A concerned reader sent us this information, based on his experiences in the ASQ when he arrived in Thailand. We publish them with good faith but would urge everyone to check their insurance situation, whether they're currently in ASQ or might be in the near future, to check your individual circumstances. The comments made about the 'system' are those of the writer…
"Under current Thai ASQ rules, anyone who fails the RT-PCR test in quarantine is sent to hospital, even if they have no symptoms. The ASQ quarantine fee (paid in advance to the hotel) does not cover the hospital costs. So insurance is required.
1. I checked with AXA Thailand, as they offer an insurance policy for US$100,000 to meet the Covid-19 insurance laws. They told me this does NOT cover hospitalisation without symptoms, even after failing the covid-19 tests that are required in quarantine. I believe the odds of anyone who fails the test in quarantine having no symptoms are at least 50% and in this case their insurance will be invalid. The policy is not fit for purpose!
2. Most UK insurers offer travel insurance cover for "Emergency Medical Care". As being sent to hospital merely for failing a test is not an emergency, then they do not cover being sent to hospital from ASQ.
3. Some UK insurers invalidate all of the medical cover, as any visitor to Thailand is "awaiting tests for an undiagnosed condition", because they require RT-PCR tests."
The bottomline on all this is ask questions, check your insurance coverage and get everything in writing.
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday said he had never offered to resign, quashing rumours that he would step down before November 25.
Prominent human-rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, who is also one of the core leaders of the pro-democracy movement, had posted a Facebook message earlier on Friday, saying Prayut "might" resign before November 25, the date protesters have scheduled another rally at the Crown Property Bureau in Bangkok's Dusit district.
"You must ask the person who said it where he got the information from, as I've never made contact with Arnon, leader of Ratsadon protester group," said Prayut. "As they have scheduled another rally on November 25, I believe it is just a propaganda to invite more people to join the protest.
"Should we continue to believe the person who spreads groundless information like this? That is all I'm going to say," added the prime minister.
TAT rolls out special hotel and transport packages for foreign tourists
PHUKET: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn announced that the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) had already approved TAT's project to offer foreign tourists special hotel and transportation packages.
Mr Yuthasak explained yesterday (Nov 20) that the project is branded as "Amazing Thailand Plus Special Package" and will offer tourists assistance for booking flights and hotels for quarantine (ASQ) as well as offering special packages for traveling after the quarantine is finished.
According to the announcement by the Public Relations Department of Thailand, there will be three packages, including "book two nights and get one free" for hotels in Bangkok, "book two nights in Bangkok and get a free one in a hotel near the city" (with TAT arranging taxi), and "book three nights in Bangkok and get two nights free in a different province" (with TAT paying for the flight).
"TAT will cover the traveling expenses for taxis and airplanes with its own designated budget of about B20 million," Mr Yuthasak noted.
At the same time Mr Yuthasak announced that CESA had also approved giving Thailand Elite card holders an option to apply for work permits. The applicants must either hold a B1mn card for 10 years or hold a card for 5 years and invest US$1mn in Thailand on specified conditions.
"We set ourselves a goal of selling about 1,000 cards per year," Mr Yuthasak said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha speaks to reporters at Government House in Bangkok on Friday. (Screenshot from Government House video)
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has indicated that the lese majeste law will be among "all laws and articles" to be enforced against demonstrators.
Asked by reporters at Government House whether Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, would also be enforced, Gen Prayut said: "It is among all those laws. Do you understand the term all laws?"
Referring to cases involving the insulting of the monarchy, the PM added: "The government must take swift action because many people have voiced opinions on the issue. People nationwide cannot accept this."
On Thursday, Gen Prayut declared that "all laws and all articles" would be enforced against protesters who broke the law.
He gave his warning after street rallies by pro-democracy protesters demanding his removal and reform of the monarchy.
Gen Prayut also brushed aside a claim made on Facebook by protest leader Arnon Nampa that he might resign by Wednesday, when the protest movement plans another rally in front of the Crown Property Bureau.
