Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Monday that travellers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have shown increasing interest in visiting Thailand since the Visa on Arrival was extended from 15 to 30 days on October 1.
On October 30, Air Astana will launch direct daily flights from Almaty, Kazakhstan to Bangkok and Phuket, expanding from the current three flights per week. Meanwhile, Sunday Airlines will also add new flights this winter from major Kazakh cities such as Almaty, Astana, Kostanay, Shymkent and Uralsk to Phuket and U-Tapao.
"Kazakh airlines and tour companies said last month they would like to see Thailand scrap all visa requirements and fees for Kazakhstan tourists this year so they can promote Thailand during the high season," Phiphat said.
In 2019, before the pandemic, Thailand received about 56,000 tourists from Kazakhstan, generating about 3.46 billion baht in tourism revenue.
The first nine months of 2022 saw around 22,000 arrivals from Kazakhstan. The ministry estimates that figure will reach 55,000 by year-end, almost returning to pre-Covid levels.
Phiphat said Uzbekistan tourists also have high spending power and qualify for the Visa on Arrival, but there are currently no direct flights from the country to Thailand. National carrier Uzbekistan Airways is preparing to resume international flights after being grounded during the pandemic, he added.
Currently, Uzbekistan tourists wishing to visit Thailand have to catch a flight from Tashkent or Samarkand to Almaty, Istanbul, Dubai, or the UAE and grab a connecting flight to Thailand.
Over 19,000 Uzbekistan tourists visited Thailand in 2019. The first eight months of 2022 saw 2,496 arrivals from Uzbekistan, with a total of 8,500 expected this year.
The ministry has reduced its tourism revenue target for this year from 1.5 trillion baht to 1.28 trillion baht after lower-than-expected bookings. Next year, it expects revenue of 2.4 trillion baht from an estimated 20 million foreign visitors and 160 million trips made by Thais.
If you thought 2022 has been, and continues to be, a very wet year, you'd be correct. Prachuap Khiri Khan province is on course to log its highest amount of rainfall in decades, with above-average rain forecast for the coming peak of the monsoon.
October has historically been the province's rainiest month, and during the first nine months of 2022, Prachuap Khiri Khan has already exceeded its full-year precipitation (10-year) average, which was about 1,113 mm.
According to data from the Thailand Meteorological Department (TMD), from January 1 to September 29, 2022 the province received 1,138.5 millimetres of rainfall, which is 44% higher than the 1995 baseline year-to-date "normal" value of 790.1mm.
To date this year, Thailand's Early Warning System has triggered nine incessant rainfall advisories in Prachuap Khiri Khan. Six issued in May were in Bang Saphan and Thap Sakae districts, and three issued in February were in Mueang District. The highest level of these was when 112.5mm fell in Khlong Wan in less than 24 hours on February 15.
Advisories are issued when excessive rainfall is recorded within a 24-to-48-hour period, posing flash flood and landslide threats.
The TMD's Climatological Center forecasts Prachuap Khiri Khan to continue to receive above-average precipitation in October. Large portions of the province are expected to receive in excess of 300mm of rainfall this month.
In the last two decades, the highest amount of rainfall recorded in Prachuap Khiri Khan was in 2017, when the province annual rainfall average was logged at 1,474.5 mm. The province would need to receive at least 340mm in the final three months of 2022 to exceed this and thus attain a new 20-year high.
The forecast said that though the cool season is starting later than usual, it will last longer this year.
During this period, temperatures in the North and Northeast may drop to as low as 8 degrees Celsius, with frost on hilltops. Greater Bangkok, meanwhile, can expect lows of 15 to 18 degrees Celsius.
The department added that though the weather will only get chilly on some days in the upper South, the region will continue being hit by heavy rain in November and December, resulting in flash floods and overflows. The worst hit will be the eastern coast of the South of Thailand.
The department also warned that more tropical storms may hit the Gulf of Thailand and the South in November and December.
Many countries in south east Asia are looking to attract global tycoons and wealthy retirees to boost their local economies. Thailand's LTR (Long Term Residency) has so far not excited much public interest as it overlaps with other visa options, does not lead to permanent residency or a second passport and requires a 40 million baht (one million plus US$) investment to be eligible to buy a small plot of land. The Board of Investment has offered little comment to date, although deputy secretary general Narit Therdsteerasukdi says that Thailand can no longer rely on short-term tourists for much-needed income.
By contrast, the recently-announced SRIV (Special Investors Resident Visa) in the Philippines immediately offers permanent residency for as long a foreigner invests at least US$75,000 in business or securities. In return, investors can come and go as they like as well as including their wives and dependent children without additional registration fees. Gill Harris, spokesperson for International Move, said, "If the Filipino golden visa is marketed properly, its sheer simplicity will compare favorably with competing products in other countries."
Malaysia has also joined the fray with its PViP (Premium Visa Program) offering 20 years residence for an investment deposit of around US$220,000. However, it overlaps heavily with existing visa options such as MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) and, according to Malaysian member of parliament Lim Lip Eng, suffers from ambiguity about financial details. The country also acquired bad publicity when it banned MM2H holders from entering Malaysia for a period of six months during the Covid crisis.
Cambodia's CM2H (Cambodia My Second Home) attracted a lot of initial attention when first announced last July. It appeared to offer a possible path to citizenship within five years for investors bringing over US$100,000. However, the deal requires a property investment in the Khmer Home Charity Association, a registered charity, with close Chinese connections. None the less, the detail includes an automatic work permit as does the Thai LTR. The Malaysian and Filipino variants do not, even for digital nomads.
