• Mrs. Tourism International at Market Village/Prachuap sees red skies/Safety standards for automated cars/Thailand’s first moon mission/Cannabis shop enforcement/Giant sinkholes in Khon Kaen
• ECONOMY: Thailand property market shaken/Uneven recovery ahead/Thailand records export growth/Robot Supply Chain Comes to Thailand
• TOURISM: Hotels warn abou Bangkok 3% tax/What Phuket’s Record Tourism Numbers Mean/Flight turbulence injures 12/Birth certificate to leave Thailand/New Indonesia flights
• CLIMATE THAILAND: Shan Mines an ‘Environmental Catastrophe’/Stricter data center rules
• INTERNATIONAL/HUA HIN TRANSPORT and LINKS 

Mrs. Tourism International 2026 pageant held at Market Village

Vietnamese representative Van Pham recently won the Mrs. Tourism Queen International 2026 competition, and also won the title of Charity Queen 2026 (Beauty with a Purpose), creating a remarkable mark for Vietnamese beauty on the international stage.

The final competition included representatives from 21 nations and territories, such as Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan (China), Cambodia, and the Philippines. The final night took place at Market Village Hua Hin shopping center. Continued … 

Chumphon and Prachuap see red skies amid rough seas warning

Residents along the southern coast have been advised to prepare for strong winds and rough seas after reports of unusual sky conditions and worsening weather in Chumphon and Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Reports today said the sky over parts of Chumphon, including Muang, Tha Sae and Pathio districts, as well as areas bordering Prachuap Khiri Khan, turned a deep red color yesterday evening. Continued … 

Five new safety standards prepare Thailand for automated cars

The Royal Gazette has published five Ministry of Industry announcements introducing new Thai industrial standards for intelligent transport systems involving driver-assistance and automated-driving technologies.

The standards were developed by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) to establish a technical framework for vehicle manufacturers, technology developers and related service providers, as vehicles equipped with varying levels of automated driving capability are expected to enter the Thai market more widely in the near future. Continued … 

Thailand’s first moon mission to launch Thai-made payload

Thailand is preparing for a historic step in space exploration, with a Thai-designed and developed scientific payload set to travel to the Moon as part of China’s Chang’e 7 mission on Aug. 24.

The CE-7 MATCH scientific payload, developed by Thai researchers and engineers at the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), will be one of seven international scientific instruments carried by the Chang’e 7 mission. Continued … 

Thailand steps up cannabis shop enforcement

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has intensified enforcement against cannabis businesses, inspecting 1,326 shops since October 2025 and seizing products worth more than 109 million baht.

Authorities have carried out 83 seizures and started legal action against 40 people or businesses since the campaign began last October. They have suspended 84 operating licenses, revoked four licenses and considered 39 appeals against suspensions or revocations. Continued … 

Seven giant sinkholes open up in Khon Kaen farmland

Seven large sinkholes have emerged in farmland in Phu Pha Man district, Khon Kaen province, alarming local residents and prompting authorities to investigate the cause. The sinkholes were reported yesterday in an agricultural area used by local residents.

An initial survey found seven sinkholes at the site. Each hole was reportedly large and deep, with signs that the affected areas could continue to expand.The incident has caused concern among residents, who fear further ground collapses in the area. Continued … 

Thailand property market shaken by nominee crackdown on luxury homes

Thailand’s crackdown on nominee structures used to hold property on behalf of foreign interests is creating new pressure on the luxury housing and condominium markets, as authorities intensify checks on ownership arrangements in the real estate sector.

The issue gained attention after officials investigated the purchase of 33 luxury houses worth more than 1.27 billion baht in the Pattanakarn and Krungthep Kreetha areas of Bangkok. The purchases were linked to a network allegedly using more than 33 companies as fronts, with Thai nationals acting as nominee shareholders to hold ownership of luxury homes across several projects. Continued … 

BofA views uneven recovery ahead

The Thai economy is expected to miss the country’s potential growth level of 2.5%-3% over the next two years, says Bank of America (BofA), noting that the ongoing recovery remains “limited and uneven”, while energy supply shocks and price volatility persist.

In recent research by BofA Securities, the corporate and investment banking division of BofA reported that Thailand’s economy has improved sequentially, but the recovery remained limited and uneven. Continued … 

Thailand records export growth in US and Europe

Phantong Loykulnanta, director-general of the Customs Department, reported that Thailand’s international trade reached B21.4 trillion in the first 10 months of fiscal 2026. The figure was close to the full-year total of B22 trillion recorded the previous year.

