#Bangkok tops list of trending Airbnb destinations this year

Thailand’s capital topped a list of trending Airbnb destinations in 2022. Based on searches made in the first to third quarters of the year for check-ins, Bangkok was the #1 most trending destination for Airbnb guests across the globe.

The entire list is as follows: 

Bangkok, Thailand

Sydney, Australia

Málaga, Spain

Seoul, South Korea

Melbourne, Australia

Itapema, Brazil

Angra dos Reis, Brazil

Capão da Canoa, Brazil

Auckland, New Zealand

Brisbane, Australia

In searches for future check-ins in 2023, Bangkok was #5, Nation Thailand reported. The list of top trending travels spots for Airbnb in 2023 were:

Málaga, Spain

Sydney, Australia

Melbourne, Australia

Auckland, New Zealand

Bangkok, Thailand

Airbnb’s General Manager for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Amanpreet Bajaj, said…

“The reopening of more countries this year also unlocked pent-up demand from international travellers eager to reconnect with loved ones or visit their favourite destinations once more.”

Earlier this year, there was a major jump in searches for Airbnb accommodation in Thailand, according to Airbnb data. The data shows that between January and March this year, the number of searches for Airbnb accommodation in the kingdom shot up by 180% compared to the same time frame last year.

Both Thai and international travellers especially searched for Airbnb accommodations in hotspots including Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui.

In September, however, Airbnb said tourists in Thailand were opting for ‘off-the-beaten-track’ destinations, benefiting the environment and local economies.

According to Airbnb, more tourists are venturing out of these hubs and into “lesser-known” destinations such as Koh Lanta, Trat, Pai and Cha-Am.

But based on the recent list of trending Airbnb destinations, it appears that Bangkok is still at the top.

Between January 1 and December 20, Thailand welcomed 10.9 million tourists from around the world, the governor said this morning. 

Tourist arrivals in Thailand could hit the 11 million mark before the year is through, according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Yuthasak Supaporn.

With High Season in full swing, Yuthasak said he expects tourist arrivals to reach 11.5 million before the year’s end.

Source - The Thaiger

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#Amsterdam cracks down on illegal holiday home rentals

Amsterdam is booking progress in its fight against illegal holiday rentals, the city said Wednesday, dishing out over four million euros in fines as it seeks to stem a stream of tourists.

"There has been an intensive crackdown on housing fraud over the past year," the Amsterdam council said in a statement.

Some 378 fines were handed out totalling 4.2 million euros ($5.1 million), "the overwhelming majority of these for the illegal rental of holiday apartments," it said.

The news comes as the highest Dutch court, the State Council, upheld stiff fines totalling 168,000 euros for illegal holiday rentals in the capital.

Last month Amsterdam announced it would impose a new 30-day curb on the renting of private homes via websites like online booking giant Airbnb from next year, as it seeks ways to deal with the masses of tourists that flock to the city's canals, museums and famous cannabis-friendly red-light district.

"By enforcing these measures, the city wants to end the illegal use of homes... which can then again be made available on the normal housing market," the council said.

It also hailed agreements with Airbnb which it said remained the largest online rent-a-home provider in Amsterdam.

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 The agreements included Airbnb informing its potential hirers over rules and regulations in Amsterdam and that rentals this year may not exceed 60 days.

Airbnb had also blocked 1,770 adverts for home rentals that exceeded the 60-day threshold, the city said.

This week Airbnb praised the "positive results these measures have brought to the Amsterdam community."

But it said it was disappointed that it was one of the few online rent-a-house bushinesses sticking to the rules.

"A year after the agreement between Airbnb and Amsterdam, many other online platforms refuse to follow Airbnb's example," it said.

"Airbnb is helping Amsterdammers to share their homes in a responsible manner and with tourist tax," the company's northern European general manager James McClure said.

"We are disappointed that others are not taking similar steps to help strengthen the city," McClure said in the statement.

In total, Airbnb said it helped Amsterdam residents rake in some 125 million euros in income and contributed some 500 million euros to the capital's economy in 2016.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Bangkok in danger of flooding unless old drainage improved, say academics.

