TNA Thirty per cent of Chinese tourists have cancelled holidays on Phuket until mid-March due to fears about Thailand's politics and a planned mass rally by red-shirt protesters. Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket director Bangornrat Chinaprayoon said the political turmoil has started to affect Phuket's tourism, but has not impacted European arrivals.

nationmultimedia.com A 45-year-old man was arrested for throwing an excrement bag against a building inside the Democrat Party head office's compound Tuesday morning. Surachai Kerddee was taken to a police station for questioning.

bangkokpost.com Motorcycle taxi drivers from across Bangkok gathered at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to be taught about different types of explosive device under a plan to have them help police look out for bombs. Five small bombs exploded outside banks in the southern town of Narathiwat today. Others were defused.


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

traveldaily.co.uk British operators are selling more luxurious holidays as prices continue to decrease for long-haul destinations. In a review published by Hayes & Jarvis, holiday bookings for locations such as Thailand, Dubai and Egypt were on the up, as five-star resorts offer more discounts and lower prices. Holiday prices were lower than last year and reductions have been as high as 40 percent. Thailand has seen the biggest growth as more holiday-makers opt for a roaming style trip. Sales have increased 70 percent year-on-year.

asiatraveltips.com According to data compiled by STR Global, hotels in the Asia Pacific region experienced increases in all three key performance metrics for January 2010. Beijing reported the largest occupancy increase among the markets, rising 41.9 percent to 51 percent, followed by Shanghai and Phuket (+32.7 percent to 86 percent). ''Hotels in the Asia Pacific region lead the world in terms of occupancy recovery with double-digit growth in three out of the four sub regions,'' said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global.

businessmirror.com.ph Philippines Tourism Secretary Joseph ''Ace'' Durano said the biggest tourism investment in the country, the Banyan Tree development in Palawan, is set to take off with the recent release of the project's environment compliance certificate. Durano said the $300-million development project of the Singapore-listed Banyan Tree Holdings Ltd., to turn the 60-hectare Diwaran Island into the next tourist paradise in Southeast Asia, should start ''very soon''. ''They plan to build their new Phuket in the Philippines.''

cnn.com Britain's Prudential PLC confirmed that it is in advanced talks to buy the Asian life insurance business of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc. Negotiations were reported close to a $35.5 billion sale of American Insurance Assurance Ltd. (AIA). AIA ''represents a unique and strategically compelling opportunity'' to create the leading insurer in South East Asia, Prudential said.

wsj.com Pressure is mounting on Thai authorities to rescind or delay new immigration rules that could cause hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to face deportation and drive up business costs in one of Southeast Asia's most important economies, human-rights workers say. The rules, which demand compliance by Tuesday and which require some 1.5 million migrants to register with Thai authorities and prove their nationalities, or be kicked out, are adding to recent concerns about overreliance on imported labor in Asia's wealthier countries.

Reuters More than 90 percent of the world's 16 million injecting drug users are offered no help to avoid contracting AIDS, and governments that ignore them risk a spiraling public health crisis, drugs experts said on Monday. A ''critical health problem'' is growing in places like Thailand, Russia, China and Malaysia where drug users are a neglected population in the fight against AIDS and HIV, says a study in The Lancet medical journal.

vancouversun.com The political upheaval that has wracked Thailand for four years will not be settled by Friday's Supreme Court ruling that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra used his political power to benefit his family's massive communications conglomerate. The ''red shirts'' call themselves the United Front for Democracy and Against Dictatorship and they are ranged against the ''yellow shirts'' of the inaccurately named People's Alliance for Democracy. The PAD supports the exercise of political power through the monarchist military and bureaucracy elites. PAD supporters even go so far as to say that the votes of the wealthy and well-educated should count for more than those of ordinary people.

links.org.au Giles Ji Ungpakorn writes: I don't shed any tears about former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's billions being seized. No public figures should hold shares or have special interests in business. This always leads to corruption.

bangkokpost.com Atiya Achakulwisut writes: The best advice that Thaksin Shinawatra could have received comes from Thaksin Shinawatra himself: if you have a business, sell everything before you enter politics or serve as a government minister. And one has to wonder why the man in an extreme protesting-and-mourning attire of black jacket and necktie couldn't get over the cloud of resentment and see the clarity of truth behind his own words.


Send money to Greece? Have you lost your marbles? - Sydney Morning Herald

todayonline.com A new record has been set: February was the driest month ever for Singapore in 140 years. According to the National Environment Agency, just 6.3mm of rain fell, the least in a single month since records began in 1869.

asiatimes.com Many think Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital, the 554-bed self-proclaimed largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, treated more than 420,000 international patients from nearly 200 countries last year. That figure represented nearly 40 percent of Bumrungrad's total of 1.1 million patients, and a similar percentage of Thailand's medical tourism traffic.

telegraph.co.uk Europe's first alcohol-free holiday resort has been unveiled in Portugal. The company behind the project, Renovatio, is launching ''Sober Holidays'' with the aim of providing visitors with a ''safe, supportive environment'' it says is not available at other resorts. The property, a restored 19th-century villa, is located in the Algarve, close to Faro airport, and will start taking guests in April.

theedgemalaysia.com Thailand has proposed ''Policy Five'' to enhance bilateral cooperation and develop an economic corridor between the five northern states of the peninsula and five southern provinces of Thailand. The five states are Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan with Thailand's five provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, Satun and Songkhla. The first summit to boost cooperation will be held later this year..

abc.net.au A storm that killed at least 47 people in France on the weekend has been officially declared a national disaster. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has visited the storm-battered Atlantic coast, where most of the storm's victims drowned. Others were killed by falling buildings or trees. About 30 people remain missing.

arabtimesonline.com All but one of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or Asean were represented in the highly successful Fourth Asean Bazaar and Tourism Exhibition in Kuwait City. Thailand touted their spa services while the other countries focused on tourism and cultural information.

gather.com ''Try it, don't be afraid!'' says a top manager of the Singapore National Water Agency, giving me a bottle of mineral water. There is nothing unusual about it except the fact that recently this water was running through the pipes of Singapore sewage with excrement and other stuff. Yet, the city's frugal residents purified all waste waters with membrane and other technologies and then bottled it. Now they are enjoying ''New Water.''



The Phuket Navy League is hosting a welcome party for the officers and crew of USS Cleveland, USS Patriot and USS Rushmore from 7pm on at BBQ Hut in Patong on Thursday, March 4. Entry is at no charge for active duty military, 200 baht for Navy League members and 400 baht for visitors. Details: phuketnavyleague.org

March 13 "Lords (land) Last Barbecue Supper'' a Don's Mall in Rawai closes.
April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.
April 14 Phuket Cricket Sixes begin.
May31-June 5 Eight-nation football tournament for players over 55 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, Iran, Armenia competing.
May Date to be finalised for Muay Thai kickboxing competition at Laguna Phuket.
May 21-23 Paragliding on Phuket.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival.