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Remembering the 2004 tsunami in Phuket

A disaster that transpired almost two decades ago, yet the wounds are still fresh for many present on the southern island at the time. Although Phuket has evolved to become a powerhouse of Thailand's tourism as of late, for those present on the fateful day...

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  • Flights delayed and cancelled at Phuket Airport – Closure of Pakistan airspace

    Flights delayed and cancelled at Phuket Airport – Closure of Pakistan airspace

    Flights have been affected at the Phuket International Airport, a knock-on affect from the closing of airspace over Pakistan. Latest in the tensions between India and Pakistan HERE. Thai Airways resumes flights. Read about that HERE. The Phuket International Airport has announced flights that have been affected at the Phuket International Airport. Delayed flights… AEROFLOT …

  • UPDATE: Thai Airways resumes flights

    UPDATE: Thai Airways resumes flights

    Thai Airways has resumed flight between Bangkok and Europe today after cancellations due to Pakistan’s emergency closure of its airspace. The cancellations, announced late last night, have caused havoc for travellers hoping to fly between Bangkok and Europe on Thai Airways last night and today. Flights between Bangkok to Europe, in both directions, normally fly …

  • 1000s of passengers stranded at BKK over Pakistan emergency

    1000s of passengers stranded at BKK over Pakistan emergency

    More than 5,000 passengers have been stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport since last night night after many departure flights were cancelled due to the emergency closure of airspace in Pakistan. Many more passengers are ending up inconvenienced today as they learn about the cancellations. The debacle is causing another PR disaster for Thai Airways with passengers …

  • British Airways flight buffeted by strong winds – VIDEO

    British Airways flight buffeted by strong winds – VIDEO

    British Airways flight was forced to divert from its planned course after encountering strong gusts off the coast of southern Europe yesterday. Flight BA492 was scheduled to take off from London Heathrow airport at 8:25 a.m. and land in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar at 12:20 p.m. But it eventually touched down at 12:41 …

  • Strong baht a concern for Thai hotel sector

    Strong baht a concern for Thai hotel sector

    by Bill Barnett Thailand’s baht performance against Asian currencies in 2018, was unmatched, with the exception of the Japanese yen. Commenting on the trend financial news Bloomberg have highlighted that in 2019, a further 4% in growth this year have it sitting at the top of the table. Oddly, one of the underlying factors stimulating …

  • Chinese tourists spend big during Chinese New Year holiday

    Chinese tourists spend big during Chinese New Year holiday

    Spending by Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday around the world was the highest in Thailand. Alipay, a leading digital payment platform offered by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba Group has done the sums. The transactions were recorded between February 4-10, and data drawn from the 54 international markets where Alipay is accepted. …

  • Japan’s legendary cherry blossom is only 5 hours away

    Japan’s legendary cherry blossom is only 5 hours away

    by Kaoru Do you travel frequently between Thailand and North America and want to break your journey on the way? Or are you simply looking for somewhere to escape the scorching weather forecast for the next few months? Japan has become a very popular holiday destination among Thais with visitor numbers expected to reach one …

  • Kingdom from the sky – a tribute to the Thailand we love

    Kingdom from the sky – a tribute to the Thailand we love

    Amongst the chaos, the pungent aroma of spicy street food and bad driving, there’s also the daily connection with Thailand’s deep secrets – the land, the light, the hidden beauty. Just 2 Guys Creative have captured some of this in a short tribute to Thailand from the air, all shot on a DJI Phantom 2. …

  • Airport smokers kicked out of Thai terminals

    Airport smokers kicked out of Thai terminals

    The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) says they strongly support Thailand’s move to ban smoking inside the passenger terminals of all its airports, to protect employees and non-smoking travellers from exposure to secondhand smoke. On February 3 this year, the Airports of Thailand (AoT) removed all smoking rooms inside the airports of Suvarnabhumi, Don …

  • Bangkok Airlines schedules more flights out of Chiang Mai

    Bangkok Airlines schedules more flights out of Chiang Mai

    Competition is heating up on two direct airline routes out of Chiang Mai – to Krabi and Luang Prabang in Laos. But Bangkok Airways is facing tough competition on the direct Chiang Mai – Krabi route, already served with three daily Thai AirAsia flights, while Bangkok Airways will schedule only three flights in March and …