BANGKOK will not be safe from the severe impact of major storms unless there is a huge improvement in the capital’s drainage system and canal network, academics have warned as more heavy rain is predicted for the capital.

A group of academics on water management, disaster prevention and city planning said at a public seminar at Chulalongkorn University yesterday that Bangkok’s drainage system was old, poorly maintained and unable to drain the water adequately, which increases the risk of Bangkok being severely flooded if another storm hits.

Thailand Global Warming Academy director Thanawat Charupongsakul said that Bangkok lacked the preparedness to cope with a storm. The widespread flooding in 55 areas of the city last Saturday showed that Bangkok could not withstand even a portion of the deluge and it took a day to drain the floodwater.

“It is not frequent for Bangkok to be directly hit by tropical storm, but the city is situated on the storm route and was hit directly several times in the past, such as in 1952 and 1983,” Thanawat said.

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He said that the precipitation within a six-hour period on Saturday night exceeded 214 millimetres and broke a 10-year record. 

If the rain was measured per hour, it was only 40 millimetres, which was within Bangkok’s drainage capacity, but it still flooded and showed the inability of the system to handle the volume, he said.

He warned that Bangkok will suffer badly from flooding if a storm hits the city directly with up to 300 millimetres of rain per hour.

“Bangkok’s sewage system is already more than 30 years old. It is suffering from a lack of maintenance, land sinking problems, and garbage and sediment clogging, which greatly reduce the drainage capacity,” Thanawat said.

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“Moreover, the construction of a floodwall along the Chao Phraya River also increases the water level in the river higher than the water level in the drainage system and canals, which makes the water drainage to the river hard and slow,” he said.

He also pointed out that the lack of separation between sewage from households and rainwater drainage also hinders drainage, because more than 10 million citizens in Bangkok release around 6 million cubic metres of wastewater into the system every day.

Terdkiat Sakkhamduang , the former chairman of Thai Urban Designers Association, suggested that Bangkok’s drainage system has to be entirely improved and the city plan also has to be revised.

Water pumps ready

“We have learned a lesson from the flaws in Bangkok’s city plan that prioritise too much in replacing canals with expanding the road network. We should learn from our past and restore the canals, as the canal network can drain water far better than the sewage system,” Terdkiat said.

Bangkok governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang warned yesterday that Bangkok would face more heavy rains overnight, which may be as severe as the downpour last Saturday. He said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had prepared for the downpour by getting the water pumps ready and lowering the water level in the canals.

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  Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda also affirmed that Bangkok residents should not be worried over the potential danger of flooding from northern run-offs, as the Royal Irrigation Department was in control of water in dams and 12 water-retention fields in upstream areas could absorb floodwater before it reached the capital. 

Chai Nat’s Chao Phraya Dam was currently receiving about 2,500 cubic metres of water per second, which was in balance with the level it released, he said.

Source - TheNation 

Bangkok jumps into first place as the world’s most visited city

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It took three years, but Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, is once again the world’s most visited city, according to MasterCard’s 2016 Global Destination Cities Index annual report.
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Bangkok’s number one ranking does not come as a surprise, as it has been in the top three most visited cities since MasterCard started this report. However, this rise came from a thirteen percent jump in traveler arrivals between 2015 and 2016. The only other top ten city to post a greater jump in arrival percentages was ninth ranked Tokyo. 

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Tourism has remained a strong point for this vibrant Southeast Asian country and appears to be virtually unfazed by the 2014 military coup. This year, Thailand has achieved 2.4 trillion baht of income from tourism, nearly 5% above the targeted of 2.3 trillion baht. 

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This increase in arrivals has been heavily influenced by the Government’s support of the tourist industry through tourism promotion campaigns on various destinations around the Kingdom and changes towards tourist visas – free or reduced visa fees, along with extending the long stay visa from one year to ten years. 

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To accommodate the steadily growing number of visitors, Airports of Thailand Plc, plans to spend 194 billion baht over the next 15 years to expand its six airports to serve 150 million passengers, against the current 71.5 million. There are also plans underway to connect
Don Muang Airport to Bangkok’s mass transit lines, linking it to Suvarnabhumi Airport. 

