#Thailand to open all land border crossings next year

 Thailand is planning to open all land border crossings with neighbouring countries next year. The move is reportedly part of an effort to facilitate the transportation of goods to help restart one aspect of the economy. The Department of Foreign Trade says it will negotiate with Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia to reopen all 97 land borders and hold trade fairs throughout several locations next year.

According to the National News Bureau of Thailand, the DFT Director General says the department will remain committed to facilitating exports through the modernisation of specific laws. Such modernisation includes upgrading department services like permit extensions, geographical indication documents and exporter registrations.

Last year, Thailand brought in around 1 trillion baht in revenue from border trading but trade with Singapore, Vietnam and China decreased as more exporters chose air shipping.

Thai farm products including rice will be promoted at events by the DFT both at home markets and abroad. Thai rice exports exceeded 8.5 million tonnes this year, surpassing the target of 7.5 million tonnes.

Source - The Thaiger

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Russians still biggest tourist group in Phuket, peak expected during holidays

Russians remain Phuket’s biggest tourist group, and the island resort’s tourism is expected to peak during the holidays, according to the president of the Southern Thai Hotels Association, Sueksit Suwannadissakun, who believes the peak of tourism High Season will be between December 24 to January 5.

About 57% of hotels in the island province reopened in October, jumping to 70% in November, according to Sueksit. He said the association expects that during Christmas and New Year, 80% of Phuket hotels will be opened. Sueksit told The Phuket Express…

“The top tourists are now Russians which is about 25% of total visitors, secondly followed by Indians at 12%, and finally Singaporeans and Australians at 6%. These four groups of tourists are almost half of the overall tourism market in Phuket.” 

Sueksit added that most other tourists in Phuket are Europeans coming to Thailand for the warm winter here.

In November, Phuket saw 55,097 Russian tourists arriving on its shores. The second largest tourist group in Phuket that month came from India, with 26,525 travellers, according to Phuket Immigration.

The recent swarm of Russian tourists in Thailand has taken the country’s tourism forces completely by surprise. Despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian tourism market has returned much quicker than expected, according to the president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) last month.

Chartered flights to Phuket and Pattaya are being filled by Russian tourists. Less than two weeks after Russian airlines made their triumphant return to Phuket, Aeroflot announced an increase in direct flights to the island. The flagship airline of Russia made known on November 12 that it would be adding 14 new flights a week from Russia to Phuket.

As of October 26, Thailand witnessed 7,349,843 international tourists arrive at its airports. According to the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand is on course to attract around 11 million tourists this year.

Source - The Thaiger

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Thailand - Ratchaburi locals urge foreign tourists to wear face masks

Residents in the central province of Ratchaburi urge foreign tourists to wear face masks while travelling in Thailand because the Covid-19 situation is expected to be more serious during the High Season.

Channel 3 reported that they received a complaint from locals in Ratchaburi about the use of face masks among foreign tourists. Locals said that most Thai people still use face masks but foreigners don’t. Residents want officials to encourage foreign tourists to wear face masks.

Residents are worried about another Covid wave because more tourists are visiting Thailand now restrictions have been lifted. They believe another coronavirus outbreak could affect the economy again.

The government suggests people wear face masks in crowded public areas such as the Metro and BTS but face masks in Thailand are no longer compulsory. Most Thai people and business owners in the province think it is fine for foreigners to drop their face masks.

A Thai tour guide, Patsayu Thianjam, told the media that he still wears a mask in the public place but could not force anyone to wear a face mask.

Patsayu added that if foreign visitors do not want to wear masks then that is fine with him, he says he is happy more tourists from across the world are visiting Thailand once again.

A seller at the floating market, Usarat Onsooddee, said…

“I do not care much about the face mask or the infection. It depends on them. If they don’t wear it, it’s totally fine for me. Covid is just a disease. It can be treated. We can’t make a living if we think too much. It has been three years and no one cares for us. Getting infected and making a living is better than starving to death.”

Usarat added that the market had seen an influx of more visitors. She reckons tourism is at about 50% of the pre-pandemic total.

A doctor from the Ratchaburi Provincial Public Health Department, Pajaree Areelop, said…

“We can’t force anyone to wear a face mask because there is no law or restriction as in the past, and the situation changes. What we can do is ask for cooperation and protect our own health. The official health department still encourages people to wear a face mask. However, the concern over health conditions and the economic situation should be balanced. We opened the border for the economy to recover. Locals, sellers, and business owners who were worried about the infection can put their masks on to protect themselves.”

Source - The Thaiger

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Air pollution threatens water supply in Tibetan Plateau for two billion people

 The Tibetan Plateau – also known as “The Roof of The World” and the “Asian Water Tower” – is the world’s largest and highest plateau. As the third largest storage of ice in the world, it is the source of several important Asian rivers and a crucial source of water for up to two billion people. A new study reports that an air pollutant called black carbon threatens unprecedented glacial melting in the plateau.

Black carbon is a fine particle soot byproduct of fossil fuel and biomass combustion. It absorbs solar energy warming up its surroundings and contributing to global warming. When it falls on snow, that snow cannot reflect sunlight, warming it up and melting it more quickly.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources released a study at the end of last month in the peer-reviewed Nature Communications journal. It found that black carbon emissions reduced summer rains over the plateau and that leads to the glaciers there shrinking.

This could lead to geological hazards as well as massive water shortages in South Asia.

Any area covered in ice and glaciers – such as the Antarctic, Arctic, and the Himalayas – can be severely harmed by black carbon emissions. The Tibetan Plateau is the most easily threatened, due to its proximity to some of the worst air-polluting countries on the planet. Pollution from India easily drifts onto the plateau. That black carbon resulted in an 11% average loss of glacier mass from 2007 to 2016 over the Tibetan Plateau, and up to 22% in the Himalayas.

