Phuket airport to remain closed following CAAT U-Turn

UPDATE:

In a surprise reversal, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced the postponement of the reopening of Phuket International Airport, indefinitely. Just yesterday they announced that the provincial airport was to re-open from tomorrow morning.

Although Phuket has gone 13 days with no new Covid 19 infections, it was still considered a risk area that needs to be monitored to stop the spread of the disease to other provinces.

“At the recommendation of the CCSA, the airport is to remain closed until further notice.”

“Although Phuket is able to effectively control and stop the spread of the Covid-19, the situation is still considered a risk that must be monitored to ensure that measures stop the spread of the disease to other areas and prevent the disease from spreading again in the Phuket area.”

Phuket International Airport was closed on April 3, with a ban on all flights except government and military aircraft, and emergency landings.Scheduled international flights into and out of Thailand remained banned until at least May 31.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority has signed an order which will allow the Phuket International Airport to re-open from the morning of Saturday, May 16, less than two days away. Two days ago officials from the local provincial hall participated in an inspection of all the changes and preparations made to cater for passenger travel in the Covid era.

The Phuket International Airport is one of the last major airports to re-open to passenger traffic and commercial flights. The CAAT ordered the airport closed on April 3 to restrict air travel as health authorities nationwide battled to contain the spread of the virus at the time.

The order says that people arriving in Phuket from other provinces will be required to fill in an a form describing their travel history, particularly recently and information about where they are staying whilst on the island. At this stage the opening of the airport is only to limited domestic flights.

“All people leaving the island must register their health condition on the AOT Airports app.”

A ban remains in force for international flights at least until May 31 and a possibility that it could be extended another 15 days.

For land departures there has been a requirement for Phuket people, arriving in some provinces, to adhere to a 14 day quarantine. This order from the CAAT does not mention that requirement. We will post more information when it becomes available.

Currently land departures are required to have a fit-to-travel document saying that they have been in self-quarantine for 14 days before their date of travel. That has not been specified for air travel at this stage.

3 airlines have already notified the PIA of their plans to resume limited domestic passenger services in and out of Phuket, at one flight a day, according to the governor. Other domestic airports have been opened up around the country for limited services.

Provincial authorities also agreed yesterday to ask the Interior Ministry to allow reopening of all sea and road links from Saturday. No approval has been given at this stage.

Aircraft are also requiring specific seating to avoid people sitting next to each other and an insistence that passengers must wear masks. There is also no food and beverage services allowed on domestic services at this stage and travellers are urged to arrive at the airport 3 hours before their flight for additional check in procedures.

Source - The Thaiger

One of Thailand’s Richest Men Says Its Time to Welcome Back Tourists

One of Thailand’s richest men is urging the government to relax lockdown measures and welcome tourists back as soon as possible. Furthermore to turn the country into a “safe haven” for wealthy visitors.

Billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont who is the senior chairman of the kingdom’s largest food and agriculture conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, said the move would help revive the tourism sector.

“Thailand’s economic losses from the lockdown are estimated to be at 16 billion baht per day or almost 500 billion per month,” he told the Bangkok Post. “A longer lockdown will cost us more and more we need tourism.”

Thailand has been under lockdown since March 9th, 2020. After the government acted to stem an increase in confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus cases. The government said the coronavirus infection rate is now about 1%.

The economic impact of the lockdown is apparent as millions of workers applied for unemployment benefits. The tourism sector is also hit hard after the kingdom stopped taking in foreign visitors.

Thailand reports zero new covid-19 coronavirus cases

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) report zero new infections on Wednesday. The first time in 65 days since the lockdown began. The kingdom has recorded 3,017 cases.

“We can’t wait until a vaccine is developed and produced in sufficient quantity to roll out to the entire population,” Mr Dhanin said. “The economy won’t survive that long.” We need to tourists to come back to Thailand.

He said Thailand’s tourism sector accounts for 16-17% percent of the countries GDP. It should be revived due to improvements in the virus situation.

Mr Dhanin also proposed the government attract high-spending tourists from across the world. Above all by highlighting Thailand’s success in containing the Covid-19 Coronavirus.

“The number of infection and death cases in Thailand is very low compared with other countries. Even though our lockdown began later,” he said. “There were also a large number of Chinese tourists in the country.”

“This reflects the doctors and hospitals in Thailand are the best and we need to tell the world about it,” he said.

Mr Dhanin topped Forbes magazine’s “Thailand’s 50 Richest” this year. He is among 20 Billionaires in Thailand whom Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked to develop relief projects to help people affected by the outbreak.

Source - Chiang Rai Times

Laos and China Push Ahead with Sixth Mekong River Dam Project

“China has funded numerous hydropower projects inside Laos, and it has built 11 dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong River”

Laos in partnership with China has submitted plans to to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to build yet another new hydropower dam on the Mekong River. Construction is expected to start later this year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said on Monday.

