviation sector calls for visa waiver for international travellers

    Thai aviation sector calls for visa waiver for international travellers

    Thailand’s aviation sector is calling on the government to introduce a visa waiver scheme for international arrivals to boost demand. The Airlines Association of Thailand says global competition for tourists is getting tough and the government needs to do more to attract international visitors. “We are in a fierce competition as every country needs tourists to cushion the economic impact.…

  • Holiday travel: Poll finds most don’t have New Year’s plans

    Holiday travel: Poll finds most don’t have New Year’s plans

    A new survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University finds that most people do not have plans to travel over the New Year’s holiday, citing costs and worries of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as the main reason to stay put. The Suan Dusit Poll was conducted from December 6 to December 9 and interviewed 1,304 people across all locations, ages,…

  • International flights into Thailand up 24% from last month

    International flights into Thailand up 24% from last month

    While the tourism industry is still a long way from recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the high season is getting underway, and international flights to Thailand have increased more than 20%. Airports of Thailand reported the increase last night. AoT reported 9,483 of the flights scheduled in landing slots into Thailand were originating from international cities this month, which is…

  • First international flight to Krabi launches, Finnair from Helsinki

    First international flight to Krabi launches, Finnair from Helsinki

    Finnair has launched the first international flight to Krabi with a flight running from Helsinki 4 times a week. The inaugural test flight came last week on December 1 and brought 96 travellers to the tourism hotspot that has been struggling to reopen. After the first flight last week, regular service began on Wednesday and will run through March 24.…

  • PR Thailand reminds of the “VUCA” plan to keep reopening safe

    PR Thailand reminds of the “VUCA” plan to keep reopening safe

    The public relations department posted a reminder on their Facebook page today of the 4 main measures the government is focusing on after reopening Thailand to international tourism at the beginning of last month. The post on the PR Thai Government Facebook page reiterates the criteria they laid out in November using the acronym VUCA to keep the reopening safe…

  • Omicron not affecting domestic tourism sentiment this holiday weekend

    Omicron not affecting domestic tourism sentiment this holiday weekend

    A survey carried out by the Tourism Authority of Thailand shows that for the most part, people are not letting the Omicron variant affect their travel plans. The poll’s findings show that domestic tourism is set to generate 5.72 billion baht during the upcoming long weekend, with over 1.8 million trips planned. The Bangkok Post reports that, while Omicron has…

  • “Thailand Tourism with SHA” festival set for December 17 to 19

    “Thailand Tourism with SHA” festival set for December 17 to 19

    “Thailand Tourism with SHA” – the blandly titled event the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Pattaya City created jointly – is set to run on Pattaya Beach from December 17 to 19. The event is scheduled to include dozens of vendors and attractions in hopes of encouraging tourists to visit Pattaya, a quest that will likely be aided by the…

  • Kunming-Bangkok flight third relaunched flight from China Eastern

    Kunming-Bangkok flight third relaunched flight from China Eastern

    China Eastern Yunnan Airlines launched its third flight route between China and Thailand and the Tourism Authority of Thailand just put out a welcome announcement. The flight will bring Chinese tourists from the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming to Bangkok. Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan province and the TAT’s local Kunming made the announcement today welcoming the new…

  • Thai Airways offering round trip Sydney-Phuket flights

    Thai Airways offering round trip Sydney-Phuket flights

    To boost tourism and promote Phuket’s island quarantine “sandbox” scheme, Thai Airways will run round trip flights between Phuket and Australia with three flights a week starting on today. The flights will be offered until January 25. The flight from Phuket to Sydney is available on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Flights depart from Phuket at 6:50pm and arrive at 7:30am.…

  • Recovery of Thailand’s international tourism sector likely to take years

    Recovery of Thailand’s international tourism sector likely to take years

    International tourism demand for Thailand is still low, according to a Bangkok Post report, with a full recovery predicted to take years. Just 133,061 foreign arrivals touched down in Thailand between November 1 and 30, well below the 3 million visitors a month of pre-pandemic times. However, despite low visitor numbers to his province, Pongsakorn Ketprapakorn from the Tourism Council…

