Friday’s news-July 28 -

Fishing pier walking street opened for holiday weekend/
Hundreds of amateur footballers to descend on Hua Hin/
Phetchaburi to host 2-day food and art event/
Long holiday to boost domestic tourism, hotel occupancy/
PKK monkeys to Phuket? Relocation tackles rampant macaque issue in Phetchaburi and PKK/
Thailand election: New Thai PM could be elected on Aug. 4, but…/Thaksin’s pending return signals done deal?/’Deal struck on next govt’/
Economy: Fuel tariff for Sept-Dec lowered, but private sector opposes it/Thai CEOs’ Top Concerns: Government Formation Delay and Global Demand Slowdown/Climatologist paints bleak picture for Thai farmers/Household debt rose to an average of 559,408 baht this year/
Tourism: Russian Elites Transforming Thailand’s Biggest Island as They Become More Unwelcome in the West/TAT Adopts Cautious Approach to Visa Fee Waiver Scheme/41st Thailand Tourism Festival in Bangkok from Aug. 2-6/What Happened to All Those Chinese Tourists?/
Thailand Experience: A visitor’s guide to ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand/Top 10 travel tips for your first trip to Thailand/Thailand: Why Many Men Become ‘Short-Term’ Monks/
International: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison/
Links: Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/Air pollution index map/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers

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Fishing pier walking street opened for holiday weekend

The Saphan Pla Walking Street on the Hua Hin fishing pier will be open for an additional day for the upcoming long weekend. The walking street will be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, from 5pm.

Hundreds of amateur footballers to descend on Hua Hin

Hua Hin is gearing up to host not one, but two major amateur football tournaments this September. Organized by the Viking Club Hua Hin, these tournaments are set to become annual fixtures in Hua Hin’s sporting calendar.

With the True Arena Hua Hin sports complex boasting pristine FIFA-standard real grass pitches, the stage is set for what are expected to be eagerly anticipated events. Continued …

Phetchaburi to host 2-day food and art event

The Phetchaburi Creative City of Gastronomy event is a two-day cultural and culinary celebration that will feature local cuisine, food demonstrations, free food tastings, cultural performances and folk entertainment, contemporary music performances, goldsmith and other local craftsmanship demonstrations, and local product sales.

The event will be held at the Wat Yai Suwannaram, and Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park (Khao Wang) in Phetchaburi from 4-10pm, Aug 45.

The event will feature: performances and demonstrations of culture/local food from eight districts; exhibitions and demonstrations of Phetchaburi’s craftsmanship; an exhibition of cultural products by CPOT; contemporary art performances and demonstrations; a photography exhibition of the Eat & Art project; music and local cultural performances; a community tourism exhibition; a creative food exhibition by Rajabhat Phetchaburi University; an innovative food exhibition by Silpakorn University; a cultural market; exhibitions from various organizations/educational institutions.

For more information, contact the Phetchaburi Provincial Office of Culture at 03242 4324; map location.

Long holiday to boost domestic tourism, hotel occupancy

The six-day holiday that starts today will generate up to 1.66 billion baht in domestic tourism from nearly 5 million trips made by Thais, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Thursday.

The long break starts on Friday (July 28), His Majesty the King’s birthday, and continues until Wednesday (Aug. 2), the start of Buddhist Lent. The caretaker government on Tuesday designated Monday (July 31) as an extra public holiday to give Thais more time to head back to their home towns. Continued …

PKK monkeys to Phuket? Relocation tackles rampant macaque issue in Phetchaburi and PKK

In what’s being hailed as a successful initiative, multiple crab-eating macaques have been relocated from communities within Phetchaburi to an island in Phuket, under a pilot project. The venture has cleared the road for the relocation of more from the rapidly increasing macaque population in the province, as well as the neighboring Prachuap Khiri Khan, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

The project is part of the ministry’s efforts to mitigate the damaging effects seen on local communities due to the rapid surge in the macaque population, as advised by Yuthapol Angkinan, consultant to the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment. Continued …

New Thai PM could be elected on Aug. 4, but…

Fugitive, and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra met with former Future Forward Leader and 2019 PM candidate Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit on Tuesday this week, adding more spice to the messy ingredients already in play for the next meeting of Parliament.

House Speaker and parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has called a meeting for next Friday, Aug. 4, to elect Thailand’s’s next PM. Wan says that if the Constitutional Court rejects the petition challenging lawmakers’ blocking of Pita Limjaroenrat’s re-nomination, the vote can go ahead. Continued …

Thaksin’s pending return signals done deal?

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants his planned return to Thailand to be seen as a family affair. But few are fooled by his latest political act.

All of a sudden, Thaksin has become a key player in the weeks-long political haggling over the formation of a post-election coalition. His announcement that he will finally end his self-exile and fly back to Bangkok on Aug. 10 is seen by many as a signal that a deal has already been sealed. Continued …

‘Deal struck on next govt’

A political deal involving the formation of a new government has been reached in Hong Kong between ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the Progressive Movement, ahead of Thaksin’s plan to return to Thailand, a source in the Pheu Thai Party says.

The source said Thanathorn flew to Hong Kong on Monday morning and returned to Thailand the following day. Continued …

Fuel tariff for Sept-Dec lowered, but private sector opposes it

The private sector is not happy with the electricity cost of 4.45 baht per unit from September to December announced on Thursday by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), saying that positive energy-related factors should have pushed it lower.

