Thailand bets on prisons to boost tourism

  

 Thailand plans to turn about half its prisons into tourist attractions to boost visitor numbers as the Southeast Asian nation struggles to recover from an economic slump caused by the corona-virus outbreak.

Sporting events, art exhibitions, cooking contests and souvenirs made by inmates will be rolled out in 72 of the country's 143 prisons, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said this week.

A pilot scheme is being tested in five prisons, including those in the cities of Trat, Rayong and Ratchaburi, he said.

This would not only bring much-needed visitors, but also prepare inmates for a "normal life in society" and change the image of prisons from being "a twilight world to a world of opportunities", he added.

The concept of prison tourism is not new. From tours of Alcatraz in San Francisco to the notorious Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi that is now a museum, prisons are major attractions worldwide.

Some defunct prisons have even been converted into luxury hotels, while a women's jail in Colombia has a restaurant run by inmates, and a Singapore prison hosts an annual charitable run.

But luring tourists without addressing fundamental concerns about Thailand's prison system, including overcrowding and the large number of women inmates, is "not acceptable", said Debbie Stothard, founder of Altsean, a human rights network.

"It's a good idea if it's meant to give prisoners more skills and help them integrate into society," said Stothard.

"But it has to be part of a broader rights-based approach to reform the system," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday.

Thailand has the largest prison population in Southeast Asia, and inmates have limited access to medical facilities, food, water and sanitation, according to a 2017 report by the International Federation for Human Rights.

A 2017 law was aimed at improving prison conditions, and Thailand's Justice Ministry has vowed to ease overcrowding, as well as provide vocational training for prisoners.

The tourism project is a part of this plan, Somsak said.

Thailand's tourism-dependent economy has taken a hit from the corona-virus, with only about 8 million visitors expected this year, a fifth of last year's total.

But driving visitors to correctional facilities is not the answer, even though Thailand has successfully turned the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Tarutao - which were once prisons - into popular tourist spots, said Stuart McDonald, co-founder of website Travelfish.

"It raises significant concerns around the sensitivity of what is made available to the public, and how the rights and privacy of prisoners would be protected — for instance, would they have a choice not to participate?" he said.

"Prisons should be working to rehabilitate prisoners regardless of any possible tourism appeal wrapped up in the process."

Source - TheJakartaPost

Tourists flock to Bali after ban lifted

Tourism in Bali has seen a surge after local authorities opened the resort island to tourists in late July.

According to Bali Tourism Agency head Putu Astawa, the number of domestic arrivals increased up to 17 percent at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar. However, Putu said he doubted that tourism on the island would be back to its previous state in the near future.

“If we expect that it will be normal just like before [the pandemic], I think it won’t happen. Those who want to go on holiday need to have money, but many people lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.   According to Putu, as many as 2,128 people arrived in Bali through Ngurah Rai airport on July 31, and 2,419 more people arrived the next day.

Putu asserted that it was essential that health protocols were obeyed. "Both the economy and health are equally important. Before any vaccine is developed, enforced health protocols are the only way the public can keep going with their activities."

He added that the classic Bali destinations such as Tanah Lot and Pandawa Beach were still popular among tourists.

Tanah Lot operational manager I Ketut Toya Adnyana said around 3,265 tourists flocked to the site on July 31. Of that number, only 94 foreigners were present.

Other destinations that have also seen an increase in their visitor numbers are Lake Batur in Kintamani and Bali Botanical Garden.

Source - The Jakarta Post

#Thailand - Nearly one-third of tourism-related businesses ‘may shut down permanently’

About one-third of tourism business operators in Thailand will run out of liquidity to keep their businesses afloat in the second half of 2020, Tourism Council of Thailand president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn has warned.

“The impact of Covid-19 will become most serious in the third quarter this year after many operators had tried to cut costs by letting some of their employees go, but after more than a million positions cut the situation still hasn’t improved, as no foreign tourists are allowed into the country yet,” he said.

“The council estimates that in the next three months up to 30 per cent of tourism-related businesses in Thailand are at risk of shutting down permanently.”

Chairat added that some operators are starting to sell their establishments, such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and gift shops to investors who wish to turn them into other business. “However, since the real estate business is also affected by the economic crisis, the hope of selling their properties is still bleak for these owners,” he added.

“The council had a meeting with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday (July 10) and proposed five measures to help tourism business operators,” said Chairat. “These measures are: providing soft loans to tourism entrepreneurs; considering moving the schedule up to open the country to foreign tourists under a practice similar to the travel bubble scheme; offering discount on electricity bills, one of the main costs of hotel operators; having the Social Security Office extend the compensation payment to temporarily unemployed staff from June to December, and reducing the employer’s contribution to Social Security Fund from 4 percent to 1 percent.”

