#THAILAND - Other provinces demand extended nightlife hours too

 

What about us?!

With nightlife venues in Phuket, Chon Buri, Bangkok and Chiang Mai being granted extended opening hours, other provinces want to do the same. From December 15, bars and clubs in 4 popular tourism provinces can remain open until 4am (previously 2am) for a trial period.

The move is one of several introduced by PM Srettha Thavisin, in a bid to boost Thailand’s economy and the tourism sector. It is not yet known how long the trial will last and if or when it will be extended nationwide.

Nightlife operator Pichanont Ingprasarn, who co-owns a number of venues in the eastern provinces of Trat, Chanthaburi and Rayong, says he’s hopeful the government will extend the later hours to other parts of the country, if it proves to be advantageous for tourism and the economy.

“If the extension boosts tourism and local economy in the four provinces, other provinces should also be allowed to add opening hours. The government should look at other provinces with the potential for tourism growth, such as Rayong and Trat, which have tourist attractions (such as Koh Chang in Trat). Nightlife venues there are also the targets of foreign tourists.”

The nightlife operator goes on to say that more venues on Koh Chang should be eligible to apply for operating licences, adding that stricter law enforcement is required to prevent underage drinking and other issues.

Meanwhile, tourism operators on Koh Samui want to know when the island’s nightlife venues will be allowed to open for longer. Ratchaporn Poonsawat from the Koh Samui Tourism Association says despite talks that stretch back to the previous administration, Koh Samui has been excluded from the latest trial, despite being a popular tourism destination.

Source - Phuket.Go

Songkran in Thailand to go ahead next month - with some water splashing

Songkran festivities are set to go ahead next month, providing activities comply with measures put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand told Daily News that Songkran events will definitely be held in Thailand this year and that TAT plans to organize events to celebrate the Thai New Year.

The TAT chief said Songkran would take place between 10-15 April 2021.
Meanwhile, Sanook reported that the traditional water splashing activities will go ahead on Khaosan Road.  

Citing Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome, the event can go ahead providing strict disease control measures are in place.  

The government hopes the Songkran festival will boost domestic tourism and stimulate the beleaguered economy.

This is a developing news story.

Source - ThaiVisa

#Thailand - Nearly 100 Koh Samui Hotels Up for Sale Due to Lockdown

Nearly 100 hotels on the tourism island of Koh Samui are for sale due to the negative impacts of the Covid-19 corona-virus lockdown. Tourism on Koh Samui died after the government ordered hotels shuttered on April 7th to control the disease.

Worasit Pongkampan, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, said owners of nearly 100 local hotels announced plans put their hotels for sale. Above all because they lacked cash flow and banks won’t lend to them.

According to Worasit, their financial problems started late last year and picked up in January. The COVID-19 crisis struck them in February. Some hotel owner have been unable to collect overdue payments from big tour agencies for months.

Furthermore, during the temporary closure of their hotels, owners had no revenue but have to pay salaries and other costs.

Due to the circumstance its difficult for them to seek soft loans from banks to maintain their liquidity. Mr. Worasit said he would like the government to immediately help the hotel owners with soft loans. Above all before it is too late because hoteliers are in deep financial troubles.
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The impacts happen not only on Koh Samui but also nationwide,” Mr Worasit said.
Government of Thailand Promises Transparency in $58B Stimulus Package

After administration officials promised transparency, the Thai Government unanimously passed a U.S. $58 billion (1.8 trillion baht) stimulus package. The stimulus package is designed to resuscitate an economy expected to contract for the first time since 2009. Above all because of ripple effects from the corona-virus pandemic.

Except for a few abstentions, the 250-seat chamber voted in favor of the government’s counter-COVID-19 decree. It will be presented to the Constitutional Court before being passed on to the king for his approval. The action followed the Central Bank’s earlier prediction that the economy of Thailand could shrink by 5.3 percent this year.

After the lower house approved the packages the Senate spent two days debating. Furthermore seeking confirmation from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s administration that there would be transparency in the spending process.

Source - Chiang Rai Times

Shunned by Chinese, Thai tourism hotspot braces for rare slump

Hotels on Thailand's most popular holiday island have been forced to slash prices with rooms left vacant and beaches sparse as tourist chiefs struggle with a plunge in Chinese visitors caused by the US trade war and a stronger baht.

Located on the Andaman Sea and known for its beaches and nightlife, sun-drenched Phuket was the most visited destination in the country last year after Bangkok and a good gauge of the state of its crucial travel industry.

