International tourist arrivals up 6% to 1.4 billion in 2018: UN

The number of international tourist arrivals rose by 6 percent last year to 1.4 billion, according to an estimate published Monday by the World Tourism Organization.

The increase was driven by travel to southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the Madrid-based UN body, citing economic growth and cheaper air travel as key factors.

Although arrivals to the Americas grew by a modest three percent -- four for North America -- Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific performed better, with rises of six, seven and six percent respectively.

In 2010, the WTO had forecast that international tourist arrivals would only hit the 1.4 billion mark in 2020 -- but it now said that stronger economic growth, more affordable air travel and an easier visa regime around the world had helped boost the market.

"The growth of tourism in recent years confirms that the sector is today one of the most powerful drivers of economic growth and development," WTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said in a statement.

Total arrivals to Europe were 713 million but the WTO noted that arrivals in northern Europe were flat last year, citing uncertainty over Britain's impending exit from the European Union.

Closer focus on data for Africa, which welcomed 67 million visitors in total, saw the north of the continent register 10 per cent growth in arrivals staying at least overnight. Sub-Saharan arrivals were up six percent.

Middle Eastern arrivals rose 10 percent to 64 million.

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 The Caribbean suffered a drop of 2.0 percent in arrivals as it continued to feel the effects of the September 2017 hurricanes Maria and Irma. The storms caused catastrophic damage in tourist hotspots such as Barbuda, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

 The WTO predicted a global overall increase of between three and four percent for the current year, broadly in line with historical trends. Stable fuel prices would "translate into affordable air travel while air connectivity continues to improve in many destinations", it predicted.

Outbound tourism from emerging markets, "especially India and Russia", but also from smaller Asian and Arab markets is expected to continue to grow strongly, it added.

But at the same time the WTO warned that uncertainty related to Brexit "as well as geopolitical and trade tensions may prompt a 'wait and see' attitude among investors and travelers".

Source - TheJakartaPost 

Thai immigration to show leniency to foreigners applying for retirement & marriage extensions

Thai immigration say that they’re willing to show leniency to foreigners in the prickly subject of proving income when applying for retirement and marriage visas and extensions.

Immigration chief Police Lieutenant General Surachete Hakparn acknowledges that some applicants may have difficulty in providing the now required 12 months worth of bank statements.

Where this is the case Surachete has instructed immigration officers that, up to the end of 2019, they will have discretion to accept evidence of less than 12 monthly transfers from overseas.

Appplicants given leniency in this case are being told that this is a one-off exemption and that their applications for the next renewal will not be accepted without a complete set of documents according to the order.

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The order comes after revelations last year that a number of embassies in Thailand, including the UK, USA and Australia, would stop issuing income letters or affidavits, which had been used by expats to confirm their income when applying for a retirement or marriage extension.

This was forcing some foreigners applying for ‘retirement’ or ‘marriage’ visas to show 12 monthly transfers of either 65,000 baht or 40,000 baht paid into a Thai bank account.

Those affected by the new requirements are questioning if they will still be able to obtain a retirement or marriage extension even though they were not able to provide the 12 months worth of statements now required.

Best to consult your visa agent or go directly to your local Immigration office for an ‘off the record’ chat before you submit your documents.

Source - TheThaiger & Thaivisa

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Investigation finds Thai wild tigers targeted by foreign professional gangs

Vietnamese poachers recorded their kills of wild tigers in Thailand

New findings from a three-month investigation have revealed that professional gangs were dispatched across Thailand’s borders to target the Kingdom’s wild tigers.

Freeland, a Bangkok-based international non-governmental organisation working in Asia on environmental conservation and human rights, on Tuesday congratulated Thai authorities for making this discovery and already arresting one of the gangs.

The investigation was initiated after the successful arrest of two Vietnamese men by Thai police in late October following a tip-off from a Thai driver-for-hire. 

The driver had been travelling between the west-central towns of Tak and Phitsanulok when he considered the baggage belonging to two foreign customers to be suspicious, so he called the police. 

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 Thai police inspect the remains of a poached tiger

 They arrested the owners of the bag, took the suspects and the tiger remains to Nakhon Sawan police station, and inspected the suspects' belongings, including their phones.

Police then contacted Freeland for analytical assistance. 

The NGO’s forensics experts were dispatched to the scene and provided on-the-job training. 

Using Cellebrite digital forensics technology, police found evidence that the poachers, originating from Vietnam, had crossed Laos into Thailand for targeted hunting in the Kingdom's forests. 

The poachers documented their trips on their phones, including tiger kills.

Freeland believes the poachers were working on assignment from a Vietnamese criminal syndicate. 

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“We do not think this was the poachers’ first time in 

Thailand, and we have reason to believe they were planning to strike again,” said Sangchai, director of Freeland-Thailand.

Following the discovery of the gang and the poached tiger, Thai rangers were put on high alert. 

“This gang has been removed as a threat, but we should be aware that whoever employed them may dispatch more hunters to kill our country’s tigers,” said Petcharat, adding, “Police, rangers and the public must remain vigilant.”

Freeland is now trying to create an information exchange to suppress cross-border poaching and trafficking, which it believes extends to the criminal exploitation of rosewood trees.

Source - TheNation 
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#Thailand Tourism Festival showcases 5 regions

The Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 takes place from January 23-27 in Bangkok’s Lumpini Park with five ‘tourism villages’ representing the regions of Thailand plus two additional zones:

Central Region Zone – presents the heritage of old Siam through a traditional Thai house and the former rural way of life back in the days through demonstrations, such as, traditional garland making.

Northern Zone – showcases the beautiful hand-woven cotton and silk textiles the region is famous for, presenting the intricate patterns. The zone reflects the artistic nature of the people of the North plus a range of contemporary arts inspired by the region.

Southern Zone – presenting new perspectives of the South that go beyond the beaches and islands including the secondary cities such as Surat Thani and Phatthalung, the hidden gems in major cities like Phuket’s Peranakan and arts in the three southernmost provinces.

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Northeastern (Isan) Zone – brings Thailand’s more vibrant cuisine to life. Food is one major inspiration for travelling to this region, linking it with traditional festivals and cultural values while promoting its three main tourism clusters: North Isan, Central Isan and South Isan.

Eastern Zone – presenting new perspectives of the East under a ‘more fun’ concept through replicas of landmarks most synonymous with the region in combination with three dedicated corners for 3D photography backdrops reflecting the region’s identity.

Perhaps most importantly, there is also a ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ waste initiative zone to help raise awareness and promote responsible and sustainable tourism through various activities, games and more.

 TAT Studio – provides daily live broadcasts of the TTF 2019 in all formats: news reports, special scoops, interviews plus activities and performances. It comprises a live digital TV studio, a 1672 traveller companion information centre, an ‘Or Sor Tho’ magazine section, and virtual reality games and lucky draws.

Source - TheNation

#Indonesia - Komodo National Park to be closed one year for habitat restoration

The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) administration has announced its plans to temporarily close Komodo National Park to visitors for one year to increase the local population of Komodo dragons and deer.

“The NTT administration will make [the necessary] arrangements for Komodo National Park,” said NTT Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat on Friday, as quoted by tempo.co. He did not announce the dates of the temporary closure.

Viktor said that the park's closure was intended to give the provinicial administration easier access in managing the park and developing the dragons' habitat.

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 He said that individual lizards in the current population were not as big as they used to be, attributing this to a decline in the local deer population due to poaching.  

 Deer are the main prey of the carnivorous Komodo dragons, which can grow as large as 150 kilograms and eat about "80 percent of its body weight in a single feeding", according to National Geographic. This means that a 100-kilogram lizard can eat 80 kg of meat in a single sitting.

Viktor said there was a possibility that the lizards could prey on their own kind if the deer population continued to decline.

“Its natural instinct will emerge when [the population of one of the animals] in the Komodo dragon’s food chain declines. If food is abundant, the Komodo dragons will [employ] a different instinct," he said. "This is why the administration wants to manage the Komodo dragon's habitat by temporarily closing the area to visitors for one year.”

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Thailand's infamous 'jet-set monk' convicted of raping a minor

Thailand's infamous "jet-set monk" was convicted of raping an underage girl Wednesday, a court official said, in a case that has rocked an already scandal-mired Buddhist clergy.

Wiraphon Sukphon, 39, earned his evocative moniker after footage emerged of him wearing designer sunglasses with a Louis Vuitton bag on a private jet.

He was extradited back to Thailand from the US last year, accused of the rape and duping donors who had given him money to build what he said would be the world's largest emerald image of Buddha.

The girl was under the age of 15 and Wiraphon is said to have later fathered a child with her.

In Wednesday's ruling, which found him guilty of rape and separating the girl from her parents, the court said he had given the Buddhist faith a "bad reputation".

"He used his monkhood, which Thai people respect," the court official told AFP.

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 Wiraphon's 16-year custodial sentence punishment will be added to the 20-year prison term he received in August after being found guilty of multiple counts of fraud.

The military junta that seized power in 2014 has taken a hardline against monks acting outside the law and authorities have considered introducing digitised ID cards that could track members of the community with criminal histories.

Thailand is mostly Buddhist and the religion is woven into everyday life, but drug, sex and financial scandals have weighed on the Buddhist leadership and forced some high-profile collisions with law enforcement.

In May the abbot of the tourist-heavy "Golden Mount" temple in Bangkok was arrested after $4 million was found in bank accounts in his name. 

Police are also investigating allegations of financial wrongdoing within the National Office of Buddhism.

And early last year, soldiers raided the temple of the mega-rich Dhammakaya sect on the outskirts of Bangkok to detain its controversial abbot on accusations of massive fraud. He eluded capture and remains at large.

Source - TheJakartaPost

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#Cambodia - Tourists flock to military frontier

A wooden staircase with over one thousands steps, built in August 2017 to transport supplies to soldiers on the site of a contentious military frontier with Thailand, has now become an unlikely tourist attraction for many in the Kingdom.

The staircases’ 1181 steps lead to Than Temple at the summit of the Dangrek mountain range – in which Cambodian troops patrol in a long running border dispute with neighbouring Thailand – offering breathtaking views over the national frontier into the Thai countryside.

Located in Samrong town’s O’Teuk Chaol village, Oddar Meanchey province, the wooden staircase was initially built for the benefit of soldiers to transport supplies to the mountain’s peak, but it now also attracts tourists who want to experience the views from the top.

“Soldiers make a bit of money from selling food and beverages to tourists,” Oddar Meanchey provincial Department of Tourism head Thiny Mony Raksmey said.

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Before reaching the temple, tourists encounter a giant ancient grinding stone mill that was carved into the mountain’s rock hundreds of years earlier, as well as the somewhat newer bunkers dug by soldiers as part of the ongoing dispute.

It is recommended that tourists refrain from taking photos or videos of military personnel on the site due to the sensitive situation.

The current Cambodian-Thai border dispute began in June 2008, but it is merely the latest in a century-long dispute between the countries involving the area surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple in the Dangrek mountains straddling northern Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Sisaket province.

Nearby Than Temple on the Dangrek mountain range, tourists are able to combine their tour with a visit to O’Teuk Chaol waterfall and Ta Krabey Temple.

Source - PhnomPenhPost