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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Boost in tourism expected over Loy Krathong Festival
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said that they are anticipating a slight boost in tourism for this year’s Loy Krathong Festival. While still much quieter than in the days before the pandemic, this year a bit more travelling and tourism related to the event are expected than last year. The TAT estimates that tourists throughout the country will spend around…
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Emirates A380 to return to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to meet increased demand
The A380 is to return to the skies over Bangkok as Emirates upgrades capacity on flights to the capital to meet increased demand. TTR Weekly reports that Thailand’s recent re-opening to vaccinated tourists from approved countries has led to strong demand, with around 10,000 arrivals registered at Suvarnabhumi every day. In order to add capacity and frequency to its services,…
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New Thailand tourism music video features PM Prayut
The Thai Khu Fah Facebook page that is run by the government to encourage tourism has launched a new music video starring PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The video features photos of the prime minister and the group of government officials that accompanied him on a recent trip to Nopparat Beach in Krabi. The pictures and video of the prime minister on…
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Phuket’s Bangla Road inspected by national and local health officials
Health officials went to Phuket’s Bangla Road, but not for a beer. The deputy director of Thailand’s Department of Health went to Phuket and inspect the famed walking street in person, reviewing Covid-19 prevention measures. While bars and nightclubs are ordered to be closed nationwide, photos from the provincial health office show bars are the street packed with people, and…
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Thailand’s Maya Bay set to reopen in January
Maya Bay. Remember that breathtakingly pretty beach on Koh Phi Phi Leh off Krabi? Now, the beach that featured in “The Beach” is now poised to reopen. The iconic natural cove of limestone karsts, turquoise waters and THAT beach was one of Thailand’s most popular attractions for a decade with up to 6,000 visitors everyday. But in the end even…
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Only 8 foreign tourists visit Hua Hin since November 1 reopening
Despite Thailand’s reopening, the beach destination of Hua Hin is still extremely quiet. The country officially reopened its borders on November 1, and has seen almost 45,000 international visitors arrive in the last two weeks. But in that time, the town of Hua Hin has seen only 8 foreigners arrive. Hua Hin has historically been a popular beach town in…
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Thai PM “pleased” with increase in tourist numbers since November 1 re-opening
A government spokesman says the Thai PM is pleased with the rise in tourist numbers since the country re-opened with minimal quarantine on November 1. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says that since then, Thailand has welcomed 44,774 foreign visitors to the kingdom. According to a Bangkok Post report, 31,666 of those arrived under the new Test and Go scheme, open to vaccinated…
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Chiang Mai tourism almost exclusively domestic for now
With Chiang Mai currently experiencing the fourth-highest daily infections in the country – 357 people in today’s figures – it’s not surprising that international tourism has hardly bounced back since the reopening of Thailand 2 weeks ago. The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the province has been estimated to have lost tourism revenue as high as 70 billion baht…
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Phuket post-Sandbox arrivals double, surge in domestic tourism
Thailand has only been reopened for 2 weeks, but the Phuket Sandbox was the tourism experiment that started it all. And though Phuket has been welcoming international travellers since way back in July, the November 1 reopening saw a noticeable boost in arriving visitors, both foreign and domestic. The Sandbox scheme that required a soft quarantine where travellers could roam…
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Thai flights up 25%, experts suggest travel bubbles, cheaper Covid tests
Thailand’s reopening isn’t just a boost for Thai tourism businesses; it also provided a ray of hope in Asia for the battered airline industry as the first reopening in the region. The Executive Chairman of Thai AirAsia’s largest shareholder, Asia Aviation, says this sets the tone for flights, the tourism economy, and businesses in the country. Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok,…
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Tourism in Thailand is slowly returning, still a long road ahead
Though the government’s expected flood of tourists entering Thailand since the reopening 2 weeks ago has been closer to a trickle, businesses are seeing a bit of an uptick in tourism. Still, they are calling on the government to loosen Covid-19 restrictions and asking for federal financial programs to be extended and expanded to help speed recovery. The president of…
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Phuket to get 3 new tourist attractions
4 months after the launch of the Phuket Sandbox, a pilot reopening scheme that has now morphed into a country-wide reopening plan for international travellers, the local Phuket government are talking about spending 100 million baht on new landmarks to help attract tourists. The first of 3 landmark projects is a glass skywalk which would allow visitors to walk along…
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First 10 days: 30,000 arrivals; 147,000 Thailand Pass applicants
The Tourism Authority of Thailand totalled up some data for the first 10 days of Thailand’s reopening, with over 30,000 arrivals so far and nearly 150,000 applications submitted for the Thailand Pass to gain entry to the country. The TAT’s report states that the combined total of international travellers arriving at all of Thailand’s international airports – both Bangkok airports,…
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Zipair is the first budget airline to fly from Asia to the US
As tourists finally begin to take to the skies again, a low-cost airline in Japan is set to become the first budget carrier to fly from Asia to North America. Zipair Tokyo Inc announced today that it is launching flight service between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Los Angeles International Airport in California, the first budget airline to do so. Zipair…
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Government considers easing entry rules, antigen testing may replace PCR test
In anticipation of more international arrivals in the coming months, the Thai government is reviewing current entry requirements. According to a Bangkok Post report, officials may replace the PCR test with antigen test kits and rules could be relaxed for people unfortunate enough to have sat near an infected passenger during their flight. Any amendment of the current rules would…
