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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019129

Udon Thani International Airport in the Northeast is still No 1 among 28 provincial airports in terms of passenger numbers before and after the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Department of Airports (DOA) reported on Friday that Udon Thani welcomed 170,472 passengers and 1,157 flights in July alone, the highest among all airports under DOA’s jurisdiction.

Khon Kaen Airport came in second with 125,332 passengers and 900 flights, followed by Nakhon Si Thammarat (120,970 passengers, 894 flights), Ubon Ratchathani (117,910 passengers, 754 flights), and Krabi (112,764 passengers, 808 flights).

Airport director Kamhaeng Saiwiphu said Udon Thani Airport’s popularity returned as soon as restrictions were lifted.

“This shows a promising trend in domestic travel, especially in the Northeast and proves that we are getting closer to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

Kamhaeng expects the number of passengers to drop slightly in October since Thais tend to travel less during the rainy season, though businesspeople will still have to travel. He also said that the drop in Thai passengers will be compensated by visitors from Laos, who use the airport as a connection to other parts of Thailand.

“The number of passengers will bounce back again around year-end until early next year, which is the high season. By then, the maintenance of the airport’s runway overlay will be completed, allowing us to land more than 40 planes daily and extend the airport’s closing time to 10pm,” he added.

DOA manages 28 provincial airports, while the Airports of Thailand oversees six airports in metropolitan areas and big cities, namely Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in Bangkok as well as those in Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai.

Published : August 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019125

The “People’s Union Party” has been given permission to hold a rally in Bangkok’s Lan Khon Mueang Town Square from Sunday to Wednesday, provided protesters do not stay overnight.

The group, led by political activists Jatuporn Prompan and Nitithorn Lamlua, will hold a rally entitled “Countdown to 8 years of Prayut Administration”. The demonstration will run from 4pm to 9pm daily from Sunday to Wednesday, except on Tuesday, when it will disperse at around midnight.

Tuesday (August 23) is the day before some believe Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s term should end.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, meanwhile, said on Friday that protesters are not allowed to spend the night in the town square in Phra Khanong district as it has to be cleaned every day.

Jatuporn, meanwhile, thanked the BMA for allowing the rally to be held, saying this is a positive sign in the current political atmosphere. He said the rally will focus on people’s democratic right to express their views and that the public discussion will be rational rather than emotional. The former red-shirt leader said he believes everyone shares the common goal of seeing Thailand move forward.

Whether or not Prayut should step down after completing eight years as prime minister on August 24 has become a hot issue in Thailand.

The current Constitution, which was enforced in April 2017, prohibits anyone from serving as prime minister for more than eight years. However, whether this stipulation can be applied retrospectively is still unclear as Prayut had taken office before the charter went into effect.

Published : August 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019124

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has approved longer stays for tourists from October 1 to March 31, CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin said on Friday.

The move proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry aims to revitalise the tourism industry now that the Covid-19 situation is improving both in Thailand and globally.

Foreigners from 18 countries entering Thailand under the visa-on-arrival scheme will be allowed to extend their length of stay from 15 days to 30 days, while those from 50 countries who currently get a 30-day stamp under the visa exemption scheme will be able to stay for 45 days.

Taweesin said the CCSA has called on the Interior and Foreign ministries, the Immigration Bureau and other related agencies to adjust their procedure in compliance with this extension.

Earlier this month, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said some 1.07 million foreign tourists had entered Thailand in July, which is the first time that monthly arrivals have exceeded the 1 million mark since the arrival of the pandemic.

Phiphat expects some 1 million foreign arrivals each in August and September and believes the number will rise to 1.5 million per month from October to December. The minister is confident that the total number of foreign tourists in 2022 will exceed 10 million.

Taweesin also said that the government plans to declare Covid-19 endemic in October, once CCSA has been dissolved.

He said the decision to declare the disease endemic was based on the relatively lower number of new confirmed cases and fatalities.

Published : August 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019118

The Public Health Ministry reported on Saturday (August 20) that over the past 24 hours, 1,902 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals.

The death toll has risen by 29, while 1,986 patients have recovered and discharged from hospitals. 

The number of cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022, stands at 2,408,777 with 10,302 deaths.
 

Published : August 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019113

People are the most important resource in building Thailand’s metaverse city, three virtual land developers said during a talk at the “Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022” in Bangkok on Friday.

Speaking on the topic “Transforming to Metaverse City”, Chiangmai Crypto City co-founder Navaporn Nalita, Class Cafe CEO and Velaverse founder Marut Chumkuntod, and Beach Property Tech co-founder Thanapat Uttawarapong all agreed that no matter how advanced the technology, it is meaningless if people do not use it. And Thailand’s metaverse city was no exception.

They briefly defined a metaverse city as an upgrade from a smart city – a place in which people become more than just technology users. The metaverse is an online virtual community where people can interact and form relationships.

Although Thailand is now more aware of and responding to the trend of metaverse technology, particularly in the aftermath of Covid-19, the country still lacks common development goals to get people moving in the same direction.