  • Airbus signals end to A380 production, end of an era

    Airbus signals end to A380 production, end of an era

    Emirates Airlines says it’s reducing its Airbus A380 orders from 162 to 123 aircraft. They say this follows a review of its operations and developments in aircraft and engine technologies. The A380 is the double-decker mega aircraft that was developed as a new-age rival to the successful Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo’ jet. Whilst popular for passengers …

  • Update on renovations to Krabi International Airport

    Update on renovations to Krabi International Airport

    The Thailand Airports Authority has updated the expansion and refurbishment plans currently underway at Krabi International Airport. They report that work on a third terminal building will be completed by 2022. Manager Online reports that Amphawan Wannako, the director-general, says that work is also being done to refurbish Terminals 1 and 2, including the car …

  • Tourism Council of Thailand promises to raise standards of tourist safety

    Tourism Council of Thailand promises to raise standards of tourist safety

    By Chadamas Chinmaneevong, ttgasia.com The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) says they are “joining hands with state agencies including the Department of Land Transport, Marine Department and Tourism Authority of Thailand to improve tourist safety standards nationwide and overturn perceptions of the country as a dangerous tourist destination.” The project is a reaction to the many, …

  • Air Asia booking system down for 24 hours this weekend

    Air Asia booking system down for 24 hours this weekend

    Air Asia will be upgrading it Navitaire New Skies reservation system over the weekend causing a 24 hour blackout for all booking systems across all channels. Flight booking for Air Asia will be unavailable on Saturday, February 16 from 2pm (GMT +8) until Sunday, February 17 at 3pm. This will include AirAsia.com, AirAsia sales counter, …

  • Boom boom on the border – Thailand’s unlikely red-light district

    Boom boom on the border – Thailand’s unlikely red-light district

    PHOTO: The attractions of Thailand’s southern border town usually become apparent after sunset On one side of the Thai/Malaysian border is Sungai Golok, on the Malaysian side it’s the town of Rantau Panjang. The two towns are separated by the Golok River as well as decades of furious fighting between Muslim separatists who want to …

  • Thai AirAsia X flies to Brisbane June 2019. Thai Airways cut services to Australia.

    Thai AirAsia X flies to Brisbane June 2019. Thai Airways cut services to Australia.

    PHOTO: Airbus Today Brisbane Airport announced that the low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia X would start operating from the Queensland capital flying to Bangkok four times a week from June 2019. This will be Thai AirAsia X’s first Australian destination and would be using the Airbus A330-300’s which have 12 premium seats available in a 2-2-2 …

  • A vacation experience like no other with Club Unique, Phuket

    A vacation experience like no other with Club Unique, Phuket

    Club Unique offers endless possibilities and limitless luxuries. A true vacation experience like no other. A membership at Club Unique affords direct access to an ever-growing portfolio of resorts and destinations with over 3000 fantastic locations worldwide. Headquartered in the company’s flagship resort, Patong Bay Hill Resort & Spa, Club Unique serves as a private …

  • Thai tourists abandoned at Suvarnabhumi after buying dodgy tour to South Korea

    Thai tourists abandoned at Suvarnabhumi after buying dodgy tour to South Korea

    PHOTOS: The Tourist Police Bureau A Thai man has been arrested over the operation of an non-existent tour. He has abandoned five Thai tourists who had bought a tour to South Korea at Suvarnabhumi Airport this week. The Tourist Police report that 32 year old Thai man Puwanart Prakam was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport. He …

  • Smoking rooms, and smokers, being kicked out of Thai airports

    Smoking rooms, and smokers, being kicked out of Thai airports

    Ah yes, just finished that 11 hour flight from Europe and can’t wait to dash into the smoking room for a quick cigarette. In Thailand that’s no longer going to be possible. The AoT (Airports of Thailand) are scrapping the anachronistic smoking zones at all their airports, effective immediately. Smokers won’t be able to smoke …

  • Chinese tourists flock back to Phuket for Chinese New Year 2019

    Chinese tourists flock back to Phuket for Chinese New Year 2019

    Chinese tourists are flocking back to Phuket for Chinese New Year 2019 after a six month hiatus following last year’s Phoenix boat tragedy. 47 Chinese tourists drowned in the incident, including many children, after the boat capsized on July 5 in a late afternoon storm as the tour boat was returning to Phuket. In the …

  • Thailand #1 for Chinese travellers heading overseas for Chinese New Year

    Thailand #1 for Chinese travellers heading overseas for Chinese New Year

    Thailand, Japan and Singapore are topping the lists for Chinese travellers this Chinese New Year. The data comes from Hotelbeds.com, a leading accommodation booking platform. The website identified the top 10 international destinations for Chinese travellers for this year’s seven-day Chinese New Year holiday that starts tomorrow (Monday). Thailand was named the most popular destination followed …

  • Passengers can’t get enough of LA! Flight returns to airport three times.