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To help Thailand’s tourist industry, the government has recently begun aggressively tackling the rise in illegally registered tour companies that specialize in ‘zero-dollar tours’, however, this has had a minimal effect on the overall visitor arrival numbers. 

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Even with the Thai Baht strengthening against many of the major world currencies, visitors still find outstanding value in Bangkok. 

Of the top five cities visited, Bangkok has the accommodation costs, allowing visitors to spend their money in other sectors. 

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While Bangkok is notorious for its gridlocked traffic, especially during rush-hour and after sudden rain storms, its taxi fares remain very good value for such a major city, costing about ten percent of remains one of top ranked Zurich. Furthermore, taxis can be found anywhere, and with virtually no wait. If traffic is an issue, then the BTS and MRT offer convenient transport to many popular attractions in the downtown area. 

Visitors to Bangkok can enjoy Thailand’s exotic and often spicy cuisine at a fraction of the price found in their home countries. Thai food vendors are found on every street; a dish of grilled chicken, sticky rice and spicy papaya salad may cost three Euros. To help find a street food vendor, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have recently launched an app, “Street food Bangkok”, to help visitors find famous food vendors around the capital. 

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Bangkok is the top ranked global city destination, but it is often only a starting point for the 33 million visitors expected to arrive in Thailand this year. The Kingdom offers world class beaches full of sunbathers, or secluded little beaches, all overlooking the clear turquoise blue water of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand. The mountainous north of Thailand offers a completely different experience from the south’s beaches. Travelers travel to Chiang Mai, where they can take day trips to see hill tribe people, go trekking in the mountains, or visit its numerous temples. 

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With so many visitors taking advantage of the government’s strong support tourism, its many attractions and central location, Thailand is hopeful that it can retain its crown as MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities Index in 2017. 

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By David Smith A part – time lecturer at  Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs.
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Sourse: TheNation

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New shuttles bus service tested in capital of Bangkok

A new shuttle bus service connecting Bangkok’s Victory Monument area and key bus terminals such as the Southern Bus Terminal, the Mo Chit Bus Terminal and the Ekkamai Mo Chit Terminal, has been tested after passenger vans were banned in the area.

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Speaking as chairman of the committee in charge of regulating public transportation vans, Colonel Suwit Ketsri, deputy commander of the Second Cavalry Division King's Guard, said the test had been arranged to calculate the travelling time for each route's round trip to provide a proper number of shuttle buses.
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The Second Cavalry Division King's Guard chief of staff, Colonel Sombat Thanyawan, said four buses head to the Mo Chit Bus Terminal, six to the Southern Bus Terminal, and four to the Ekkamai Terminal every 20 minutes.
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"Shuttle buses will be added when there are too many passengers," he said.
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Traffic Police deputy commander Colonel Teerasak Suriwong said the trip between Victory Monument to the key bus terminals would normally take about two hours, while the shuttle buses running on the expressway would take about 20 minutes.
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The service is in response to the National Council for Peace and Order's mandate to better regulate traffic in the capital.

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Source: TheNation

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Thailand stands ready to support Indonesia: PM

#Thailand yesterday expressed regret and sadness over the bomb attacks in #Jakarta, which resulted in the loss of several lives and left many injured.

 In a statement, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was deeply saddened to learn of the blasts and shootings in the Indonesian capital.

"On behalf of the Royal Thai Government and the Thai people, I wish to extend my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to you and, through you, to the families of those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic incident," the statement read.

Thailand joins Indonesia and the international community in strongly condemning this heinous act, Prayut said, adding "I wish to assure you that the Thai government stands ready to support, in any possible way, Indonesia in this difficult time".

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said he learned with profound sadness about the fatal bomb explosions.

 "On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, I wish to extend my deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to you, to the families of the deceased and to the victims in this vicious act of violence. Thailand joins Indonesia and the international community in condemning this act of violence and its perpetrators."

Separately, the Thai Embassy in Jakarta said no Thai nationals were affected by yesterday's attacks.

The Foreign Ministry quoted the embassy as saying the situation was already under control, but that it was closely monitoring developments.