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Thailand Pass problems? Support beefed up with 24-hour hotlines
The Thai government has been touting the success of the Thailand Pass programme while quietly acknowledging a cornucopia of shortcomings and problems users have encountered and publicly complained about. But, due to the high volume of complaints about problems in attempting to register on the Thailand Pass website, the Department of Consular Affairs has beefed up their helplines with a…
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National park visits rising as tourists brave the cold weather
As Thailand reopens and tourism, both international and domestic, begins to grow, many tourists are turning away from chasing warm sunny beaches. An influx of tourists has been seen heading to some of Thailand’s chilliest national park destinations and attractions. In the northern province of Loei, the Phu Ruea National Park viewpoint, renowned for its beautiful sunrises, has seen many…
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Air Asia boss: Recovery in 3 months if countries ditch quarantine, testing
The chief executive of the Air Asia Group says the aviation sector could return to normal in about 3 months, if governments ditch quarantine and PCR testing. Tony Fernandes says if countries can re-open without such requirements, demand will rise significantly. According to a Bangkok Post report, Air Asia has sold over 300,000 tickets to Langkawi since the island re-opened.…
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Thailand focuses tourism on first-time visitors and India
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has expanded its target demographic a bit in its plan to reinvigorate the tourist economy in the country. The new plan the TAT is embracing is to focus not just on the so-called “high quality” tourists, but also to chase first-time visitors to Thailand. Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn is confident and hopeful,…
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Phuket seafood festival and promotional event aimed at drawing in tourists
In another attempt to draw tourists back to Phuket, a seafood festival with live music is being held at the end of the month, which local tourism officials say will make the island’s attractions and activities more “colourful.” The Phuket tourism office is also holding a promotional event early next month focused on boosting tourist confidence with information on health…
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New ferry route Chon Buri-Songkhla, new speedboat Chumphon-Samui
Several new ferry services are launching to connect Thailand, with a long-haul route from Chon Buri to Songkhla and a new boat service launching from Chumphon to the islands of Ko Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. The new routes will be run by Seahorse Ferries Company for the cross country route, and Marine Passion through the islands. CHON BURI…
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Thailand reopening: 20,000 total entered, 50,000 Passes approved
Following reports that 16,595 foreigners total have entered Thailand during the first 5 days of the grand reopening that began on November 1, here are the latest arrival stats for people coming to the Kingdom or at least attempting to come to the country: THAILAND PASS Many people have struggled to obtain their Thailand Pass to enter the country, but…
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Successes and failures in the Thailand Pass programme
Now that the Thailand Pass has been open for about a week, some successes and failures of the revised system replacing the Certificate of Entry are noticeable. The government has issued a warning against a fake registration site, Hotmail accounts not working, and why you might not receive your confirmation, while at the same time applauding more than 50,000 Thailand…
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First flight from Russia lands in Phuket today with 275 travellers
Phuket just welcomed the first international flight arriving from Russia as an Aeroflot flight from Moscow landed at Phuket International Airport today. 275 passengers rode the inaugural flight since Russia was added to the list of 63 approved Test & Go countries that can travel to Thailand without quarantine (aside from an overnight wait for a negative RT-PCR test in…
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Thailand now equipped to perform 120,000 RT-PCR tests daily
The Department of Medical Sciences has been ramping up their testing capabilities and have declared it can now perform 120,000 RT-PCR Covid-19 tests per day. They say it can complete the tests and offer results within 24 hours at any of their 443 active labs that are certified to conduct the tests. Anyone travelling to Thailand is already required to…
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Pattaya sees no tourism boost so far, looks ahead to events
The tourism sector in Pattaya is looking to the near future after they say no new international tourists have been seen in the first few days of Thailand’s reopening so far. Tourism businesses say that they’re seeing domestic travellers coming for weekend trips and long holidays, and the heads of the industry say they don’t foresee numbers to increase for…
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Thailand reopening sees 13,000 travellers, 10 Covid-19 infections
After the first 4 days of Thailand’s big reopening, over 13,000 people have arrived with just 10 of those travellers testing positive for Covid-19. According to the Director of Risk Communication and Health Behavior Development Bureau from the Ministry of Public Health Dr Sumanee Watcharasin, 13,229 people have entered Thailand in the last 4 days, and 10 international travellers –…
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Despite errors, over 65,000 have applied for Thailand Pass
Despite a rash of technical issues, in just 4 days since launching the Thailand Pass, over 65,000 people have applied for it in order to reenter Thailand. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the figures yesterday and stated that 13,000 people have already been approved in the new scheme. From November 1 until yesterday morning, 65,338 applications for the Thailand…
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Soft tourism openings expected for Hua Hin and Cha-am in last quarter of 2021
The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects a soft re-opening for the holiday destinations of Hua Hin and Cha-am during the last quarter of 2021. In total, deputy TAT governor Nithee Seeprae says both resort cities are only expected to receive 5% of 2019’s foreign tourist numbers. According to a Bangkok Post report, he says foreign tourists cannot stay in either…
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TAT revises goal to 700,000 international travellers to Thailand in 2021
Perhaps revising their previous goal of 1 million international tourists in the next 2 months, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is hoping to hit a total of 700,000 international travellers in 2021. Thailand has launched a number of schemes to bring in foreigners during the Covid-19 pandemic to various levels of success so far. The Phuket Sandbox has been the…
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