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Instead of wasting money on high energy bills this winter, Westerners should turnoff the heating and spend their money in Thailand instead, advises the TourismAuthority of Thailand (TAT), Tourism operators demand cheaper flights to Phuket,and Thailand’s ‘master complainer’ gets punched over a complaint againstcomedian, all that, and more coming right up in today’s program.
Instead of wasting money on high energy bills this winter, Westerners should turnoff the heating and spend their money in Thailand instead, advises the TourismAuthority of Thailand (TAT)With wholesale gas and electricity prices rocketing in Europe TAT’s invitationmakes sense. In the UK, the average household is about £2,500 a year, up from£1,400 in October 2021.Governor of the TAT Yuthasak Supasorn said high costs of gas and energy willincentivize Westerners to escape the cold and come to Thailand…“Save your money, lock your home, and come to Thailand. Pay for a pool villa inPhuket instead of paying the energy bills.”Yuthasak calls escaping harsh winters by coming to Thailand “revengetravelling”…“We hope that, with revenge travelling, there will be a shift to revenge spending.They buy everything.”The TAT knows that tourism is nowhere near returning to pre-Covid levels, sothey are depending on increasing how much each tourist is spending to boosttourism revenue.American tourists are expected to be spending more money in Thailand this winteras the Thai baht depreciated to 38 against the dollar for the first time in 16 years.Tourists escaping chilly Western winters can keep warm for longer than usual this‘High Season’ as Thailand is now granting longer stays to tourists with extended‘Visa on Arrival’ and longer ‘Visa Exemption on Arrival.’Between October 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023, foreigners arriving in Thailand areeligible to stay for 30 or 45 days…
Visa on Arrival stays will be extended from 15 days to 30 days. Passport holdersfrom 19 countries are eligible for Visa on Arrival.Visa Exemption stays for passport holders from 64 countries which have bilateralagreements with Thailand will be extended from 30 days to 45 days.Before the pandemic, in 2019, Thailand welcomed almost 40 million tourists,generating US$62 billion in revenue.As of October 9, Thailand has so far welcomed 6.48 million tourists this year. TheTAT expects 10 million arrivals by the end of 2022 – just one-third of pre-Covidnumbers.
Tourism operators demand cheaper flights to PhuketPhuket tourism operators are demanding that airlines cut ticket prices to make theisland destination more financially attractive. As Chinese tourists are largelymissing from the Phuket tourism market, operators are worried that travelling tothe island is being seen as too expensive. According to The Bangkok Post, Chinesetourists accounted for 40% of the Phuket tourism market before the pandemic.Now, as it struggles to bounce back post-Covid pandemic, local travellers are infocus on boosting Phuket’s economy.But, local travellers are viewed as not wanting to pay an arm and a leg to travel tothe southern destination. Thanet Tantipiriyakit, president of the Phuket TouristAssociation, says local tourists accounted for the largest number of airport arrivals,at around 8,000 to 9,000 passengers per day. That figure surpasses the number offoreign travellers by at least 4,000. Thanet cites airline tickets as being the mostcritical obstacle for domestic travellers to Phuket.“Phuket had been perceived as an expensive destination among local travellerssince before Covid-19. Although room rates and the cost of living remainaffordable at the moment as hotels are keeping prices low to attract tourists, theexpensive airfares will deter them from visiting the island.”He went further to say that without advance bookings, a round-trip fare could costaround 10,000 baht per person. He says that the current rate has an impact ontourists travelling as a group, like families, as the price of a visit would be inflated.He noted that despite Thailand’s reopening, the number of flights at the airport sitsat around 100 per day, which means the airport still has slots available for airlinesto expand their services for the high season.“With a lot of available slots for domestic carriers, we would like them to increaseflights to Phuket, which will consequently help reduce the average airfare if thereare more seats filling up this market.”Thanet said that although the rainy season produced flooding, most of the island’sbeaches remained intact, which is a good indicator that more tourists will want tovisit.
Pheu Thai calls to dissolve Bhumjaithai Party over cannabis policyThe Pheu Thai Party is pushing to see rival Bhumjaithai Party go up in smoke,planning a petition to dissolve the party over the handling of their cannabispolicies. The party plans on filing a petition to the Election Commission toconsider the dissolution of all parties involved in the bungling of thedecriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand.They claim that the Bhumjaithai Party, who pushed for legalisation and thenfeigned shock that cannabis was being used recreationally and not just medically,used marijuana laws as smoke and mirrors to gain political favour among voterswithout proper legislative diligence, according to TPN National News.Cannabis was legalised in June with almost no regulation or policy thought out andput in place. Opponents of the legalisation say that abused administrative powersand created problems. Claiming that the botched decriminalisation is a far cry fromthe medical cannabis plan the Bhumjaithai Party advocated for, the Pheu ThaiParty leader called for consequences for the parties supporting the legislation.“The current policy of allowing households’ to plant marijuana, havingdispensaries, cannabis cafes, and cannabis decriminalization had nothing to dowith the medical only policy Bhumjaithai Party introduced to the public during theelection in 2019. The petition to the dissolution of the party will be submitted tothe Election Commission and will be considered in detail in all aspects. Theconsideration progress is expected to be reported by November 1st.”While cannabis legalisation has had its ups and downs, Minister of Public HealthAnutin Charnvirakul said there was no putting the cat back into the bag. He saidthe decriminalisation can’t be reversed, but some Pheu Thai Party members havepushed for exactly that – recriminalisation. The party’s official stance is that theydo not support any recreational uses of cannabis and want regulations solidified.Political parties have been wrestling over draft proposals for regulatory lows, andPheu Thai wants the grey area cleared up immediately.