    Passengers can’t get enough of LA! Flight returns to airport three times.

    PHOTO: CNN Travel 207 Hawaiian Airlines passengers just couldn’t get enough of LA yesterday. They tried to fly out of LAX three times but kept coming back. The returns to the airports were all safety related precautions and were unrelated. The Los Angeles International to Maui’s Airport flight turned back three times. The aircraft had already …

  • Event Round-Up – February 2019

    Event Round-Up – February 2019

    You still have a few days left to enjoy the tail end of Bangkok Design Week which is running from 26 January to 3 February in select areas around Bangkok. Taking inspiration from the city’s rich history as a gathering point for creative minds from all over the world, Bangkok Design Week is held under …

  • Thailand poised to break through 40 million arrivals in 2019

    Thailand poised to break through 40 million arrivals in 2019

    Thailand welcomed a record 38.27 million tourists in 2018. That’s up 7.5 percent from 2017 arrival figures. The Thai tourism ministry announced the figures this morning. In December, tourist arrivals amounted to 3.85 million. The ministry is also expecting the number of tourists visiting Thailand in 2019 to increase by another 7.5 percent. For 2019, the ministry …

  • Bangkok to Los Angeles in just over 5 hours. The second supersonic revolution.

    Bangkok to Los Angeles in just over 5 hours. The second supersonic revolution.

    PHOTOS: boomsupersonic.com When the world’s first supersonic passenger jets took to the skies (in December 1968 – The Russian TU-144, followed not long after by Concorde in March 1969) the two aircraft had been designed with slide rulers and tested in rudimentary wind tunnels. The age of computer design and digital bench testing was a …

  • Reflections #2 – Thailand Tourism Forum – ‘Chindia Tourism’

    Reflections #2 – Thailand Tourism Forum – ‘Chindia Tourism’

    ‘CHINDIAN’ Tourists – Same Same or Different? by Wimintra Raj – hotelintel.co If you’re running a hotel or any business related to the local tourism industry in Thailand, this is an article you need to read, then read again. It was just one of the many presentations at the annual Thailand Tourism Forum held in …

  • New e-Visa for Chinese tourists starts rolling out on February 15

    New e-Visa for Chinese tourists starts rolling out on February 15

    The Department of Consular Affairs is to officially launch the first phase of the new Thai e-Visa in Beijing on February 15. China will be the first country in the world to have the service, which will be extended to other Chinese cities in early March. Chatri Archjananun, director general of the Department of Consular Affairs, …

  • All day dining at The Patong Bay Hill Resort – Phuket

    All day dining at The Patong Bay Hill Resort – Phuket

    A tropical, luxurious resort nestled into the landscape of Hasibpee Hill, the Patong Bay Hill Resort overlooks the ocean and the Patong Beach neighborhood below. The resort offers sweeping sea and city views to accompany its suite-style accommodation, and features a wide variety of on-site amenities and a fantastic all day dining restaurant. The all …

  • Thai Airways charges British passenger 80,000 baht for extra luggage

    Thai Airways charges British passenger 80,000 baht for extra luggage

    PHOTO: Thai Airways A British expat has been charged a whopping 79,825.13 baht by Thai Airways for extra luggage on a flight to London from Bangkok. The report was posted by Thai Visa. The incident occurred when the man in question (who is not named) was on the Thai Airways website purchasing 20kg extra luggage …

  • Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 showcasing Thailand to Thais

    Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 showcasing Thailand to Thais

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand will host the 39th edition of Thailand Tourism Festival at Bangkok’s Lumpini Park from January 23-27. This year the festival features five ‘tourism villages’ representing different regions of Thailand plus two additional zones of activity. Central Region Zone – presents the heritage of old Siam through a traditional Thai house …