Gill Harris concluded, "All the golden schemes have their own idiosyncrasies. There can be exorbitant registration fees, as in the case of Malaysia, or a cumbersome bureaucracy with the Thai version. There may be half-promises about citizenship, permanent residency or the right to buy property which are not binding on governments. As things stand, the Filipino golden visa looks the best investment for expats wanting a regular base in south east Asia."
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After midnight today (October 1st), a team from the Pattaya City Police was patrolling Pattaya Beach and checked for firearms and illegal drugs to prevent any chaos and crime. However, no illegal items were found.
Police also informed both Thais and foreigners who were relaxing on the beach, some drinking alcohol, that this was illegal. According to the Alcohol Control Act, alcohol is not allowed to be sold or drunk on beaches and high fines or even jail time could be applied at law enforcement discretion. Additionally, public intoxication is also against Thai law.
The Pattaya News notes that historically, however, these rules have been lightly to not enforced in the area due to the overall reputation of Pattaya as a tourist city and a party town. With recent crime on the beach, however, and several incidents including the firearm incident, fights, and a man threatening to stab another man over loud noise on the beach, police have begun focusing on alcohol consumption as a possible trigger for these incidents.
Pattaya police stated to the Pattaya News that special focus would be on those under twenty who allegedly come to local beaches as an easy place to drink away from watchful parents or authorities. Law enforcement also reminded the public that although cannabis was decriminalized in June of this year that public smoking, including on beaches, was against the law.
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After over two-and-a-half-years an era that for many people was deeply unpleasant and life changing will come to an end in Thailand.
After today, September 30th, the emergency decree in place to control Covid-19, which came into effect in March of 2020, will be eliminated. Additionally, the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration or CCSA that handled the rules and regulations during the Covid era and centralized all administration will be dissolved.
Nearly all remaining Covid measures, such as random checks to see if someone is vaccinated or has covid on entering Thailand are dropped. Yes, masks are still being recommended and some venues and services based on the business may still require them but the mandate has been dropped for months and it's mostly a personal decision now if someone wishes to wear a mask.
The duties of the CCSA will be moved to the Ministry of Public Health which has also downgraded Covid-19 to a disease being monitored, similar to many regularly occuring sicknesses and diseases in Thailand. In a sign of changing times even some Thai media has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 statistics, English language media, including us, in Thailand mostly stopped months ago after continued negative feedback from readers.
Covid isn't over of course, in fact cases are rising in some parts of the world, and is still a real threat especially to those who are vulnerable or elderly but Thailand has clearly made the decision to move forward and fully engage the shattered tourism industry in particular, understanding that Covid will likely always be with us. A quick look on Twitter shows that not everyone agrees with decisions to lower precautions however, which is to be understood.
The last over two years was for many people a miserable time. Pattaya and Phuket in particular saw almost all of their economy on pause for much of the entire pandemic as it is nearly entirely reliant on tourism. Lines of thousands of people in charity lines for food during the height of the closures of nearly every business except essential grocers and markets last year will haunt many peoples memories for along time to come.
That being said, we also wanted to say that the CCSA in particular, especially Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin and Natapanu Bangkok (on Twitter) kept the public informed and aware throughout the pandemic and were also intensely aware of the impact their decisions were making, with Dr. Taweesin on a number of occasions showing true emotion and empathy on camera to those whose businesses and livelihoods were shut down by covid restrictions and mandates. Many have thanked them for their hard work in a mostly thankless job, and we do as well.
There will be more challenges and more hurdles in the future, but for now let's bid farewell to the emergency decree era and see what the future holds. The emergency decree was constantly a polarizing item, with critics saying it was being used to silence protests and anti-government activists. The government, however, strictly maintained their viewpoint that it was needed to control the Covid-19 pandemic only. Regardless of one's personal opinion on the decree, it is finally laid to a close tonight.
Here is to the future, no matter what it might bring.
Adam Judd, TPN
Nevertheless they also mentioned that many sacred objects had been recovered.
Wearing face masks on public transport and in cinemas is still mandatory, the Department of Health said.
Covid-19 will be eased from a dangerous communicable disease to a communicable disease under surveillance on Saturday, as re-stated on Thursday by Dr Aekkachai Piansriwatchara, a deputy director of the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health.
The department held a press conference on sanitation and environmental health standards after the reclassification of the virus.
Topics addressed included concerns about higher-risk businesses and whether the Thai Stop COVID-19 2 Plus platform would remain in place.
Dr Aekkachai said the cleaning of common contact points and workplace screenings will still be required to ensure public safety despite the easing of most measures.
That being said, the department will moderate the measures applied to some higher-risk businesses while the aforementioned platform will be retained as those firms are required to follow the Public Health Act and Communicable Diseases Act.
The department still mandates that people wear face masks and respect social distancing rules as much as possible when using public transport or visiting the cinema, due to the density of people packed closely together, Dr Aekkachai said.
He answered a question on how people's lives will change by saying they will improve, referring to their better health awareness compared to earlier in the pandemic.
A survey carried out by the Department of Health on 274,400 people showed that most respondents agreed on the need to retain the health measures, while some expressed concern about the hygiene of certain public places.
Toxic smog returns to Greater Bangkok Smog blankets Bangkok on Tuesday. (Photo: Pattanapong Hirunard) Several areas in Bangkok and nearby p...