"The person who made such a claim was ill-informed. How can we trust him?" Gen Prayut said.
Meanwhile, Bangkok police are to press charges against 31 demonstrators over this week's anti-government rallies outside parliament and the police headquarters.
A police spokesman said on Friday that no decision had been made yet on whether those charges would includes breaches of Section 112.
Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai, deputy commissioner and spokesman of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MBP), said 14 people had been identified as committing offences near parliament in Dusit district on Tuesday, and 17 others during the protest outside the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Pathumwan district on Wednesday.
They were from both sides, from a royalist group and from the anti-government side and police would start calling them in to acknowledge charges next week, he said.
The charges would include attempted murder, causing damage to government property, demonstrating without prior permission, assembling to create disorder, physical assault and violation of cleanliness and land traffic laws.
Pol Maj Gen Piya said three people who were shot during the clashes between rival groups of demonstrators near parliament had been questioned.
One was shot at the Bang Pho intersection and two at Kiakkai intersection.
He also also said police had yet to decide on the criteria to be imposed when considering breaches of the lese majeste law.
Anti-government demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, constitutional changes and the reform of the royal institution.
They have used offensive language to convey their messages, including those concerning the monarchy.
Regarding the arrest of a member of the pro-monarchy group who carried a gun during the rally near parliament on Tuesday, Pol Maj Gen Piya said the gun had been confiscated and sent for examination to determine whether it matches bullets gathered at the scene.
Police have instructed two teenage members of the "Bad Students" group to report to Lumpini police and answer charges of violating the emergency decree by taking part in an anti-government rally on Oct 15.
Pol Maj Gen Yingyos Thepchamnong, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, said the two would be questioned in the presence of their parents and a lawyer.
Pol Maj Gen Piya added that about 900 riot police will be sent to maintain order at Ratchaprasong where the Bad Students group will hold a rally today.
He also mentioned a clip of a man wearing a pink raincoat shooting at the anti-government protesters during the rally near parliament on Tuesday.
The man was alleged to be a member of the royalist group of yellow-clad people but after checking security camera footage, police confirmed that the man did not belong to the royalist group and had in fact fired shots at both groups, Pol Maj Gen Piya said.
Six people suffered gunshot wounds during the confrontations on Tuesday, which involved police, anti-government protesters and pro-monarchy demonstrators.
Police used teargas and water cannons on demonstrators but denied using live rounds.
Some in the crowd were shot, according to medical workers, but it was unclear who opened fire. A photo of the man wearing the pink raincoat aiming what looked like a weapon at the protesters was shared on social media.
A former Supreme Court judge, Chuchart Srisaeng, posted on Facebook on Friday that one group of people on Wednesday's protest had thrown dirt on the road and the fences outside the Royal Thai Police headquarters and Wat Pathum Wanaram, along with writing rude words unacceptable to civilised people.
But at the same time another group removed the foul language with difficulty. "That is the difference between good deeds and bad," he said.
With no Middle Eastern or Western tourists, the Family Mart on Soi VC has closed its doors, perhaps for good.
The surest sign that the economy has reached crisis levels in Pattaya is when the 7-Elevens start closing.
Especially in South Pattaya, 7-Elevens and Family Mart stores have closed with more struggling to hang on. From South Road to Soi Marine Plaza to Soi VC, the formerly 24-hour stores are now full-time homeless shelters, a shocking testament to how bad Pattaya's economy has gotten.
Admittedly, Pattaya has a huge oversupply of 7-Elevens, some in Jomtien Beach located literally across the street from each other. With Pattaya's population having shrunk by more than 300,000 people this year, there aren't enough customers to keep all those stores open.
The area 7-Eleven has also closed.
"Rungarun," a former clerk at a Family Mart on Soi VC, said her shop closed down two months ago. Before the coronavirus outbreak, customers would walk through the door every five minutes or so. By the time the Family Mart shut down, only about two customers an hour walked in.