Chairat also added that the Tourism Council of Thailand has predicted the income from foreign tourists in 2020 will drop significantly from Bt2.2 trillion last year to only around Bt600 billion.

Source - Pattaya One News

Plan for Travel bubbles in the fridge: "For the time being no foreign tourists to Thailand"

Travel bubbles are likely to be delayed after several countries eyed for the scheme have seen a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).

CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop said even though talks about travel bubble arrangements continue with a number of countries including China, Japan and South Korea, the scheme will be put on hold due to a resurgence in infections. He said Thailand will be closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation this month.

The government has come up with a plan to launch travel bubbles with several countries with low corona-virus risk, originally starting in August.

Mr Chula said that local tourism is vital to rebuilding the country's aviation industry and noted that demand for domestic travel is picking up after airlines resume operations and business operators launch promotional campaigns to boost travel.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said on Tuesday that public safety is the top priority for the government as it considers reopening the country to international travelers.

Mr Saksayam called on airlines to wait for a clear policy from the government and the CAAT when asked about reports about airlines preparing to resume international flights in September.

Earlier an epidemiologist at Chulalongkorn University urged the government to use extreme caution when considering travel bubble arrangements because the Covid-19 pandemic is still ravaging many parts of the world.

Source - Bangkok Post

Visa amnesty extension for foreigners “being considered”

Thailand’s Immigration Bureau is considering extending the current visa amnesty for foreigners stranded in Thailand. The Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokesperson made the announcement at this morning’s daily Covid-19 briefing by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

The Cabinet’s last resolution was to grant an automatic visa extension for foreigners stranded here to stay until July 30. The deputy spokesperson asked for patience and said the bureau’s decision on the subject will announced soon.

In April, the Cabinet granted a second automatic visa extension for foreigners for 3 months. The extended amnesty was a bid to prevent long queues at immigration centres around the country. A spokeswoman for the Thai government said then that they wanted to stem the spread of the virus and avoid foreigners having to wait in lines, threatening their own health and that of immigration officials.

Only 1 new case of the virus was reported in Thailand today, a 24 year old woman who returned from Bahrain on June 28 and tested positive in state quarantine in Chon Buri province after showing symptoms.

As of today the total number of confirmed cases in the country since the outbreak stands at 3,180 (2,444 domestic cases and 243 in state quarantine). 3,066 have recovered and been discharged, making the recovery rate 96%. There have been 58 deaths.

Globally, the total number of confirmed cases reached 11 million, up by 179,000 in Thursday (up an additional million in less than a week). 5.9 million people have recovered while total deaths now stand at 524,580.

Source - The Thaiger / Bangkok Jack

Get paid to travel in Thailand starting July 15

Travel again with taxpayer help when a program to boost domestic tourism begins July 15.

That’s the new date for the THB22.4-billion fund to begin subsidizing travel and accommodations for Thai nationals 20 and up through October, the cabinet announced today. It’s also when travelers can register with Krung Thai Bank, where they must hold an account to participate.

Though the ban on international travel will be lifted Wednesday, strict rules will limit who can enter the kingdom, and tourists will not be allowed in for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pocket Money app (iOS and Android) will provide a promotional code that must be used to access the funds.

Registered users can get 40% of their accommodation expense – capped at THB3,000 per night – for up to five nights one time only during the program. They must book a place outside their home province at least three days in advance.

Those who reserve their stays that way will also get a THB600 e-voucher to use for food and services in the destination province while they travel until on their day of check-out.

Thirdly, is a travel subsidy for about 2 million people. Capped at THB1,000, it will cover domestic air travel, interprovincial buses and car rentals.

Medical workers and volunteers on the front lines of combating the COVID-19 outbreak will get a thank you in the form of THB2,000 per person for travel booked through an agent.

Source - Coconuts

Govt offers July 27 as first compensation for Songkran

This year’s Songkran holidays will be tied in with the king’s birthday, government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat announced on Monday (June 29).

The holidays will run from July 25 to July 28 (the King’s birthday), with Monday, July 27 marked as the first compensatory holiday for Songkran, which had been cancelled earlier this year due to the pandemic.

Decision on compensation for the other two days of the three-day festival is still pending.

The Cabinet has been postponing making a decision on new dates for Songkran holidays in line with measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. 

Source - Pattaya One News