Tourism accounts for 18 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up more than a quarter of total arrivals. 

But while 2.2 million people from the country visited in 2018, according to official figures, numbers for January-September were down almost a fifth on-year.

Claude de Crissey, Honorary Consul of France in Phuket and owner of about 40 rooms in the popular Patong Beach area, said Chinese tourists are usually present even during the current low season.

"That was not the case this year," he said, adding he had to lower his prices by as much as 50 percent. 

The problem is not just in Phuket, with hotels also struggling to fill rooms in the seaside resort of Pattaya on the mainland and Koh Samui island.

Trade tensions with the US have already made some Chinese reluctant to take holidays owing to uncertainty back home, while the Thai baht has risen around 10 percent against the yuan this year. 

A boating disaster off Phuket's coast that killed 47 Chinese holidaymakers has also scared some off.

"We are worried," an industry insider told AFP, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic in a country where tourism provides tens of thousands of jobs. 

Adding to the headache is the fact that more than 3,000 new hotel rooms are being constructed on the island, raising the question of who will fill them.

"In terms of business, it's not good," said Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, vice president of the association of hotels in Thailand and director of Vijitt Resort.

"Because...we have more hotels, more rooms to sell, we have more restaurants, more coffee shops."

Still, tourism authority chairman Yuthasak Supasorn told AFP he remained "optimistic", adding: "We should reach our goal of 39.8 million foreign visitors" this year.

 However, that is only up from 38.2 million in 2018, much less than the jump seen from the previous year's total of 35.6 million.

 

Counting on India 

Now hoteliers and tour package operators are targeting visitors from elsewhere, particularly India, which experts see as a huge untapped market.

"We are counting on the Indians to revive the sector," Kongsak said.

A rapid expansion of the middle class in India, increased direct flights and visa-free travel have prompted Thailand to revise forecasts upwards.

It now expects two million Indian tourists this year, after an increase of nearly 25 percent on-year in the first seven months.

But for now, the lower arrivals is evident on the streets of Phuket.

"I've never seen anything as bad as what it is at the moment," said Paul Scott from Australia, who said he has been coming to Thailand for 15 years.

He mainly blamed the stronger baht for the drop-off but also the fact that Thailand wasn't the untouched vacation paradise it once was. "Now it's not so new...and it's not cheap," he said.

Source - JakartaPost

#Thailand ‘best country for people’, says travel survey

Thais have been voted the best people in the world in an online survey by Conde Nast Traveller magazine, a leading US source of travel features.

Thailand won in the category of “Best Country for People” in the 2018 annual award.

The award honours “the best that the travel world has to offer”. Other categories include hotels, airlines, ski resorts, islands and architecture.

In addition, Thailand came third in the “Best Country” category after Italy and Greece .

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 Two hotels – the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok and Six Senses on Kho Yao Noi – came fourth and fifth respectively in the category of “Best Hotel in Asia and the Indian Subcontinent”. 

Meanwhile Koh Samui island was awarded the ninth spot in the “Best Islands in the World” category, falling after Greek islands, Maldives, Balearic islands, Hawaii, St Lucia, Bali, Sicily and Mauritius.

Source - TheNation

 

Smoking to be stubbed out on Thai beaches

Smokers who flout a smoking ban on 20 of Thailand's most famous tourist beaches will face a $3,000 fine or up to a year in prison, Thai authorities have said.      

The ban, which comes into force in November, follows a clean-up of nearly 140,000 cigarette butts from a 2.5 kilometre (1.5 mile) stretch of the famed Patong beach in Phuket island province.

    Its introduction coincides with Thailand's peak tourist season and will be enforced in visitor hotspots including Krabi, Koh Samui, Pattaya, Phuket and Phang Nga.

    "These beaches are among the most beautiful in Southeast Asia, and the aim is to keep them that way," Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said in a statement on Monday.

    Smokers will have to use designated areas with proper waste disposal for cigarette butts, he added.

    Those caught lighting up on the beach could face jail or a 100,000 baht ($3,000) fine, according to TAT. 

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    The edict is the latest effort to rein in Thailand's free-wheeling tourism industry. 

    The sector is a crucial pillar of Thailand's economy, catering to more than 30 million travellers per year.

    But the huge numbers of arrivals have also threatened to spoil some of the kingdom's idyllic beaches, with litter and unchecked development damaging local ecosystems.

    Thailand is also trying to crack down on lax safety standards that riddle the tourism industry, after waves of complaints that visitors are overcharged or not adequately protected on boats and jet-skis.