She has remained in Pattaya trying to find work, but has used up her savings and plans to leave Pattaya and return to Phitsanulok.
Middle Eastern restaurants have struggled, and many have closed in South Pattaya."Rungarun," a former clerk at a Family Mart on Soi VC, said her shop closed down two months ago. She has used up her savings and is packing up to leave Pattaya and return to Phitsanulok.
The Bank of Thailand has liberalised foreign currency deposits and increased the investment limit in foreign securities for individuals to US$5 million (165 million baht) per year from US$200,000 as part of efforts to curb the rapid appreciation of the baht and forge a new foreign exchange ecosystem.
The baht has appreciated rapidly following risk-on sentiment on the back of the US presidential election outcome and progress in Covid-19 vaccine development.
Vachira Arromdee, the central bank's assistant governor for financial markets operations group, said yesterday that the measures are to accommodate renewed inflows into emerging market economies, including Thailand's, after recent events induced risk-on sentiment in investment appetite.
The rapid appreciation of the baht may affect the fragile recovery of the Thai economy, and the Bank of Thailand is closely monitoring and intervening in the market as necessary to limit excessive currency volatility, according to Ms Vachira.
To further mitigate pressure on the currency and to address structural issues in the Thai foreign exchange market, the central bank has also implemented three additional measures.
The first allows residents to freely deposit funds in foreign currency deposit (FCD) accounts in Thailand and allow free fund transfers between them.
This will enable exporters to effectively manage liquidity and foreign exchange risk, she said.
The second measure relaxes regulations regarding investments in foreign securities.
Under the scheme, retail investors are allowed to invest up to $5 million per year from a previous limit of US$200,000.
There is no investment limit via local financial institutions such as brokerage firms and asset management companies.
In addition, this measure removes previous investment limits in foreign assets for investors regulated under the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and allows the listing in Thailand of foreign securities such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
The last measure is that investors are required to complete a registration process prior to investing in Thai debt securities, known as Bond Pre-Trade registration.
Pre-registration will upgrade the bond surveillance system which will allow close monitoring of investor behaviour and thereby enable the implementation of targeted measures in a timely manner.
Similar measures have also been adopted in South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Ms Vachira said Thailand has continuously registered huge current account surpluses over the past few years due to an influx of foreign tourist receipts, while outbound investments by Thai companies have been minimal.
This has resulted in an imbalance of capital flows in Thailand, said Ms Vachira.
"An imbalance of capital flows, the inconvenience for business operators in hedging against [foreign exchange] risks and how external parties have an effect on the baht's movement are three main structural issues that we want to address," she said.
The roll-out of these measures is part of the central bank's efforts to push forward a new foreign exchange ecosystem in Thailand to address structural issues, she said.
Hej, Jag frågade en bekant till mig om han hade tid, lust och möjlighet
att skriva ner sina erfarenheter av procedurer, tidsåtgång etc som han behövde klara av för att " ta sig ner " från Sverige. Här nedan kan ni läsa hans utmärkta rapport som jag tackar för
och uppskattar mycket.
———————
" Beskriver hur allt tog sin början.
Under maj månad blev jag uppsatt på väntelista hos den thailändska ambassaden
för att om möjligt få en plats på en s.k repatriation flight.
Den 14:e oktober hörde de av sig och sa att jag fått en plats med Thai airways från
Köpenhamn den 25:e oktober. Var ju oxå tvungen att köpa en biljett mellan STH och CPH med t.ex SAS.
Det visade sig senare vid besök på Floragatan att Thai airways ej erbjöd någon ombokningsbar biljett eller pengarna tillbaka om mitt kommande PCR test skulle visa sig vara positivt!
15,000:- SEK för en enkel i ekonomi alternativt 25,000:- SEK i business.
Vid detta besök på Floragatan tackade jag NEJ eftersom dessa villkor plus att det ej fanns någon garanti att jag heller skulle få tillbaka betalt belopp för ASQ!
