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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Sponsored 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?...
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Meeting reveals Thai vs foreigners in Phuket Sandbox, other stats
Statistics and data regarding the Phuket Sandbox can be cloudy and conflicting, but at yesterday’s meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee, some rarely shared figures were discussed. One often questioned detail is how many people in the numbers reported for international traveller arrivals are truly tourists and how many are even foreigners at all. During the meeting, it was…
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Royal Thai Army to help tighten overland checkpoint into Phuket
Following reports of insufficient security on the land borders into Phuket, the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee made the decision to have the Royal Thai Army assist in monitoring the Phuket Checkpoint at Tha Chatchai for Covid-19 safety. There have been concerns that the land crossing into Phuket is understaffed and not secure. The committee meeting was Chaired by Phuket Governor…
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Pattaya still eyes September reopening despite Covid-19 surge
The Pattaya Move On programme to reopen one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations to international travellers is facing an uphill battle as the Chon Buri province faces unrelenting growth in Covid-19 infections. Despite continued infections, the Chon Buri Tourism Council plans to push forward the reopening plan set to begin in September. The province has recorded over 13,500 Covid-19 infections…
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With Covid-19, Tourism Ministry mulls new reopening strategy
The Tourism and Sports Ministry is reevaluating the plans for reopening Thailand and its tourism hubs as Covid-19 infections are rising all over the country. While they admit that the surge in Covid-19 is a major health and safety issue, they insist on the necessity of reopening and restarting the tourism economy and get Bangkok reopened in particular. Minister of…
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No foreign tourists to arrive tomorrow, the first day of “Samui Plus” reopening
No tourists will arrive in Koh Samui tomorrow, the first day of the island’s reopening under the “Samui Plus” travel scheme, similar to the “Phuket Sandbox.” Only 4 foreign tourists are expected on Friday. Tourism officials say it will be a slow start and they expect that an influx of travellers to the trio of islands in the Gulf of…
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Officials argue most leaving Sandbox aren’t unhappy
Nothing shows confidence more than repeatedly shouting “fake news.” But amid growing negative press regarding the Phuket Sandbox, officials find themselves continuously denying rumours that Sandbox arrivals are fleeing the island and going home unhappy. While many have left the Sandbox, more have arrived, and the government’s argument isn’t without merit as those who left the Sandbox have various reasons.…
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Slow start for “Samui Plus” reopening, only 33 seats booked for this month
While the “Samui Plus” reopening plan is set to start tomorrow, it might be more of a “soft” reopening. Only 33 airline seats are booked for this month and tourism officials say it will be a few months before the islands see an influx of international arrivals. Similar to the “Phuket Sandbox,” the scheme allows the trio of islands in…
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Government dismisses rumours of Phuket sandbox collapse as “fake news”
The government says the Phuket sandbox scheme is going “very well”, describing rumours of its imminent demise as, “fake news”. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchan from the Centre for Economic Situation Administration says the only thing threatening the sandbox scheme is false reporting on social media that claims the island has been ordered to close due to…
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Koh Samui opens for bookings from vaccinated foreign tourists
Koh Samui’s sealed route programme, Samui Plus, has opened for business, with vaccinated tourists now able to apply for a certificate of entry. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee from the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says some details need to be ironed out, including determing the cost of a 7-day stay at an alternative state quarantine facility, to include Covid-19 tests and medical…
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Phuket Sandbox woes: 2 more foreign Covid-19 cases, Delta variant
The Phuket Sandbox has hit a few hurdles with the revelation of 2 more international arrivals testing positive with Covid-19, as well as the first cases of the Delta and Beta variants on the island. The news comes in the wake of the Governor ordering most of the islands’ schools to close for 14 days due to the rising risk…
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All Thai AirAsia July flights cancelled; airlines cope with lockdown
In light of Bangkok’s new Covid-19 lockdown measures, Thai AirAsia has cancelled all their domestic flights in Thailand, while Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Smile, and Vietjet have introduced emergency measures for flight rescheduling. AirAsia, the popular budget airline based in Malaysia, has suspended all domestic flights operated by Thai AirAsia effective immediately. They hope to resume service on August…
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Samui and Phangan reopening: bars open, 5,000 baht Covid tests
Koh Samui and the surrounding islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are preparing for their Samui Plus reopening beginning July 15. The rules for the reopening are more stringent, with 3 full days of quarantine required and then 4 days of being allowed to travel only on sealed routes to specific tourist destinations before finally being allowed to travel…
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2,500+ in Phuket Sandbox, flight and hotel numbers increasing
Despite the first international Covid-19 case of the Phuket Sandbox and the subsequently quarantined passengers requesting to leave Thailand, increasing numbers of international travellers continue to arrive each day in the reopening scheme. Yesterday 125 more travellers arrived on flights from Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi, with 11 more flights scheduled for the next 2 days. That…
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12 Sandbox travellers in quarantine request to leave Thailand
The strict rules and closed entertainment venues have discouraged many potential tourists from coming to the Phuket Sandbox just yet, but many who have arrived have expressed happiness to be enjoying the beauty of Thailand, even with the complex process and limitations on the ground. But predictably, one group of Sandboxers who have are in quarantine after one traveller tested…
