Philippine authorities are moving to protect public decency on the beaches of Boracay island after a television crew filmed two naked couples making out in public on New Year's Day, the local mayor said.


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

nationmultimedia.com A Maha Sarakham temple butchered the carcasses of three elephants and sold the meat, skulls and tusks for two million baht. Elephant conservationists called on the government to rescue the remaining beasts before tourism was affected. A source said the temple bought 10 elephants including two from Phuket, two from Phang Nga and two from Mae Hong Son.

eturbonews.com Thailand confirms once more its ''amazing'' capacity to recover extremely rapidly from a crisis. Although TAT is still waiting for further counting at other international points of entry such as Phuket International Airport or borders to Malaysia, TAT revised up its estimates for 2010.

southalltravel.co.uk Phuket saw strong visitor numbers for the New Year. According to the TAT, the island saw an increase in New Year income of 15 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. Over the full 2010, Phuket welcomed three million visitors and the TAT is forecasting this could increase by 10 percent in 2011.

mcot.net The TAT reported that international travellers had spent more than 20 billion baht on New Year celebrations in Thailand. Deputy TAT Governor for Domestic Market, Thawatchai Aranyik, said places like Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui Island in Surat Thani and Krabi attracted some 75 percent of international visitors during the New Year celebrations, compared with the corresponding period in the previous year.

nationmultimedia.com Bangkok-based hospitality firm CCT Group plans to operate 100 Thai restaurants and a travel company in China to capitalise on the growth of that country's inbound business. The group last year opened a 2.5-billion baht resort on Phuket, The Westin Siray Bay Resort and Spa, which contains 264 rooms.

smh.com.au Tens of thousands of Australian visitors are propping up California's struggling economy, which is fighting its way out of recession and unemployment of more than 12 percent. New figures from the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau show 339,000 Australians visited the city last year, a 46 percent rise on 2009.

Associated Press Thai police have charged two Romanians with making counterfeit ATM cards used to withdraw almost half a million dollars from bank accounts in Britain. Danail Vint, 25, and Sergiu Virgil Roatis, 24, were arrested in Bangkok after Thai banks working with their European counterparts notified police of the fraud.

bangkokpost.com Big C Supercenter Plc has begun the transformation of the Carrefour outlets it purchased last year from the French retail chain, starting with a 350-million-baht re-imaging exercise.

bangkokpost.com Central-Watson Co says it will expand health and beauty chain aggressively this year with an investment budget of at least 200 million baht.

reuters Record high food prices are moving to the top of policymaker agendas, driven by fears it could stoke inflation, protectionism and unrest and dent consumer demand in key emerging economies. Chilli prices have increased fivefold in Thailand in the last year and Indonesia's president called for households to plant food in their own gardens.

scmp.com A UK-based Hong Kong businessman has made an audacious bid to buy one of Britain's most famous aircraft carriers - HMS Invincible - which he plans to tow to China and convert into an international school.

aviationweek.com Crystal Thai Airlines has received its air operator's certificate and plans to launch operations this month. VP Pittipol Vannarot says Crystal Thai received its AOC from Thailand's department of civil aviation and will begin operations on January 30 with a service from Bangkok to Seoul Incheon.

bloomberg Hong Kong has the biggest gap between the rich and poor in Asia, according to a UN report. The introduction of a minimum wage will help to reduce the widening wealth gap and resolve the "social and economic conflicts" that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao noted in December.

channelnewsasia.com The number of containers passing through Singapore grew 10 percent in 2010. Throughput for 2010 was 28.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). According to reports which cited unnamed city officials, Shanghai handled 29.05 million standard containers in 2010, edging past Singapore.

wsj.com Last month one of Thailand's wealthiest businessmen closed on a condo at a Midtown New York building, the Park Imperial. Vicha Poolvaraluck, who runs Thailand's largest movie-theater chain, paid $4.2 million for the three-bedroom apartment, public records show.

myanmarnews.net China is to rebuild Burma's historic 'Stilwell Road,' the route from India used by British and American forces to supply Chinese troops in the battle against Japanese occupation during the Second World War.

reuters Facebook earned $US355 million in net income in the first nine months of 2010 on revenue of $1.2 billion, according to documents that Goldman Sachs is providing to clients.

Associated Press Bangkok's zoo has unveiled new arrivals to its white Bengal tiger family - a pair of white-and-black striped cubs named One and Two. The cubs will be presented to the public on Saturday, when Children's Day is celebrated in Thailand.


THE Old Phuket Town Festival, a much-loved food and walking street fest, extends this year between February 8-10 to four roads instead of two: Phang Nga Road, Krabi Road, Phuket Road, Thalang Road, plus Soi Romanee. The first Phuket Street Show Festival late last year set a high standard and it will be a hard act to follow. The Old Phuket Town Festival may be as much about the food as the fun.

Until January 9 Phuket Red Cross Fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City
Until January 9 Pimex boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 15-16 Phuket Air Park fly-in, Phuket
January 18 John Gray annual Phang Nga Bay cleanup
January 22 QSI International fun run day at Bang Wad Dam, Kathu
January 23 Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 3 Chinese New Year Festival, Phuket
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