23:e oktober lämnade jag in min ansökan om turistvisum(60+30).
Mitt tidigare uppehållstillstånd hade gått ut under juni månad och någon tid fanns ej att ansöka om ett O-A visum beroende bl.a på lång behandlingstid för polisen att utfärda ett utdrag ur belastningsregistret.
Lämnade vid samma tillfälle min ansökan om CoE(certificate of entry).
Denna ansökan innehöll förutom flygbiljetter,visumansökan,kontoutdrag från banken följande papper:
Sjukförsäkringsintyg om minst 100,000 USD samt intyg från försäkringsbolaget(LUMA)
att försäkringen även innehöll ev behandling av covid-19.
Bevis på bokning och betalning av ASQ hotell i Bangkok.
T8 blankett från ambassaden
Medicinskt intyg där jag själv under heder och samvete beskrev min nuvarande hälsa.
30:e oktober kunde jag hämta ut mitt visum och certificate of entry.
2:a november bokade jag tid för PCR test och Fit to fly certifikat hos Arlanda sky vårdcentral som
garanterade att svaret skulle vara klart efter 8 timmar.
5:e november utfördes PCR testet och Fit to fly 08:00 på morgonen och klockan 16:00
samma dag kunde jag hämta ut provsvaret och därmed de blanketter som krävdes för att få komma iväg.
7:e november var det dags för incheckning hos Emirates efter att även de ville ha en skriftlig försäkran om mitt hälsotillstånd.
7:e november 14:20 startade Emirates trippel sjua från Arlanda och jag var äntligen på väg efter
8 månaders väntan! (äger ju ingen bostad i Sverige!)
8:e november 02:00 lokal tid ville ju även Emirates ånyo gå igenom dokumenten och en timme senarelyfte kärran från Dubai.
8:e november 12:00 gick planet inför landning och därefter var det totalt 4 kontroller av mina dokument samt digital feber kontroll och vidare till immigration.
Upphämtning av bagage och vägledning ut till väntande transport till hotellet i Bangkok.
Ännu en digital feber kontroll och blodtryckskontroll.
14:00 stängdes hotelldörren för 15 nätter och 16 dagar. Dag för incheckning är dag 0 och utcheckning dag 15.
Den femte dagen var det dags för det första PCR testet som visade sig vara negativt.
Den tolfte dagen var det dags för det andra PCR tester som jag får svar på imorgon.
Utcheckning måndag morgon/förmiddag om dagens test oxå visar sig vara negativt!"
The airline is in the midst of a restructuring supervised by Thailand's Bankruptcy Court, a process that will continue through 2021. It suspended most of its services as a direct result of the Covid-19 lockdown last March. Subsequently, it filed for shelter under the country's bankruptcy legislation to allow it to initiate a restructuring process.
Earlier this month it announced that close to 5,000 employees would take early requirement or accept up to 80% cuts in salary in 2021 while the airline resumes full commercial services. Since last March it has relied almost entirely on ad-hoc repatriation flights with a partial shift to limited "commercial flights" starting last month for passengers eligible under Thailand's strict immigration restrictions.
Confirmed flight schedules
Europe TG910/911 Bangkok-London-Bangkok, one flight per week on Sunday. TG920/921 Bangkok-Frankfurt-Bangkok, one flight per week on Friday. TG950/951 Bangkok-Copenhagen-Bangkok, one flight per week on Sunday.
Australia TG475/476 Bangkok-Sydney-Bangkok, one flight per week (depart from Bangkok on Sunday and return from Sydney on Monday).
