All to play for as the economy looks set to achieve significant growth this year. The key variable is the price of oil which has actually fallen in the last month. Inflation and loss of customer purchasing power currently represent the biggest threat to the government’s careful management of the economy. It comes from the danger of a possible price shock in June or July. The official position, however, is that inflation will still moderate in the latter half of the year and will end 2022 at 4.9%, well ahead of current growth prospects but even this may change in a very volatile situation with both an upside and downside.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/23/good-economic-news-but-price-shock-looming/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

Unvaccinated travellers still face 5 days quarantine, a prior negative test and an RT-PCR test on Day 4 or 5 but on Friday, the decision to scrap ‘Test and Go’ completely is making May 1st another D-Day for the recovery of Thailand’s massive foreign tourism industry which is already seeing passenger levels at Suvarnabhumi Airport at up to 25% of levels seen in 2019.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/22/test-and-go-scrapped-big-step-for-incoming-tourism/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

The operation on Tuesday was launched by units of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and the Hanuman task force in liaison with the US Department of Homeland Security. The two men, a 37-year-old and 39 year old, were implicated in sheltering illegal aliens and running an illegal employment racket in Florida from 2007 and 2021 which turned over ฿2.5 billion while failing to pay taxes due.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/21/ukrainian-tax-evaders-arrested-in-phuket/

James Morris reports from Phuket.

The summit is being seen as a chance by the United States to reset its relationship with ASEAN and its member states but the bloc is often used by those states, including Thailand, as a shield for avoiding hard questions about China in the region and accords more with China’s foreign policy which is to achieve hegemony through closer economic and geographic integration.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/20/us-asean-summit-to-discuss-a-rising-china/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday was more cautious when he confirmed that the government was moving towards endemic status but stressed that conditions must be right in all provinces and that decision-makers must listen to medical and scientific panels set up to advise them under law.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/18/decision-time-on-easier-access-for-tourists/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

As a fifth complaint emerged on Saturday before the Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy chief Police Major General Trairong Phewpan, on Sunday, emphasised that women making claims against the former deputy chairman of the Democrat Party need to come forward and engage with the legal process through the police. The case is being seen as the beginning of the ‘Me Too’ movement in Thailand where laws on sexual harassment and misbehaviour are surprisingly strong.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/17/ex-democrat-boss-bailed-charged-with-rape-prinn-panitchpakdi/

James Morris reports from Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

On Friday, one 30-year-old woman, Hathairat ‘Ann’ Thanakitamnuay, the wife of former Democrat Party turned street protester and political activist, Tanat Thanakitamnuay aka ‘Hi-so Luk Nat’, who lost an eye in recent street demonstrations in Bangkok, was accompanied by her husband. Ms Hathairat, who is running as a candidate for the Ruam Thai United Party, visited Lumpini Police Station and filed a complaint with police alleging that she was raped by the former Democrat Party deputy leader in February 2021 at an apartment in central Bangkok’s Sukhumvit area. Speaking to reporters, she said she was angered by the demeanour and denials coming from Mr Prinn this week after the first accusations emerged following a dinner date with an 18-year-old university student during which she claims she was a victim of sexual indecency and later harassment at the hands of the senior political figure.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/16/ex-party-leader-prinn-panitchpakdifaces-sex-charges-thailand-me-too-moment/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok and Phetchaburi.

Police at Bangkok’s Ta Rua Police Station in a follow-up search of Thanayut Na Ayudhaya’s home in Klong Toey unearthed explosives. The 20-year-old critically acclaimed rapper known as ‘Eleven Finger’ has been watched closely by security services since his name first appeared on a list of activists linked with street protest activity that erupted in Bangkok in July 2020.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/15/rapper-charged-over-bomb-attack-on-pm-home/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

Thailand’s foreign tourism industry is not expected to make a full recovery until 2026 according to Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput as the Asia Pacific region lags behind the rest of the world in ramping up its travel industry from the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, 55% of air travellers in the region are from either North America or Europe with an even higher percentage of tourists.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/14/tourists-to-fly-in-without-notice-from-may/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Indications that the kingdom will drop entry restrictions after the Songkran holidays come to an end. The news is coming with an encouraging take off in entry numbers in response to previous moves to lighten the load on travellers. There is now every reason to believe that the kingdom’s critical and highly lucrative foreign tourism industry could turn into an economic bright spot for 2022 provided another Covid storm does not descend.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/04/13/incoming-tourism-take-off-with-easier-entry/

James Morris reports from Bangkok.