The ERC announced a fuel tariff (Ft) of 66.89 satang per unit, which is equivalent to 4.45 baht per unit of electricity for the period September to December. Continued …

Thai CEOs’ Top Concerns: Government Formation Delay and Global Demand Slowdown

According to a survey by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) with a sample size of 258 CEOs from 45 industries, their top domestic concerns include:

The delay in government formation and political conflicts after the election (81%)
High production costs, including electricity, energy, raw materials, and logistics (76.4%) Continued …

Climatologist paints bleak picture for Thai farmers

More than 20 million Thai farming households are currently living on or below the poverty line due to various factors, including the fear of El Nino, which severely affects and increases hardships for those who work the land.

Dr. Seri Suprathit, director of Rangsit University’s Climate Change and Disaster Center, says that comprehensive reforms are needed to increase agricultural productivity, reduce water usage, and implement innovative solutions for survival. Continued …

Household debt rose to an average of 559,408 baht this year

Household debt in Thailand has climbed to an average of 559,408 baht per household, an increase of 11% compared to last year, due to slow economic recovery, the COVID19 pandemic, political conflict and geopolitical issues.

The Bank of Thailand is implementing measures to tackle the debt problem, adding that there is an urgent need for financial education and plans to manage expenditure in the long term. Given that household debt accounts for 90% of Thailand’s GDP, the forecast for next year’s GDP indicates a positive economic outlook. Continued …

Russian Elites Transforming Thailand’s Biggest Island as They Become More Unwelcome in the West

Thailand has long been a top destination for tourists. But one group in particular is now flocking to Phuket, the country’s largest island: Russian elites.

While many Russians are getting turned away from Western countries, thanks to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, they’re finding a friendly welcome in Thailand, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. From January to June of this year, more than 790,000 Russian nationals arrived in the country, a whopping 1,000% increase from the same time last year, according to the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports. More than half of those people flew into Phuket, with Russians being the No. 1 group of tourists to the island, the Phuket Tourist Assn. said. Continued …

TAT Adopts Cautious Approach to Visa Fee Waiver Scheme

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is taking a cautious approach toward implementing a visa fee waiver scheme to attract more foreign tourists.

In response to tourism operators urging the government to offer a visa fee waiver scheme to stimulate the market, TAT Gov. Yuthasak Supasorn stated that it may not be the best strategy, given that the main issue is currently the lengthy waiting period during the visa application process. Continued …

41st Thailand Tourism Festival in Bangkok from Aug. 2-6

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has scheduled the 41st Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF 2023) from Aug. 2-6, at Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) under the concept of “Inno-Cultural for Sustainable Tourism” representing a combination of innovative technology and culture, unseen travel experiences, and sustainability.

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said “This year’s Thailand Tourism Festival is conceptualized to bring the wonders of Thailand for a fantastic five-day showcase. The event will focus on promoting unseen tourist attractions, telling untold stories, sharing unlimited experiences, and highlighting amazing travel opportunities that are unpredictable beyond expectations, unbelievable in their appeal, and unforgettable in the impressions they will create.” Continued …

What Happened to All Those Chinese Tourists?

Before Covid, Malaysia’s luxury mall beneath Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Towers echoed with the sound of Chinese tourists and their dialects. But recently, during a busy dinner hour, they were missing.

Din, the mall’s outlet of famous Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung, a favorite of Chinese tourists, was half-full with local Malaysians and Middle Eastern customers. When I asked a cashier whether they had served many Chinese lately, she shook her head with a tight smile. That’s a problem. Continued …

A visitor’s guide to ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand

If you are a tourist, a trip to Thailand is incomplete without seeing the country’s extraordinary elephants. These majestic animals have been an integral part of Thailand’s culture and history, used for a variety of purposes, such as for transportation, war, logging (in the timber industry), and now tourism.

Video

Currently, there are around 3,500 – 4,000 captive elephants in Thailand. Wild elephant numbers range from 3,000 – 3,700, with declining population numbers every year. Continued …

Top 10 travel tips for your first trip to Thailand

Thailand, a captivating destination renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, cultural heritage, and lively urban centers, has long captured the hearts of travelers worldwide.

If you plan your inaugural voyage to this enchanting country, meticulous preparation will ensure you make the most of your experience. Following are indispensable tips for an unforgettable trip to Thailand: Continued …

Thailand: Why Many Men Become ‘Short-Term’ Monks

After graduating from university, Palath Dilokloetthanakorn, then 22, did what many other young Thai men do before starting their careers: he joined a Buddhist monastery.

“It just felt like a tradition I had to do for my parents, especially as their eldest son,” he said, noting his parents were overjoyed on the day he was ordained. Continued …

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison

Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a 2021 military coup, has been moved from prison to a government building, an official from her party said Friday. Continued …

Hua Hin-Suvarnabhumi bus schedule

Leaving Hua Hin: 6am, 8am, 10am, 11am, 12:00, 2pm, 4pm, 5:10pm, and 6pm
Leaving Suvarnabhumi: 7:30am, 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:00, 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 5pm, and 6:30pm

The one-way fare is 325 baht.

The VIP bus service from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport has a new Cha Am boarding location in front of Government Savings Bank.

Hua Hin-Pattaya bus service twice a day

Hua Hin now has once-daily bus service to Pattaya, leaving Hua Hin at 9am and departing from Pattaya at 8am. Tickets are 473 THB.

Tickets can be bought in person at the Hua Hin bus station or online. Buses depart from the Hua Hin bus station and in front of Government Savings Bank, Cha Am.. Tickets