The Sanakham dam hydropower plant, with an estimated cost of US$2.073 billion, will be developed by Datang Sanakham Hydropower company, a subsidiary of China’s state owned Datang International Power Generation Co, MRC said.

Hydropower development is central to the Laos government’s plan to export around 20,000 megawatts of electricity to its neighbours by 2030. This latest project will be the sixth proposal of nine planned mainstream Mekong dams inside Laos.

Sanakham dam will be the sixth of nine dams in Laos on the Mekong River

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Laos has already completed two dams on the Mekong River. The 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam and the 260-megawatt Don Sahong Dam last year. The dams were built despite objections by environmental groups worldwide.

Objectors said the dams threaten a river system whose fisheries, sediment and seasonal flooding for agriculture support some 60 million people.

Sanakham’s proposed site is located 155 kilometres north of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Its projected to produce 684 megawatts of electricity once it start operating in 2028.

China has funded numerous hydropower projects inside Laos on the Mekong

The Sanakham dam is the sixth project that has been put forward to the prior consultation process with the MRC. The MRC intergovernmental agency that works with regional governments.

China has funded numerous hydropower projects inside Laos, and it has built 11 dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong River inside Chinese territory that have come under scrutiny for allegedly altering the river’s natural flow.

The Sanakham project will now have to go through an MRC prior consultation process, which normally lasts for six months, where other MRC members including Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam can review the project and assess any cross-border impacts. While they can suggest changes, the MRC consultation process cannot veto any project.

Source - Chiang Rai Times / Reuters

This Virtual Vacation to Australia Has an Itinerary Packed With Free Activities

I don't know about you, but I'd go for just about any vacation right now. Send me on a trip to middle-of-nowhere Indiana and I'd be jumping for joy (I can say that because I'm Midwestern, OK!?). But the whole travel thing is a no-go for the indefinite future, so we've gotta come up with creative ways to satisfy our wanderlust.

The solution? A virtual vacation to Australia. The country's tourism board is hosting a streamed travel activation, dubbed Live from Aus, for an entire weekend, kicking off Friday, May 15, at 5pm EST. Workout with Chris Hemsworth's trainers in Byron Bay, get up close and personal with crocs, and let your kids dance it out with The Wiggles, among other activities.

The itinerary also includes front row seats for the Penguin Parade -- which is exactly what it sounds like -- on Phillip Island and an underwater tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Because drinking and eating is unequivocally the best part about vacation (tell me I'm wrong), you'll learn how to throw an Aussie-style BBQ, hit up a dinner party with famed Chef Matt Moran, and experience a sommelier-led wine tasting.

The weekend-long event features free and live content every single hour on the hour and it's available to stream directly on the Tourism Australia's social media channels, including Facebook and YouTube. But if you've already got weekend plans (you shouldn't) the series will also be available on the Australia.com website afterwards.

Browse the full virtual itinerary and plan your days accordingly. 

Source - Thrillist

No more oxcart rides in Kampong Chhnang, #Cambodia

Kampong Chhnang, once bustling with activities thanks to an abundance of tourist visits has taken a turn for the worst, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The smiles of the villagers here have long gone. They used to beam with happiness as they welcomed visitors and people to the Kampong Tralach Leu community. They were happy to provide transportation for tourists who arrived through river cruises.

A highlight of tourist visits was the experience of traveling on oxcarts as they visited century-old temples. But all that is now a distant memory.

The port has gone quiet. Cruise boats don’t dock at Kampong Chhnang anymore. The oxcarts are just left under their houses built on stilts. Many have sold their oxen or cows as the tourist dollars have dried up.

The tourist transportation activities completely stopped after the government announced the temporary closure of the border between Cambodia and Vietnam to stem the Covid-19 outbreak after Cambodia found cruise passengers infected with the novel coronavirus.

Kampong Tralach Leu’s Oxcart Association director Teuk Troeung tells The Post that after the closure of waterway between the two countries, some 140 cows in the community were left in their sheds.

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“Villagers now sell their cows to slaughterhouses because, aside from transporting tourists, the animals had long not been used to plough farmland,” said Troeung, who used to lead his community in transporting tourists by oxcart at least three times a day.

Siem Reap’s Chhreav Agro-tourism Cambodia used to have as many as 350-400 visitors a day under various programmes.

Activities included shopping at the local market, visiting local schools, buying some local vegetables, learning to cook Khmer cuisine, bird-watching, enjoying food with local families and riding on oxcarts to experience village life.

But all these have also come to a standstill.

Krouch Ly, the president of the Information Centre for Cambodia at the Chhreav Agro-tourism Cambodia says: “From dawn, tourists used to catch amazing sights and take pictures of beautiful birds flying in from various places to land on green rice fields in Chhreav and Pea Reang Lake.

“After this, waiting oxcarts transported them to explore the villages. As part of the routine, the oxcarts parked next to the people’s backyard plantations to get a glimpse of how they farmed their land.”

Each day, between 20 and 30 pairs of oxcarts worked to offer tourists such experiences they couldn’t get anywhere else. And the villagers in Chhreav’s community enjoyed their company too.

But now, with tourism practically non-existent, the animals are sold for their meat. 

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Troeung said the situation became dire as the villagers could not afford to feed their adult animals without getting back any benefit from their existence.

So with the money they now earn from selling their cows, the villagers have enough for their subsistence and to buy some calves to raise for better times when the oxcarts once again transport tourists.

“An adult cow that weighs between 300 and 400kg costs about $500. A pair of them we can sell for about $1,000,” says Troeung.

Troeung, who also has a pair of cows, says a calf needs between 18 months and two years to grow to adulthood and be sold for meat.

Aside from Kampong Tralach Leu’s Oxcart Association and Chhreav Agro-tourism Cambodia, many other communities and resorts had offered such oxcart services to tourists as traditional transport.

While the cows have been put up for sale, the carts are left to wither away through the ravages of time.

The Oxcart Association in Kampong Tralach Leu village was founded in almost two decades ago to preserve this centuries-old transportation and promote Khmer culture to local and international tourists.

They used to arrive at the Ka’am Samnar checkpoint through boat cruises, mostly from Vietnam, Phnom Penh, and Kampong Chhnang’s Kampong Tralach Leu village.

After their visit, they usually continued along the Tonle Sap Lake to Pursat and Battambang provinces before heading back.

“Though our oxcart drivers charged between $4 and $5 per trip for each ride, we are happy to take our passengers to explore and visit old temples for a tip,” says Troeung.

He adds that some high-spending tourists used to give them tips ranging from $10 and $20 per trip, which is a tidy sum.

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Source - The Phnom Penh Post

Thai mangrove forestation 'stable' after years of decline

A Thai mangrove forest has been stabilised for several years, Thon Thamrongnawasawat, well-known ecologist, posted on his Facebook page to celebrate the National Mangrove Forest Day on Sunday (May 10).

The mangrove forest had covered 2 million rai (320,000 hectares) 40 years ago, he said.

Deforestation and shrimp farming have contributed to the decline of the mangrove coverage area to 1.5 million rai today, he lamented.

However, the good news is that the mangrove tree area has been stabilised for past several years, he said.

Overall, deforestation of mangrove in Thailand was about 40,000 to 50,000 rai on average, the same rate as reclamation of those deforested areas.

The largest mangrove forests are in Phang-nga, Ranong. On the Siam Gulf, large mangrove forests are in Chanthaburi, Trat and Surat Thani, and Bangkok also has about 4,000 rai of mangrove trees, he said.

People catch 90 types of aqua animals from a mangrove forest and the value of fish, crab, shrimps being harvested by people per one rai of mangrove tree is estimated to be worth about Bt5,000 a year, he said.

He said food from mangrove forest is more important amid the outbreak of Covid-19 as people’s income has declined.

Mangrove trees can also absorb carbon dioxide two to three times more than ordinary trees.

When countries implement carbon credit, countries which have large areas of mangrove forests will greatly benefit from the upcoming agreement, he added.

Source - The Nation

Over 10,000 vendors put wares on sale as Thailand's Chatuchak market opens its doors

A senior official of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) inspected Chatuchak Weekend Market on Saturday on the first day of its reopening after being closed since March 22 under a government order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Wullaya Wattanarat, deputy permanent secretary of the city administration, said: “The BMA will allow the market to open on weekends from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. in all zones except the watch tower and night market zones due to curfew restrictions,” she said. “There are 10,334 vendors who have expressed their interest to continue opening their shops in the market.”

To prevent the possible spread of COVID-19, BMA has limited access to the market from six locations, which will have screening checkpoints equipped with thermo-scanners at all locations. Vehicles will be allowed to enter/exit via Kamphaengphet Road and Phaholyothin Road only.

“All vendors and customers must wear sanitary or cloth face masks, while restaurants must comply with social distancing measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health,” she added. “Furthermore, all eight public restrooms in the market will be cleaned every two hours and will provide alcohol-based hand gels to visitors.”

Vendors selling items like clothes have been instructed to limit the number of customers to five at a time for small shops and 10 for larger shops. Activities that involve crowds are banned at the market.

“BMA will also help the vendors in Chatuchak Weekend Market by exempting them from paying rent for three months,” added Wullaya.

This article appeared on The Nation newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post