Asia TG622/623 Bangkok-Osaka-Bangkok, one flight per week (depart from Bangkok on Saturday and return from Osaka on Sunday). TG624/625 Bangkok-Manila-Bangkok, one flight per week on Thursday. TG632/633 Bangkok-Taipei-Bangkok, one flight per week on Friday. TG638/639 Bangkok-Hong Kong-Bangkok, daily flight. TG642/643 Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita)-Bangkok, three flights per week (depart from Bangkok on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday then return from Tokyo on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday). TG656/657 Bangkok-Seoul-Bangkok, one flight per week (depart from Bangkok on Wednesday and return from Seoul on Thursday).
For more information and reservation, passengers may visit thaiairways.com website or THAI sales offices nationwide or THAI Contact Centre 0-2356-1111 (08.00-17.00).
'Bad Students' not your typical school troublemakers
Teenage high school protest leader Benjamaporn "Ploy" Nivas, front left, taking part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok on Nov 14. She has been cast as a rebel for daring to show a whiff of individuality. (Photo: AFP)
A mild-mannered teenage girl with owl glasses, a bob haircut and daisies painted on her fingernails is not your typical school troublemaker.
But in the eyes of Thailand's ultra-conservative school system and the kingdom's justice system, Benjamaporn "Ploy" Nivas has been cast as a rebel for daring to express herself.
"Students should be able to think for themselves and be themselves," Ploy told AFP during a recent protest at Bangkok's Democracy Monument.
The 15-year-old high schooler is at the forefront of Thailand's "Bad Student" movement which is planning a major rally in Bangkok on Saturday. Ahead of the event, officers on Thursday issued her and two male students with a summons to report to a Bangkok police station for questioning.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights say the trio have brought the tally of juveniles facing prosecution over protest activities in Thailand to four -- while overall 175 protesters have been charged with sedition or public assembly offences.
Thai schools have very strict dress standards, with ponytails and ribbons mandated for girls and military-style crew cuts for boys. But after years of having rules drummed into them, Ploy and her fellow high school activists have gone rogue, emboldened by the broader political protest movement currently sweeping Thailand.
The students want cultural change, a curriculum overhaul, equality and a relaxation of rigid rules.
"We are brainwashed... as students we are taught not to ask questions, but to study and memorise facts for exams," she said.
History textbooks are a particular bone of contention in a country which has seen a dozen coups since becoming a democracy in 1932. School books gloss over events such as the massacre of pro-democracy university students in the 1970s, and instead focus on promoting the work of the monarchy.
The campaign has had a mixed reaction from her teachers."If my teachers are on same side with me, the democracy side, they will admire me -- but if they want (the status quo) those teachers hate me," Ploy said.
- Defying dangers -
Youth-led pro-democracy demonstrations have rocked Thailand since July, and have for the most part been peaceful. But at a rally on Tuesday police used water cannons and teargas on activists, and six people suffered gunshot wounds.
Despite the dangers, Ploy insists protesting is her duty. "We cannot afford to be afraid of anything, otherwise we cannot change anything," she said.
Since August, the Bad Student movement has campaigned for the resignation of Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan and even staged a mock funeral for him.
"Ploy" Nivas poses with a framed portrait of Thai Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan during a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok on Nov 14. (Photo: AFP)
There have long been calls to reform the kingdom's schools but progress has been piecemeal, Pumsaran Tongliemnak, an expert at the state-backed Equitable Education Fund, said.
The government needs to shift its focus from granting access to education to improving its quality, he told AFP, particularly for those who cannot afford expensive private schools.
"The gap between the haves and the have-nots is quite high," Pumsaran said.
In international assessments, Thai students score lower than the OECD average in maths and science.They perform particularly badly in reading, and a World Bank report in 2015 noted widespread "functional illiteracy" among students across all types of Thai schools.
The report said problems included chronic teacher shortages, too many under-resourced small schools, and a focus on rote learning.
Corporal punishment is still practised regularly in schools, despite government efforts to ban it.
Teenage girls are the backbone of the Bad Student movement, which Ploy attributes to growing frustrations over the lack of gender equality in Thailand.
"I think that girls and LGBTQ people are suppressed by the patriarchy both at home and at school. This has made me come out to fight for myself and for everyone," she said.
