Tourism Ministry Launches ‘Thailand Trusted Destination’ Campaign

Krabi (NNT) - The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has launched the “Thailand Trusted Destination” campaign to raise the nation’s tourism standards. Visitors can now look for venues and attractions bearing the campaign’s dancing elephant logo. The logo certifies attractions that meet the standards promoted by the ministry.

The Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports took business operators on a field trip to Krabi province to observe venues and attractions certified under the Thailand Trusted Destination campaign.

The campaign was introduced as an incentive for business owners to improve their services and boost confidence among tourists. Participating venues will be granted the dancing elephant logo, which represents cleanliness, safety, fairness, good management, and green practices.

During the field trip, business operators visited Krabi International Airport, which has been certified for toilet cleanliness; Laemsak Community which was certified as a community-based tourism attraction with historical value; and Than Bok Khorani National Park, which has been certified for its success in environmental conservation and tourist safety.

Source - ASIAN NOW 

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

.

Business operators rejoice after alcohol sales and drinks are allowed in qualified restaurants in Pattaya, what is the next step?

Business operators have rejoiced in Pattaya after alcohol sales and drinks were finally allowed in qualified restaurants yesterday, after an 8-month ban/prohibition due to Covid-19 regulations in Chonburi.

The Chonburi Governor released new orders last night through their Public Relations Facebook page yesterday allowing (December 4th) alcohol sales and drinks which are now allowed in the Chonburi ‘Blue Zone’ areas including Pattaya, Koh Larn, Sattahip, and Banglamung.

The orders came only a few hours after a rally on Walking Street by a large group of business owners and tourist associations, although it was not immediately clear if the two were directly connected.

Business owners had been putting increasing pressure on the government to lift the ban for over a month.

Last night many restaurants, cafés, and buffet restaurants reopened or allowed the sales of alcohol in Pattaya. Officially, the order only allows SHA (Safety and Health Administration) Plus venues to sell alcohol, which requires over 70 percent of staff to be vaccinated and going through a certification process, meeting many standards, with the Department of Public Health.

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2021/12/04/business-operators-rejoice-after-alcohol-sales-and-drinks-are-allowed-in-qualified-restaurants-in-pattaya-what-is-the-next-step/

Source - ASIAN NOW

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

.

#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

#Cambodia - Sihanoukville ‘must be ready for returning visitors’, say experts

The Minister of Tourism said that business operators in Preah Sihanouk province and authorities at all levels need to be ready to welcome tourists returning after COVID-19 is defeated as the province improves its infrastructure.

Ministry of Tourism Minister Thong Khon said during the promotion of safety measures to tourism-based businesses in Preah Sihanouk province that the health and safety measures imposed by the ministry will ensure businesses operate well during and after the pandemic while authorities will play an important role to support stability.

“If all operators and authorities do not help each other during this time, our tourism sector will not be successful after and during COVID-19,” he said.

The tourism-based businesses and services that are being promoted during the pandemic are hotels and guesthouses, restaurants, tour transportation by both land and water, tourism communities and resorts.

The Minister has also urged the provincial relevant parties to keep checking and examining carefully the implementation of safety measures in order to ensure businesses succeed.

“In this situation, all levels of relevant parties, which are regarded as the government’s machinery to contain COVID-19 and support business activity, need to support the implementation of safety measures and provide cooperation in all forms,” he said.

Khon said while the coastal area comprises mixed services and businesses, the sector also needs to diversify to new business models to comply with the current social and economic situation.

“During the pandemic, businesses and services need to be transformed into a digital solutions-based resource and improve productivity in order to make the sector more competitive in the crowded market,” he said.

The Kingdom’s coastal Sihanoukville, where Chinese nationals dominated nearly half of businesses before the COVID-19 outbreak, have been seen as less attractive as a tourism destination by some since 2018.

With the rising number of Chinese nationals, roads have been damaged and security issues have declined because the province was swamped with casinos. Local visitors and other foreign tourists tended to avoid the province and went to other destinations such as Kep and Kampot.

However, the government is now working to improve the situation, pledging to transform the Kingdom’s only attractive beach into its former glory.

Preah Sihanouk Provincial Governor Kuoch Chamroeun said during the meeting that to boost the province’s social and economic development as well as making the tourism sector more sustainable, the provincial authorities have been paying attention to improving roads, beaches, water, electricity and waste management.

“We are preparing the tourism port by providing a standard tourism service. We are strengthening security and safety and public order. We will offer public transportation services and make the city clean to attract more visitors to the province,” he said.

Thousands of Chinese left the province after a directive banning all online and arcade gambling in the Kingdom last August and more have left because of COVID-19. The return of Chinese nationals is expected to help economic activity gradually rebound.

Source - Khmer Times