UPDATE: Grab Thailand says it has fired one of its drivers who allegedly assaulted a Chinese passenger on a roadside in Nonthaburi on Thursday. Grab noted they’d received a complaint against the driver and terminated his contract. The company apologised for the incident and said the driver’s alleged behaviour was unacceptable and violated its rules. Grab said it gives priority to passenger safety and carries insurance for them, which will cover the medical costs for the passenger allegedly injured in this case.
PHOTO: Chevrolet’s proposed SUV ‘Blazer’ to replace the Captiva Car sales for the first five months of this year stood at 437,722 equating to a year-on-year rise of just over 9%. Sales for May alone were 88,097 units, up 3.7%.
The internet has spoken, well The Thaiger’s Facebook page anyway, and there is a strong distrust in the statistics about tourist arrivals issued by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. 83% of people that voted said they didn’t believe the numbers quoted by the TAT
Thailand’s tourism numbers have been dropping over the past three months, against projections and when compared to year-on-year figures. And the blame game has started.
Police in Pattaya have raided the Coming Bar in Soi 6. They allegedly uncovered evidence of prostitution and underage sex on the premises
Some key figure for May show Thailand’s rise in tourism numbers faltering. The numbers represent a softening in Thailand’s popularity as the world’s fourth most popular tourist destination, following a decade of high growth in tourism across the country
Chinese condo buyers are veering their purchase power away from the Bangkok property market citing the strong Thai currency, overpricing and a supply glut. 2015 – 5.8 Yuan to the Thai Baht 2019 – 4.4 Yuan to the Thai Baht The rise of the baht and the weakening of the Chinese Yuan over the past four years, have culminated in a 25% softening in Chinese investment power in the Thai property market (chart from xe.com) Property consultants say that Chinese buyers are now containing their investment risk by buying into the lower-end 2-6 million baht condo market instead of the 5-10 million baht condos they were previously purchasing. At the same time the annual returns for Bangkok condominiums is reported to have dropped from 6-7% five years ago to only 3-4% in some locations in the current market
Chiang Mai police are investigating the deaths of two Chinese tourists found in the same room at a five-star hotel on Chiang Mai’s Chang Khlan Road.
Thailand may end up being a beneficiary in the ongoing US-China trade spat as mainland Chinese tourists will decide to travel closer to home or could even find it difficult to gain entry into the US. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is monitoring the situation to see if Beijing blocks Chinese tourists from making trips to the US.
The notorious and ill-fated tour boat Phoenix , which sank off Phuket last July killing 47 Chinese tourists, is among 48 items that the Anti-Money Laundering Office will auction off this Wednesday at its head office. At the time, many of the dead were retrieved from the boat, though its crew and captain escaped unharmed via life rafts, leaving many passengers on board as the boat sank during a sudden storm. The incident was followed by a sharp drop in Chinese visitors to Thailand, particularly Phuket