As such, Thailand’s metaverse development is powered by different people doing different things, with talent easily overlooked, said Chiangmai Crypto City co-founder & project leader Navaporn.

Meanwhile, because there is no consensus definition of the metaverse, it would be better for each business to define its own metaverse in line with common goals, she said.

Velaverse founder Marut added that most businesses are prioritising the wrong thing when transitioning to the metaverse. They frequently focus their efforts on developing metaverse technology and on the profits they can make.

Instead, they should be thinking about people first, he said.

For example, rather than focusing on what products to sell, they should think about how to get communities to adopt and engage with the metaverse.

Beach Property Tech’s Thanapat said the first goal of urban development should be to prioritise people before design. As such, the transition from a smart city to a metaverse city must always be driven by the adoption and engagement of people.

“Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022” is organised by Nation Group and runs at CentralWorld in Bangkok until Sunday (August 21).

#ThailandMetaverseExpo2022
#ThailandMetaverseExpo
#TheNation
#TME
#Thailand #Metaverse

Published : August 19, 2022

By : Nongluck Ajanapanya

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019112

Four teams of young competitors have entered the final round of Sports Metaverse Challenge #1. SKiVERSE, Dragon Boat, AS2P and BS are the finalists pitted against one another in the final contest on Sunday (August 21).

They were among the teams that presented ideas and concepts that had the potential to be developed into sports competitions in the virtual world.

The event is part of the first “Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022” being held at CentralWorld in Bangkok until Sunday. The event is being organised by Nation Group in collaboration with Block Mountain and Metaverse XR.

SKiVERSE team is made up of three female students from Chulalongkorn University.

Dragon Boat is from King Mongkut’s University of Technology’s Thonburi campus, which competed with the concept of a long-tailed boat race.

AS2P competed with a concept based on ping pong. The team is led by Piyawadee Thepsurin, a high-school student from Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

BS, which comes from the northern city of Chiang Mai, competes with the concept of Muay Thai martial arts.

The four teams are set to fight for the top spot on Sunday.

#ThailandMetaverseExpo2022
#ThailandMetaverseExpo
#TheNation
#TME
#SportMetaverseChallenge
#Thailand #Metaverse

Published : August 19, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019109

Two digital world experts have urged Thai business leaders to educate themselves on the potential of the metaverse, as it is becoming the key idea in helping companies find new ways to grow and sustain themselves.

Sfia founder and chief executive officer Thanapongphan Thanyarattakul and Cryptomind Advisory co-founder and CEO Sanjay Popli shared their views and experiences of the current metaverse movement at the Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022 organised by The Nation Group on Friday.

They both emphasised that the metaverse is unquestionably the future, and it is no longer an option, but rather a requirement for businesses hoping to thrive and sustain in the digital age. They expressed their gratitude to The Nation for hosting this event at such an early stage in the evolution of the metaverse.

Many experts have attempted to define the metaverse. However, all definitions agree on one thing: the metaverse is a digital space where virtual and reality collide to provide people with a better online connection and experience.
 

Speaking on the topic “Metaverse and Metanomics: Turning Digital into a Real Opportunity”, Thanapongphan said that in order to adopt this latest technology, businesses should first understand what the metaverse is and then look at many use-case examples from foreign companies.

He added that the metaverse is the result of combining previous technological evolutions. The digital transformation of all industries is a critical tipping point for accelerating their entry into the metaverse.

“Business owners now have two options: one is to do nothing and wait to be disrupted, while the other is to adapt and become disruptors,” Thanapongphan said.

He advised businesses that wanted to enter the metaverse to first understand the possibility of this scenario, then assess their readiness, create a transformation roadmap, and conduct experiments to find a successful business model.

Speaking on “Creating Real Value in a Virtual World” at the expo, Sanjay suggested that businesses could start by considering how to increase their engagement with their customers. Non-fungible token (NFT) is one of the simple ways to work with.

Various businesses have applied NFT as a royalty membership programme, while others have developed NFT to use as a privilege to meet the personalised demands of exclusive clients, said Sanjay.

He added that the government sector could use metaverse to enhance their services, leading to more cost savings and convenience.

As for Thailand’s economy, which is mainly driven by the tourism industry, Sanjay believes that the virtual world of the country’s tourist destinations in the metaverse will entice more tourists from around the world to visit the Kingdom.

“By 2025, most global populations will be as familiar with the metaverse and virtual world as they are with smartphones,” Sanjay said. “Therefore, this trend presents a genuine opportunity that businesses should never pass up.”

#ThailandMetaverseExpo2022
#ThailandMetaverseExpo
#TheNation
#TME
#Thailand #Metaverse

Published : August 19, 2022

By : Nongluck Ajanapanya

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019107

Thailand’s Metaverse has officially started with the grand opening Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022 @centralwOrld, bringing real players to NFTs, Sports Metaverse, start-ups, MarTech, UX-UI, and more while creating new business opportunities in line with the digital economy of the global market.

The metaverse is the key to linking the virtual world with the business world in order to boost people’s incomes, Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said on Friday.

Chaiwut highlighted the metaverse as a new engine of inclusive economic growth as he presided over the opening of the “Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022”.

The latest report, “The Metaverse Market In Finance by Component for 2022-2026,” states that the Metaverse market will stimulate hardware growth and software around the world, including Metaverse’s financial market share that will increase to $50.37 billion between 2021- and 2026.

The report, conducted by Technavio, shows that North America will play the largest share in Metaverse adoption across industries, accounting for 32 percent of Metaverse market growth, with China and Germany also going to be important consumer countries in digital assets and blockchain technology, it is expected to contribute to growth in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

“This event is very important as it links the public and private sectors in supporting the adoption of the metaverse for our country’s economic development,” Chaiwut said.

“Metaverse is the key. If we can encourage operators do their business via the metaverse, the link between the virtual and real business worlds will boost trade, investment and revenue.”

The first “Thailand Metaverse Expo” is being held by Nation Group, in collaboration with Block Mountain and Metaverse XR, at CentralWorld from Friday to Sunday.

Visitors who attend the expo will be immersed in the full metaverse experience.

The event introduces the metaverse ecosystem via three platforms: business forum, workshops and sports metaverse.

Speakers include experts and professionals from the worlds of digital assets, non-fungible tokens (NFT), sports, start-ups, marketing technology, user experience and user interface (UX-UI).

Adisak Limparungpatanakij, deputy CEO of Nation Group Plc, said the expo will also see the launch of Nation Group’s metaverse news station and multilingual AI news reporter.

The AI Reporter was developed with Deus.works while the metaverse news station is a collaboration between OK Nation, Metaverse Thailand and Erectus.

“Over the past half-century, Nation Group has played an important role in introducing new media technology to Thai society. After print, multimedia and social media, we are now entering the world of the metaverse,” said Adisak, who heads the event’s organising committee.

Visitors will also be invited to enter the exciting universe of virtual-reality sports.

Preedok Thongwandee, president of B-Lay Plus Co Ltd, said youngsters can take part in the Sport Metaverse Challenge #1.

More than 30 booths offer the experience with Thai Metaverse Association and the Thai Digital Asset Association.

The “Thailand Metaverse Expo” runs at CentralWorld in Bangkok, from 10am to 8pm, until Sunday. Admission is free of charge.
 

Published : August 19, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019103

K-pop sensation Blackpink has set new records with its new single “Pink Venom” drawing close to 13 million views within two hours of being released online.

This is the first single the all-girl group has released in two years. As of 1pm on Friday, the group’s official YouTube channel, which has 77 million followers, recorded 12.9 million views of the video.

The 3.13-minute long video also drew more than 1 million likes and nearly 150,000 comments.

The last time Blackpink smashed records was with the release of the song “LaLisa” featuring Thai band member Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban. That single took the official Guinness World Record title for the most-viewed YouTube music video by a solo artist in 24 hours with 73.6 million views.

The latest single has Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa singing and rapping to a strong beat, sometimes created by traditional Korean instruments.

Some fans said the “ratatata ratatata” riff sounded like it had been borrowed from their hit “Kill This Love”.

YG Entertainment, which manages Blackpink, had been quoted as saying that this music video was the most expensive it has ever produced.

“Pink Venom” is Blackpink’s first pre-release single since “How You Like That” was released in June 2020. The full-length album “Born Pink” is scheduled for release on September 16 – ahead of a planned nine-month world tour that kicks off in October.

The tour will feature at least 26 cities and entertain up to 1.5 million fans.

So far, 1.5 million copies of the “Born Pink” album have been presold – double the number recorded by the group’s first full-length album, “The Album”, released in October 2020, YG Entertainment said.

To celebrate Blackpink’s return to the music scene, Bangkok’s CentralWorld will be sparkling with pink lights on Friday evening from 6pm. This is part of the “Light Up the Pink” campaign, which will also be observed in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles.

Published : August 19, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/national/40019100

Nissan has agreed to compensate a customer with a new car after an employee at its service centre crashed her vehicle in an accident.

Siri Nammungkun, 31, dropped off her Nissan Almera at a Nissan service centre in Nakhon Ratchasima on July 29. The next day, she got a call from the service centre to say her car had been wrecked.

Siri proposed two solutions to the centre: either replace her car with a new model or keep the wreckage and return the down payment and instalments to her.

However, the centre decided instead to repair her car, so she demanded compensation of 500,000 baht. The centre refused and offered to pay the repair costs of 200,000 baht plus 30,000 baht compensation.

Unhappy with that offer, Siri decided to make her complaint public via a popular Facebook consumer-rights page on Monday.

Stung into action, Nissan executives and sales representative got in touch with Siri on Thursday and offered a full apology.

They also promised her a new Nissan Almera 1.0 V Turbo on which she could continue paying instalments, and a five-year service package with a two-year extended warranty.

Siri accepted the offer and thanked Nissan for solving the issue. She also thanked the press for helping publicise her complaint.

Published : August 19, 2022

By : THE NATION