- 'Schools are dictatorships' -
At an early October rally outside a high school in central Bangkok, scores of mostly female students tied white ribbons on the gate. They covered the student identification numbers embroidered on their uniforms with tape and shielded their faces from the media throng.
A young female student leader made an impassioned speech atop a truck outside the school, demanding respect from teachers instead of "preaching about rules".I
It is a sentiment that strikes a chord with Vegas, a 16-year-old transgender student forced to change schools because of discrimination and bullying.
Vegas, who declined to give their full name, said schools train students to fit in with Thailand's hierarchical society, rather than challenge or question it.
"Schools are like small dictatorships, with all their rules."
Police ready to throw the rule book at pro-democracy protesters
Police would comply with Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's order to use all relevant laws against pro-democracy protesters who broke laws, Deputy Metropolitan Police chief Pol Maj-General Piya Tawichai said on Thursday.
Prayut on Thursday warned protesters that security agencies would use "all relevant laws" against escalating anti-establishment protests. His announcement came after pro-democracy protesters besieged Parliament on Tuesday only to be met by police water cannons and tear gas. The protesters are calling for General Prayut's removal and reform of the monarchy.
"Police are reviewing evidence to pursue applicable legal actions against lawbreakers," he said. "Police will not hesitate to enforce Section 112 if the offenders show clear intention of violating this specific section."
Section 112 of the Criminal Code states that "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years.
"As for the protest leaders who had received bail or temporary release order from the court, police are preparing to file an appeal to the court to revoke their bail if they violate the bail condition, as well as ask the court to prohibit them from joining future rallies," Piya said.
Piya added that police are chalking out plans on dealing with upcoming rallies to be held on November 21 and 25, and vowed to increase intensity of law enforcement.
A deputy official has revealed that #Thailand's prison population is 300,000 convicts.
Out of these 15,000 are foreigners and 9,600 of these are in for drugs offences.
Most of these are from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Out of the 300,000 population 1,170 died from illness in the last year.
Department of Corrections deputy Prawut Wongsinin told Komchadluek that big problems exist because foreigners in the prisons are often sick and don't come under the Thai social security scheme.
They need to be treated to avoid infections being contracted by the general population and items like medication and surgeries do not come cheap.
The DoC is thus applying for 34 million baht to the Drug Prevention and Suppression Fund to treat the 9,600 inmates in prison for drugs.
This represents 3,600 baht a person.
Prawut said prior to this foreign embassies were contacted to help and patients were treated in government hospitals especially the Police Hospital. – Komchadluek
The "Bad Student" group said in a Facebook post on Thursday that they will hold an anti-government protest, under the theme "Meteor Strikes Dinosaurs", in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection on Saturday.
They said the aim of the rally is to remind lawmakers that if they don't change their dinosaur-like outdated mindsets, they will be hit by meteors.
"We demanded reforms in the education sector, but these dinosaurs did not respond. So, we [the students] will say everything these dinosaurs don't want to hear," the group said.
The group has been demanding that the Education Ministry address the issue of abuse at school, cancel outdated regulations and reform the schooling system, or that the education minister resign if the ministry cannot meet their demands.
Bad Student is a collection of high-school students and student organisations from 50 educational institutes nationwide.
Passenger who parked at Bangkok airport for eight months slapped with 60,000 baht bill
File photo
A deputy at the Airports Authority of Thailand has described as "a misunderstanding" after someone who parked their car at Suvarnabhumi airport since March while they were stranded abroad, were asked to pay nearly 60,000 baht.
After a clip went viral Suthat Suwannapongsai was at pains to point out that the airport authority were willing to listen to hardship cases for those who had left their cars. Reductions had already been given to some people who had presented evidence.
Suthat said that the person in this case left their car in Zone 2 from 21st March to 14th November. They were still stranded abroad due to the pandemic and instructed a friend to come and pick up the car.
The fee was 250 baht a day for 239 days - a total of 59,750 baht.