Thailand’s ‘master complainer’ gets punched over complaint against comedianSolo political activist Srisuwan Janya deemed “Thailand’s master complainer”,was physically attacked this morning (Tuesday), as he was giving an interview tothe media, while he was at the office of Technology Crime Suppression Division(TCSD) to lodge a complaint against Udom Taephanich, a stand-up comedian wellknown for his comedy series “Deaw 1-13”.The attacker approached Srisuwan and started punching and kicking him. Policeamong the crowd of reporters intervened and managed to separate the two men.The assailant later told the media that his attack on Srisuwan was meant to teachhim a lesson, in response to his penchant for filing complaints on almost everyissue against various people “indiscriminately”.He claimed that he did attack Srisuwan of his own free will and was not hired byanybody, adding that he took leave today in order to show the public that noteveryone agrees with Srisuwan’s complaints.He also said that he is ready to face legal action for the incident today andapologised the TCSD police for the inconvenience caused.Before the surprise attack, Srisuwan told the media that he came to the TCSDoffice to ask the police to take action against Udom for his latest solo talk show,which was posted on social media.He alleged that Udom’s talk contains some remarks which could be deemed incitethe public to participate in protests, which may threaten national security, publicorder and the rights of the other people.Despite Srisuwan’s apparent Pro-Prayut stance, his complaining used to bedirected at the Prayut-led military junta. After the NCPO took power over Thailandby military coup in 2014, Srisuwan filed numerous complaints against its membersand associates. Then, he was summoned by the junta for an “attitude adjustment.”Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan says Nose Udom’s anti-governmentjokes are “not a big deal.” However, it is no secret that you can get in big trouble inThailand for anti-government espousals. For example, three men were jailed lastweek for “insulting” PM Prayut and Deputy PM Prawit.
Police rescue 3 women & 2 kids held captive for 3 years in a Bangkok condo
Police rescued three women and two children from a condominium in Bangkokafter being held captive for three years by their unscrupulous bosses. The twosuspects were arrested yesterday.Police raided the luxury condominium on Arun Amarin Road in the Bang Phlatdistrict of Bangkok and rescued the five victims being held by a transwoman andher employee after being notified by a victim’s relative.The victims were reported to be 46 year old Pairin, 34 year old Ploy, 48 year oldKhaimook, 10 year old Ya, and 6 year old Chay. The two children were Pairin’sson and daughter.The victims were forced to get their hair cropped short and the boy was forced todress like a girl. Pirin and Khaimook revealed they were scaled by their employersregularly and revealed hot water burns on their bodies. The two children also hadseveral wounds and bruises on their faces and eyes.Pairin, Ploy, and Khaimook informed the police that they were former nurses at awell-known hospital in Bangkok but quit to work for the transwoman, 39 year oldHaru Hawangsiri, aka Park Seohyun, in a collagen supplementary business.Haru told the women she was a half-Japanese, half-Korean investor, could speaksix languages and formerly worked for the US Embassy. Convinced by herseeming authenticity, they resigned from the hospital and invested more than fivemillion baht into her business.Soon after the women began working for Haru, she hit them with a 140 millionbaht fine. The transwoman said they made clients angry and they wanted theirmoney back. Unable to pay, Haru locked the women and children in a room andforced them to work off the debt.The victims said Haru’s employee, 20 year old man Triphetcharat Noppachon,controlled and did most of the punishment.Pairin added that Triphetcharat poured boiling water over them and that she wasforced to hit her children. If she refused to do so the young man would pour hotwater over her children.
Khaosod reported yesterday that Haru and Triphetcharat were arrested and initiallycharged with two sections of criminal law.
Firstly, they were charged under Section 259 of the Criminal Law related to anoffence against life and body: causing injury to the body or mind of others. Theywill be punished by imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to 4,000 baht, orboth.Secondly, they were charged under Section 309 of the Criminal Law related to anoffence against liberty and reputation: extorting another person to do or not to doany act, putting the fear of injury to life, body, liberty, reputation or property tomake another person suffer, or committing violence to force another person to door not to do any act. They will face imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of upto 6,000 baht, or both.Thairath reported that Haru has form for this type of behaviour. In the past, thetranswoman was charged with attacking former patients and fraud but escapedcourt prosecution because she changed names nine times to hide her real identity.The report did not confirm whether Haru was half-Japanese or half-Korean.Police reported that the two suspects are still under questioning to discover theirintention and motive to imprison and abuse the victims.The victims were sent to a Police General Hospital for a health check andtreatment.
And that’s a wrap for today’s show, for daily updates please don’t forget to likeand subscribe to our channel. See you again tomorrow with more headlines aroundThailand. SWK.
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