Precipitation over the summer on the Southern Tibetan Plateau has been declining since 2004 by an average of 4.4 millimetres per year and seems to be accelerating. That rain usually makes up 60% of the total annual precipitation so its reduction can have a tremendous negative effect on water resources.

Ironically, the same black carbon emissions that have accelerated glacial melting and reduced rainfall on the plateau have increased cloud condensation and atmospheric convection over much of South Asia. That actually increases the rainfall in other areas even while reducing it over the vital plateau.

Asia One reports that scientists are calling for strong cuts in black carbon emissions to avoid potential catastrophe. But while it’s easy to put restrictions on large corporations to reign in emissions, areas like South Asia have millions of small sources of black carbon. Individuals, like kilns along the northern border of India, are also contributing to the black carbon emissions and are much harder to regulate.

Source - The Thaiger

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Christmas present to Phuket motorists: Patong Hill road to reopen

 Good news for motorists in Phuket, Patong Hill road is expected to fully reopen to all traffic on Christmas Day.

The road between Kathu and Patong was closed after it was hit by a landslide during a deluge of heavy rain in October. The road is only partially open at the moment but the Mayor of Kathu, Chai-anan Sutthikul, reported today that repairs to the road were almost finished, said Bangkok Post.

“The road’s foundation has been filled and strengthened and repair work is almost done.

“When completed, the road’s width will be increased by 7 metres in that section, making it safer, stronger and more durable.”

The mayor revealed he expected the 21 million baht project to be finished before December 24 and within the 45-day timeframe set in the contract.

“If there is no rain, the work could even be finished on December 20.”

The Provincial Electricity Authority’s Phuket office announced it will install new power poles and CCTV to monitor the repaired section of the road.

A survey on November 7 revealed that about 70,000 round trips were made on the hill road each day, about 35,000 each way.

A landslide caused the Kathu-Patong Road to close on October 19 causing chaos to motorists and travellers trying to reach Phuket Airport. Road workers were able to clean up and stabilise the roadway to allow motorbikes to pass in both directions over Patong Hill a week later on October 26.

Then on November 4, small cars were permitted to travel over Patong Hill before the road was fully reopened to vans and pickup trucks with restrictions.

The mayor said the two alternative routes to Patong beach – Go-kart in Kathu district to Chao Phor Sue shrine in Patong, and Wat Bang Thong in Kathu to Chao Phor Sue shrine – were not far from Patong but the roads were rather steep and were best used in times of emergency.

Chai-anan added that he is still in talks with the provincial electricity office about installing lighting along the two routes.

Source - The Thaiiger

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Thailand to celebrate its 10 millionth tourist on December 10

Thailand expects to hit the 10 million tourist target on December 10 and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging the nation’s airlines to add more flights to meet the growing demand.

The Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Yuthasak Supasorn, reported the good news yesterday. From January to December 5 of this year Thailand welcomed more than nine million tourists, and the number will hit TAT’s yearly target of 10 million on Saturday, December 10.

The PM Office spokesperson, Anucha Burapachaisri, said yesterday that many more travellers wanted to come to Thailand but there were no available flights. Two months ago, the Director of the Thai Travel Service Association (TTSA), Jarivat Wongsomsri, revealed that tourists from Japan wished to come to Thailand but couldn’t find plane tickets.

PM Prayut wants the Ministry of Transport and airlines to solve this and increase flights to Thailand, adding that more ground operation staff needed to be hired and trained to support the increasing number of tourists.

TAT Governor, Yuthasak, revealed that they will host an event named “Amazing Thailand 10 Million Celebrations” to celebrate the kingdom’s achievement and will provide gifts and souvenirs to tourists who enter Thailand on Saturday.

“As of December 5, Thailand recorded 9.78 million foreign visitors this year. We believe the tally will hit 10 million on December 10. “TAT has invited partners to join in the campaign to celebrate this achievement and to show Thailand’s readiness to welcome foreign tourists in every part of the country.”

The event will be held at seven airports across the country, including Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueng, U-Tapao, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, and Samui.

Tourists who travel by land can also celebrate with Thailand at the Nong Khai Border Checkpoint in the northeastern province of Nong Khai and the Sadao Border Checkpoint in the southern province of Songkhla.

Yuthasak said there will be a lucky draw with special prizes at Suvarnabhumi Airport and one lucky traveller will get a special prize. Wonder if it goes to the tourist number 10 million?

Source - The Thaiger

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Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand

 Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand

A whole new world of censorship pain is on its way to Thailand, with the latest act by the thought police becoming law on Christmas Day.

Online platforms must abide by a new regulation to deal quickly with complaints about content deemed to violate the Computer Crimes Act.

A new regulation issued by Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn establishes procedures for the notification and removal of illegal information. According to Prachatai, this prohibits the public posting of anything dodgy and includes any information made available over a public digital network.

Among other things, all online service providers must create channels to receive complaints from the public. Apart from filing complaints with providers, offended parties can also complain to the police.

Upon receiving a complaint – any complaint – providers must take down the questionable content, and notify all concerned parties, within 24 hours.

Those who don’t comply will face punishments of up to five years in jail and 100,000 baht fine (US$2,900). In addition, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Office revoke a provider’s operating licences.

Under the Computer Crime Act, the word “information” has been subject to disturbingly broad interpretation. The provision allows for digital messages, posts, and emails.

The bill also prohibits the public posting of information that might defame people, damage national security, or be regarded as pornography.

However, providers held to be negligent in the performance of their duties can still avoid punishment if they can prove that they are not responsible for the illegal information and gain no benefit from it.

Platform providers that allow for unscreened content uploads will also be exempted from the punishment, provided they abide by MDES’s notification and takedown policy.

Source - The Thaiger

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