The parking attendant explained to the friend that they could appeal for a lower fee by presenting evidence of outbound and inbound flights and cancellations.
The friend said they were prepared to pay and was not willing to wait and supply documentation.
Suthat said that 6 people had already received help from Suvarnabhumi in reducing charges.
Tourists relax on Pattaya beach. Authorities hope social distancing will result in more tourism income for local communities. Chaiyot Pupattanapong
The flow of tourists the last two months of this year should drive the number of domestic trips to 70 million this year, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans more campaigns next year.
Kritsana Kaewthamrong, deputy governor for domestic marketing at TAT, said domestic tourism during the cool season may be softer than usual, but should be higher than previous months because of numerous public holidays, affordable hotel prices and higher flight frequencies.
Social distancing practices will set a new direction for tourism flows from downtown to suburban areas, resulting in higher income for local communities.
He believes local tourism sentiment is still unfazed by the news about local cases.
During the first nine months this year, local tourists tallied 52.7 million domestic trips, down 54.1% year-on-year. Those trips contributed 323 billion baht to the economy, a drop of 59.5%.
Average spending per trip dropped 14.4% to 4,149 baht, while the hotel occupancy rate closed at 28.6%.
In October, the average occupancy rate picked up to 34.4%, especially for hotels in the Northeast and North, where the occupancy rate decreased by just 2.2% and 9.96%, respectively, compared with the same period last year because of colder weather.
The TAT also plans to organise year-end countdown events in provincial areas. The possible provinces consist of Sukhothai, Koh Phi Phi in Krabi, Roi Et and Ratchaburi.
Mr Kritsana said the TAT wants to introduce the "Best Selfie in Thailand" campaign by creating partnerships with airlines and bloggers to offer tourism packages and remind tourists about forgotten destinations.
This campaign is scheduled to start around mid-December or January.
The next campaign, which is set to launch by January, will focus on caravans with car companies to offer cross-regional road trips. Tourist are to experience various types of tourism products along the way.
"We have to focus on highlighting more local identities in each area, making the tourism more sustainable rather than using singers or concerts to attract tourists," he said.
Moreover, the TAT is discussing with telecom operators offering free WiFi conditioned on tourists completing tourism-related questionnaires. Data from this project will be used to enhance domestic marketing plans.
The agency also aims to adapt products and marketing campaigns to stimulate more trips on weekdays, including targeting the elderly as well as hosting festivals.
About 5.29 million people set out on trips on Wednesday, a day before the long holiday began yesterday, according to the Transport Ministry's road safety centre.
The centre cited figures of cars leaving Bangkok and passengers leaving the capital using public transport services. About 2.55 million passengers left Bangkok on Wednesday using public transport, including buses and vans, said Anon Luangboriboon, deputy permanent secretary for transport. The figure, however, was 1.12% less than expected, he said.
The number of cars, most of which were personal vehicles (2.74 million), left Bangkok the same day, in a 39.76% higher-than-expected figure, he said.
No public transport passenger was left stranded due to service shortages, and no major traffic congestion was reported during the mass exodus of holidaymakers from Bangkok, he said.
A total of 39 road accidents were reported on Wednesday, leaving five dead and 44 other injured, he said, adding that most accidents occurred in Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Saraburi, the main route from Bangkok to the North and the Northeast.
Transport Co said it had on Wednesday laid on 4,502 bus and van services with a combined capacity of serving 63,321 passengers. The company yesterday laid on more than 6,000 such services with a combined capacity of serving more than 200,000 passengers.
A 6.22% rise (about 2.1 million people) in the number of people travelling from one province to another is expected between Wednesday and Sunday, said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.
Other than ensuring sufficient public transport services to handle the expected increase in travellers, the ministry is also implementing Covid-19 prevention measures on every public transport service.
Several destinations received a larger-than-usual number of tourists seeking to indulge themselves in fresh air in the provinces during this long holiday.