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Phuket taxi meeting: 20% fare cut, but doesn’t address gouging
The Phuket Office of the Public Relations Department has tried to paint a win for a meeting regarding overcharging taxis in the Phuket Sandbox, though the resolutions seem unrelated to the problem. During the meeting, taxi drivers agreed to a 20% discount for all fares until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic but did not address the problem of complaints…
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Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern
More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…
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Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening
The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…
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Bangkok Airways revises Koh Samui flights ahead of reopening
To prepare for the Samui+ reopening programme launching July 15, Bangkok Airways is revising its schedule to operate 3 inbound flights and 3 outbound flights daily between Koh Samui and Bangkok. The new schedule, released today and promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in a press release this afternoon, will feature a morning, afternoon, and evening flight option beginning…
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Officials: Don’t believe viral video, Phuket bridge checking all entries
When the Phuket Sandbox launched, restrictions to enter the island by land were tightened to match, requiring any overland traveller to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival or be denied entry. Authorities are once again reinforcing that messaging after a video has gone viral appearing to show vehicles passing freely through the…
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3 travellers escaped Phuket Sandbox but were quickly caught
In light of the recent discovery of the first internationally imported case of Covid-19 in the Phuket Sandbox scheme, the news that 3 people so far have “escaped” from the strictly regulated accommodations might be a little unnerving. While the Sandbox may not be airtight, authorities successfully located and handled 3 tourists reported missing from Phuket hotels this week. The…
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Entry registration under “Samui Plus” reopening planned to open this week
The registration for entering Thailand under the slated “Samui Plus” reopening scheme is planned to open this week. Similar to the Phuket “Sandbox,” the programme will allow foreign tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to the trio of islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao are…
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Survey shows most hotels can only cover operation costs for less than 3 months
A survey by the Bank of Thailand shows that most hotels can only cover their operating costs for less than 3 months. 220 properties were surveyed between June 14 and 27. Of those, 17 are alternative state quarantine facilities, while 3 properties serve as “hospitels”. 68% of those surveyed say they only have enough liquidity to cover their operating costs…
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Phuket reports 7,347 “sandbox” hotel bookings for July
There have been 7,347 hotel bookings made for the southern island of Phuket as its “sandbox” re-opening continues. In the first 4 days of the scheme, the island has welcomed 1,416 international arrivals, most of whom are foreign nationals. Below is the breakdown: Day 1: 479 (303 foreign nationals, 176 Thais) Day 2: 544 (467 foreign nationals, 77 Thais) Day…
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Phuket reviews taxi rates after “Sandbox” tourists report high prices
The notoriously high taxi rates in Phuket have been looked into after reports of overcharging the “Sandbox” tourists. The governor says he ordered local authorities to review claims of overpriced rides and found that rates are appropriately priced. From the Phuket International Airport to Patong, a “Sandbox” tourist can pay 600 to 1,050 for a ride. One tourist planning a…
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Tourism Ministry to ask for soft loans to help operators prepare for re-opening
The Tourism and Sports Minister says that if the Phuket sandbox is a success, he will have talks with the Finance Ministry about allocating soft loans to tourism operators. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the loans would come from the government’s 500-billion-baht borrowing and would help tourism operators prepare for an October re-opening. In the interim, he says domestic tourists can help…
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Meet the Sellers: First arrival in the Phuket Sandbox
Darren and Supattra Sellers may not have been part of the Siamese revolution that changed Thailand to a constitutional monarchy, or the coup that overthrew the government 7 years ago, but they will forever be a part of Thailand’s modern history now. You see, the Sellers and their 2 children were the first family off of Etihad flight 430 on…
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1,324 arrive in Phuket Sandbox, government denies COE delays
The Sandbox is underway with relatively few hitches on the ground in Phuket, though the same might not be true of the approval process before international travellers depart to the southern Thai island. This weekend saw over 1,300 international travellers arrive to the Phuket Sandbox, and even with complex processes and restrictions, many are just happy to be there. Today…
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Inside Phuket’s Sandbox – Questions answered | VIDEO
Tim tries to answer as many Phuket Sandbox questions as possible as the fourth day of the ‘reopening’ emerges. So far, so good. Vaccines, tourism, getting back onto the island as an expat, flights, etc. The Sandbox is the first step in reopening Thailand to vaccinated travellers, without a formal 14 day quarantine in a hotel. Unfiltered, unshaven, unscripted. I…
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Sandbox: 6000 registered, no positive Covid-19 tests, new land restrictions
Now that the Phuket Sandbox is up and running, international travellers are trickling back in to enjoy the Thai tropical island. More than 6,000 people have reportedly registered for the Phuket Sandbox so far, no arrivals have tested positive for Covid-19 yet, and officials are tightening up the land entry borders to the island. The Director-General of the Department of…
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Despite struggles, Phuket tourists are happy to be here
One thing many forget when they’re considering the condition of Phuket for the returning international tourists is that, while we are comparing it to the pre-Covid-19 glory days of Phuket, those travelling in the first days of the Sandbox are comparing it to their life at home now. While Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the Thai economy and tourists are…
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