A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

isria.com Tapping the power of tourism as a tool for development, Asean has come up with the ''Asean Tourism Strategic Plan 2011-2015.'' The Plan is expected to promote the region as a single tourist destination, develop a set of Asean tourism standards with a certification process, enable tourism professionals to work in any of the Asean Member States and allow visitors to travel throughout Asean with a single visa.

bangkokpost.com Closing popular diving sites will provide only short-term relief to the problem of coral bleaching, but cost the tourism industry millions of baht a year, industry experts say. Jannee Jandamneornpong, manager of the Phi Phi Scuba Diving Centre, said operators were willing to cooperate but the government should come up with measures to help them survive.

carrentals.co.uk It is unclear how long the ban will last, with some reports stating ''indefinitely'' and others suggesting a few months, but controversy over the reasons for the 80 percent bleaching of coral reefs off the Andaman Sea coast is likely to last longer than the ban.

Phuketwan Update Phuket Tourist Police have released an artist's impression of the house they plan to erect at Tourist Police HQ in Phuket City to accommodate visitors who are genuinely in need of having a roof provided over their heads in an emergency.

bangkokpost.com Mitree Jongkraijak, a community leader at Ban Nam Khem, which was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, welcomed the tsunami warning system but said major problems needed to be ironed out with input coming from local residents. Khun Mitree said the tsunami warning system needs to be tailored to a community's particular risk level, citing his own community as an example.

nationmultimedia.com David Brett, a technology consultant to airlines, says there will be big changes in the travel industry in the next decade, and Asia will be at the forefront. The Bangkok-based president of Amadeus, a technology partner of the global airline industry, believes that regional travel will expand dramatically in Asia and elsewhere in the coming years, thanks to the emerging markets' quick recovery from the 2008-2009 global economic crisis.

sundaytimes.lk According to global tourism expert Lakshman Ratnapala, tourism growth in the future will come and be led by the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. While the figures are yet to be announced, world tourism in 2010 is expected to be the best year ever with a billion or close to a billion travellers, he said

stockholmnews.com Several people in Sweden who have bought flight tickets to Thailand have been fooled. The tickets, bought through a ''travel agency'' that called themselves Namrat World Travel, were with Thai airways.

cnngo.com The twelve ''coolest'' nationalities on Earth have been named and there are a few surprises. In descending order, they are Turks, Belgians, Nepalese, Chinese, Botswanans, Japanese, Spanish, Americans, Mongolians, Jamaicans, Singaporeans and Brazilians.

smh.com.au Millions of Indonesian owners of BlackBerry smartphones will have access to pornographic material severely limited after the manufacturer of the phones agreed to government demands to filter the content. The filter, installed at the internet service providers that support the phone, is believed to be a world first for BlackBerry and comes as Indonesian authorities grapple with an explosion in the availability of sexually explicit material.

scmp.com Growing official concern over the use of Hong Kong passports by people-smuggling syndicates has prompted a warning by an immigration consultant that the problem is bigger than the authorities admit.

monstersandcrticis.com A New York-based press freedom group said it was concerned about the Thai government's plan to deport two foreign photojournalists for illegally entering Burma. Thailand-based John Sanlin, a Burma passport holder, and Pascal Schatterman, a Belgian national, were arrested as they re-entered Thailand after illegally crossing into neighboring Burma.

voanews.com The Malaysian Navy says it has detained seven Somali pirates who were attempting to hijack a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden. The navy says 23 crewmembers of the MT Bunga Laurel were freed Friday after armed pirates tried to take over the ship. Three pirates were wounded in a gun battle

afp Elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew urged Singaporeans to preserve racial and religious harmony, saying the city-state was still ''a nation in the making'' despite its rapid rise to prosperity.
''I do not deceive myself for one moment that our differences of race, culture, language, religion, have disappeared,'' he said at the launch of a new book on his thoughts about the future of the island that he led to independence from Malaysia in 1965.

property-report.com Nationalities of condominium buyers in the Thai city of Pattaya have changed dramatically since 2010 - from the Europeans and Scandinavians working in the Asia Pacific region to local Thais and expatriates who reside in Bangkok, according to the latest Pattaya Market Report published by Knight Frank Thailand.

telegraph.co.uk On Koh Kood, Thailand's fourth largest island, 21 eco-friendly villas are currently being developed. Owners will be able to take advantage of a range of shared facilities, including an outdoor cinema, diving centre, spa and even astrology classes.



January 23 Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
January 23 Big motorcycle helmet rally, near Provincial Hall, Phuket City, 4pm.
January 23 FC Phuket plays Phang Nga at Surakul Stadium, Phuket City.
Until January 24 Phuket Food festival, Saphan Hin, Phuket City
January 24 Villa Royale hosts the Baan Kata Arts Festival Concert
January 25 Muangtong United versus FC Phuket, 6pm. Tickets 50
baht, 100 baht
February 3 Chinese New Year Festival, Phuket
February 8-10Old Phuket Town Festival, food and walking street fest
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi
February 23-26 Phuket Gay Pride Festival, Patong
February 25-26 Phuket International Blues and Rock Festival 2011
February 26-27 Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s, Phuket International Academy
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City


Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket