Friday, 9 October 2015

Haze hits Phuket tourism


Thailand offers to help Indonesia as annual fires cause flight delays

THE PROLONGED haze is hitting Phuket's tourism hard, with tourist operators on the island complaining about flight delays and holiday cancellations.

The problem stems from agricultural fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Foreign Affairs Ministry deputy permanent secretary Vitavas Srivihok met with Indonesian Ambassador Lutfi Rauf yesterday to discuss the issue. 


Vitavas said Lutfi said he was sorry and explained the Indonesian government was now taking harsh legal action against those behind the fires.

"During the meeting we told the ambassador that Thailand is ready to provide assistance," he said.

Lutfi said the Indonesian government was trying its best to extinguish the fires.

"The Indonesian authorities are applying many measures to put out the fire as our first priority," the ambassador said. 


"We have been irrigating water to the burning peatland, making artificial rain and also water bombing the fire from above. More than 8,000 military personnel were called to the fire-extinguish operation."

He said there were 184 fire cases and 223 individuals and companies are involved in them, with 78 suspects detained.

"We are working with international partners especially within the Asean framework to relieve the haze situation," he said. 


"We have already received some help from Malaysia and Singapore, but we need to make sure that the help from outside meets the needs on the field, otherwise the help will be useless." He said Thailand offered help Indonesia and asked what help it needed.

The Indonesian government was very appreciate of the offer and he would pass it on to Jakarta.

Lutfi said Indonesian authorities were seeking more and bigger aircraft to carry out the water bombing. The aircraft should be able to carry more than 25 tons of water.


At least three flights from Phuket to Bangkok were delayed yesterday morning due to the thick haze that affected visibility at Phuket International Airport.

All the flights were scheduled to depart Phuket before 8.20am, said an airport officer who joined an emergency meeting chaired by the provincial governor. The affected carriers were Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia and Thai Airways International.

The haze also affected a Silk Air international flight and a Jet Star international flight, with both having to circle the airport two extra times before being allowed to land.

Bangkok Airways has advised its passengers to contact its call centre on 1771 to check the status of flights especially those flights departing the South of Thailand and travelling to the South.

At 8am yesterday, an air-quality check showed the amount of particulate matter up to 10 microns in size had reached 210 micrograms in the Phuket city municipal area. The safe limit is 120 micrograms. 


Kannapat Wongtikied, who runs the Phuket Sunny Hostel in Muang district, said about 20 per cent of room reservations had been cancelled in the wake of the haze.

"Several guests here have also cancelled their one-day trip-tour package. My business income has been falling by about 60 per cent," she said. She said some guests cut short their stay.

"One couple initially booked seven nights but they left for Myanmar after just two nights because of the haze," Kannapat said.

Auraiwan Phuthong, who runs the Phong Phang restaurant in the same district, said she handed out masks to her employees and her customers to help them cope with the haze.

"The number of customers has significantly dwindled. My income has dropped by about 30 per cent already," she said.

Phuket resident Phongpol Ratchapol said he wore a facial mask when outside, while locals plan to rally in front of the Phuket City Hall today and lodge a protest letter against the Indonesian government.

Suratin Lian-udom, a former mayor of Tambon Rassada Municipality, will reportedly lead the rally.

Source: The Nation

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Monday, 5 October 2015

Tennis stars Djokovic and Nadal play to boost Thailand’s tourism


World number one Novak Djokovic comfortably beat his out-of-form rival Rafael Nadal on Friday at an exhibition match in the Thai capital designed to boost tourism in the junta-ruled nation.

The Serb, 28, cruised through the best-of-three-set contest at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in eastern Bangkok, winning 6-4, 6-2, in the sponsored event also broadcast live on local television.

There were few long rallies in the service-dominated match, lasting just over an hour, with the Spaniard opening serve before being broken in the seventh game.

Djokovic dominated, successfully serving for the first set and securing an early break in the opening game of the second.

Nadal -- who ended the season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2004 -- failed to challenge his longstanding rival and was broken for a second time in the final set before the Serb sealed his win.

The leading tennis stars spent longer in official engagements than on the court on Friday, earlier meeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, who seized power from an elected government as then-army chief in a military coup last May.

Their Thai tour also included a visit to the Erawan shrine, the downtown site of the deadly August bomb attack that launched a fresh blow to the kingdom's reputation as a tourism haven after last year's coup and the anti-government protests which preceded it.

On Friday the Tourism Authority of Thailand released a statement saying the pair had "helped to promote Thailand's tourist credentials", drawing on their star power to show "it's business as usual" in the country.

Story: AFP / Coconuts

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#Bangkok, Arrest warrant approved for suspicious backpacker


Dusit District Court has approved an arrest warrant for an unidentified foreigner who entered the military court a day before bombing suspects Yusufu Mieraili and Adem Karadag were transferred to the military remand prison.

Images from security cameras at the military court show the man go inside the court on on Sept. 25 and then wander around each floor.

He reportedly took the elevator and went up to the fourth floor, walked to the roof deck and stayed there for awhile. The man later walked down to the third floor, reportedly surveying the area before descending the elevator to the first floor.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and was carrying a black backpack.
After authorities saw the CCTV footage, bomb squad officers were deployed to search every floor inside the court.

When no explosive device was found, officials assumed he was a tourist looking for a bathroom.
"We were not sure what the situation was and could not identify if he was a foreigner or not. He could be a tourist because the court is open to the public, and many people stop by to use the bathroom," Deputy Judge Advocate General Krisda Charoenpanich said last Monday.


 However, even though the court is open to the public, the arrest warrant was approved at the request of Chana Songkram Police Station and the man has been charged with trespassing on a property without appropriate reasons. A five-year limitation period applies to his warrant, state media reported.

Source: Coconuts

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