The embassy also asked Thais living in Indonesia not to visit the explosion sites, the ministry said, adding that those living there and those who plan to visit Indonesia should keep up with developments. An estimated 4,000 Thais live in Indonesia, 300 of them residing in Jakarta.

Source: The Nation
 

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Tourists Among 19 Killed by Bomb at #Bangkok's Erawan Shrine

Erawan Shrine

BANGKOK — A bomb attack killed 18 people including tourists in the commercial heart of the Thai capital Monday evening.
 
At least 123 more were injured by the powerful blast which hit a popular landmark heavily frequented by Thais and tourists alike at 6:55 pm.

One Filipino victim and two Chinese nationals were among those killed, outgoing police chief Somyot Pumphanmuang said. Twelve died at the scene and another seven have since died in hospital, according to the latest information from authorities.

"We have not discarded any possible motive," Somyot said at a news conference at the Royal Thai Police headquarters, located meters away from the scene of the attack. Despite media reports indicating one bomb was attached to a utility pole while a second detonated from a motorcycle, Somyot denied a car bomb was involved, saying the bomb was planted on the scene.

While no one has taken credit for the attack and authorities said it's too early to speculate, Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told Reuters it was meant to harm Thailand's economy.

"The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district," Prawit said.
 
Anusith Kunakorn of Thailand's National Security Council said "details about the explosion are still confusing, so we cannot conclude whether it is about an accident or a political incident. Related authorities are urgently working to clarify this matter. Once we have conclusive information, we will inform the people." 

The bomb left a gruesome scene. Photos showed blood, bodies and human remains around the shrine as rescue workers rushed to provide aid near the shrine, which is a popular tourist destination.

Soon after the blast, police spokesman Prawuth announced bomb units were dispatched to the scene on suspicion there more bombs. Despite reports two more bombs were found and disarmed, Prawuth said they turned out to not be bombs.
 
In images tweeted by JS 100 radio just after the blast, fires were burning in Sukhumvit Road, which runs through the capital's cosmopolitan center.
Photos from the scene appeared to show an injured Caucasian woman being taken away on a stretcher.

There is no indication yet of what caused the explosion during rush hour. Roads around the area have been closed, and authorities said the area would remain closed Tuesday while the scene is investigated.

Surrounded by luxury malls and hotels, Rajaprasong intersection is in the heart of Bangkok's commercial shopping district. The Erawan Shrine is an important, sacred symbol in the Thai capital. In 2006, a mentally ill young man damaged the shrine with a hammer and was immediately killed by an angry crowd.

An area popular with the Bangkok elite, it was also the epicenter of protracted anti-government street protests in 2010.

Earlier this year a small bomb detonated not far from the scene of tonight's blast outside one of the capital's most popular shopping malls.
No one was injured in the 1 Feb. attack which occurred during the evening between the Siam Paragon shopping mall and BTS Skytrain station. 

Authorities attributed that attack to political groups opposed to the military regime. Thailand has been under military rule since it seized power in May 2014.

In April a car bomb exploded in the basement of shopping mall on Koh Samui in southern Thailand, injuring seven people. The car used in the attack was reported stolen from a province the deep south, where security forces have been engaged in a long and bloody conflict with a homegrown insurgency movement seeking independence.

Despite widespread rumors online, the military government has not ordered businesses and schools closed tomorrow, according to junta spokesman Winthai Suwaree. The BTS Skytrain and MRT subway systems are expected to be operating as normal.

However late Monday night, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced 438 schools in greater Bangkok will be closed.
The Thai International Red Cross Society announced it has adequate supplies of blood at this time.

Source: Khaosod

BANGKOK‬ - City of Angels

The name Bangkok is actually a Western nickname. 

 

The original village that was called Bangkok centuries ago no longer exists. Modern Bangkok's proper Thai name is Krung thep mahanakhon amorn ratanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok popnoparat ratchathani burirom udomratchanivetmahasathan amornpiman avatarnsathit sakkathattiyavisnukarmprasit, which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the longest location name in the world. In English, this translates into "The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of Ayutthaya of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn."

Thais simply refer to their capital city as Krung Thep, or the "City of Angels."