  • Maya Bay on hold, but preparations for an eventual reopening continue | VIDEOS

    Maya Bay on hold, but preparations for an eventual reopening continue | VIDEOS

    This week The Thaiger revealed that Maya Bay, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, may remain closed beyond its proposed January 1 reopening, following a groundswell of local support to keep the famous Bay closed. For a while anyway. This is partly spurred on by environmental concerns for the iconic bay which has been closed to visitors since July 2018, and…

  • Maya Bay reopening likely to be postponed | VIDEO

    Maya Bay reopening likely to be postponed | VIDEO

    Maya Bay, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, in between Krabi and Phuket, was slated for a reopening on January 1. But now there’s a building swell of local support to keep the famous Bay closed, for a while anyway. A Line group used by the Marine National Park, along with tour operators and other stakeholders, has revealed a groundswell of…

  • Fiji tourism reopening after nearly 2 years of Covid-19 closure

    Fiji tourism reopening after nearly 2 years of Covid-19 closure

    Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced the island nation has reopened its borders for international tourism for the first time since many of the world’s borders closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic nearly 2 years ago. Fiji’s population of just 1 million people have struggled without the tourism that makes up a lion’s share of the economy after borders closed…

  • Muang district in Ayutthaya allow to serve alcohol in restaurants

    Muang district in Ayutthaya allow to serve alcohol in restaurants

    The CCSA seems to be slowly rolling out the lifting of the alcohol ban in Thailand on a province by province, and sometimes district by district, basis. Muang district in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is the latest district to receive the green light to ease Covid-19 restrictions and allow alcohol to be served in restaurants. The district in Ayutthaya has…

  • Cha-am permitted to sell alcohol in restaurants from December 1

    Cha-am permitted to sell alcohol in restaurants from December 1

    While tourist areas all across Thailand are fighting to be allowed to sell alcohol, Cha-am will be the next tourist pilot area to get to sell drinks. The Phetchaburi Provincial Communicable Disease Committee is preparing to test allowing restaurants and shops to sell alcohol in the tourist city until 10 pm. The trial run of the new permission will be…

  • Tourism officials welcome Czech movie filming in Phuket and Krabi

    Tourism officials welcome Czech movie filming in Phuket and Krabi

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand is celebrating Thailand’s re-opening to international movie stardom once more. The southern provinces of Krabi and Phuket are being used as locations for a Czech movie currently being filmed in the kingdom. Nation Thailand reports that a film crew, consisting of 22 actors, directors, producers, and technicians are in Thailand to film a romantic comedy…

  • No plans to reverse re-opening, despite Omicron variant – Tourism Ministry

    No plans to reverse re-opening, despite Omicron variant – Tourism Ministry

    Thailand’s Tourism Minister says there will be no going back for the country’s re-opening plans, despite the emergence of the Omicron variant. According to a Bangkok Post report, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says closing the borders is not an option anymore. “Nobody wants another border closure as it was really difficult for us to re-open the country. Our economy still suffers from…

  • New variant could dampen Thailand’s reopening enthusiasm

    New variant could dampen Thailand’s reopening enthusiasm

    Thailand was the first country in Asia to more fully reopen to foreign travellers, and it is seeing a slow recovery, with more bookings for hotels, and new faces along shopping strips and markets in the country. November 1 was the launch of the Thailand Pass and a broader reopening to fully vaccinated travellers and tourists from 63 low-risk countries.…

  • “Omicron” – a new Covid variant triggers travel alarms as flights disrupted

    “Omicron” – a new Covid variant triggers travel alarms as flights disrupted

    A reminder today that there is still more steam left in the Covid-19 coronavirus. Just as the world started to peek from behind the curtain of uncertainty, another Covid “variant of concern”, named Omicron, has been discovered. The World Health Organisation says Omicron has a large number of mutations, and early evidence suggests an “increased reinfection risk”. Officially, it is…

  • Phuket traffic police deny Facebook accusal of targeting tourists

    Phuket traffic police deny Facebook accusal of targeting tourists

    After a Facebook post showing a motorbike checkpoint accused police of destroying tourism, the Phuket Provincial Police fired back. The post was made in Thai in the Phuket Sandbox – SHA Plus Facebook group on Sunday and went viral as it blamed traffic police for robbing foreigners now that tourists are returning. The post was accompanied by photos of a…