Although economic conditions may appear to be slowing, the country’s actual trade figures have continued to grow across all major markets. Exports to the United States alone increased by 30%-34% from the same period a year earlier. Continued … 

Robot Supply Chain Comes to Thailand: Inside China’s Humanoid Push into the EEC

For years, the story of Chinese robotics in Southeast Asia was a trade story: finished machines shipped south to serve a growing industrial base. That story is changing. China is no longer just exporting robots to the region — it is exporting the supply chain that builds them, and Thailand has just landed one of the first major pieces of it.

In February, Thailand’s Board of Investment approved more than 10 billion baht in combined investment from five Chinese companies — Xusheng Group, Sanhua Intelligent Drives, Hangzhou Seenpin Electromechanical Transmission, Beite Technology and Tuopu Technology — to build what the BOI describes as the country’s first humanoid robot component production base, sited in the Eastern Economic Corridor. Continued … 

Hotels warn Bangkok 3% tax could hurt tourism recovery

As the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to introduce a 3% hotel tax to increase revenue, the Thai Hotels Association (THA) has urged the authority to begin with a lower rate of 0.5%-1% and provide additional support to help tourism operators affected by the Middle East conflict.

Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt earlier proposed amendments to the BMA Act to allow the city to levy new local taxes, including a 3% tax on hotel and accommodation room charges. Continued … 

What Phuket’s Record Tourism Numbers Mean for Long-Term Residents

Siam Legal Phuket is noting that Phuket’s first-half 2026 tourism figures, which show the island attracted nearly 7 million visitors and generated 263 billion baht in revenue between January and June, reflect a structural shift in how foreign nationals are engaging with Thailand rather than simply a strong season for the hospitality sector.

What the headline numbers do not capture is a quieter but equally significant trend running alongside the tourism figures. The nationalities that dominate Phuket’s visitor data are increasingly the same nationalities that make up Phuket’s long-term foreign resident population. Russians, British, Australians, and Germans account for four of the top nine source markets and also represent the dominant demographics among foreign nationals seeking long-term visa arrangements, property ownership, and business registration in Phuket. Continued … 

Air India Phuket-Delhi flight turbulence injures 12

Twelve people were injured after an Air India Airbus A320 flying from Phuket to Delhi encountered severe turbulence yesterday, forcing some passengers who were not wearing seatbelts into the cabin ceiling.

Flight A12379 was carrying 134 people when it was hit by a sudden drop about 90 minutes after leaving Phuket. The early-morning service was cruising at altitude when the turbulence struck, with reports of cracks to the aircraft’s interior. Continued … 

Thai children under 18 to need birth certificate to leave Thailand

Thai nationals aged under 18 leaving Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport must now show a birth certificate to immigration officers, under a new measure announced Monday.

Previously, Thai children under 18 could travel overseas using only their passport. Immigration said the change is intended to protect children’s best interests and prevent them being taken out of Thailand unlawfully or without the permission of a parent or legal guardian. Continued … 

New Indonesia flights support Thailand’s 890,000-visitor target

Thailand is strengthening its tourism links with Indonesia through agreements with TransNusa Airlines and Traveloka, as it seeks to attract 890,000 Indonesian visitors in 2026.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) signed separate memoranda of understanding with the Indonesian airline and the regional travel platform at the Fairmont Jakarta yesterday, during Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s official visit to Indonesia. Continued … 

Shan Mines an ‘Environmental Catastrophe for Thailand’

Citizens in northern Thailand are enduring an environmental catastrophe from the ballooning number of gold and rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, speakers told an event in Bangkok on Monday night.

A boom in unregulated mining in Shan State – most reportedly set up by Chinese companies because of bans in their homeland – have polluted rivers that flow into northern Thailand with heavy metals, a forum on transboundary pollution featuring a Thai senator, a UN representative and a local activist warned. Continued … 

Thailand plans stricter data center rules over power and water use

The Thai government is drafting a new regulation to oversee data center operations, aiming to manage the sector’s impact on national resources and improve control over investment-related risks.The planned regulation would allow authorities to monitor data center activities more comprehensively, particularly their use of national resources such as electricity and water.

Once the regulation is issued, a new legally empowered committee would be established to specifically supervise the data center sector, including approvals, permissions, monitoring and assessments of potential impacts from projects operating in Thailand. Continued … 

High bills, cheap panels drive Philippines solar surge

Edwin Salas watched as the first of 20 solar panels was installed on the roof of his home, joining a Philippine solar energy boom sent into overdrive by the Middle East war. The country’s eye-watering electric bills – the highest in the region – were the primary driver of his decision, he said. Regular brownouts were a factor, too. Continued … 

Trump’s sale of access to Truth Social raises eyebrows

US President Donald Trump’s move to charge for early access to his often market-moving Truth Social posts is raising eyebrows a year and a half into an administration that has already seen unprecedented enrichment for the First Family. Continued … 

Hua Hin Links and Transport

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