The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expected Loy Krathong events in six provinces nationwide to generate revenue of at least Bt1.4 billion.
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said that the authority would hold Loy Krathong event at Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya Historical Park from October 29-31 this year.
He added that the authority is promoting Loy Krathong events in Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Tak, Samut Songkhram and Roi Et provinces as well.
“We expect at least one million people to travel across the nation and generate at least Bt1.4 billion during the festival,” he said.
“The festival this year will focus on travelling in line with the new normal era and maintaining the environment,” he added.
Thailand to welcome its first group of STV tourists today
NationalOct 20. 2020Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
By The Nation
The first group of 41 tourists travelling on the Special Tourist Visa (STV) from Shanghai will land in Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday at 5pm, a second group of 100 people from Guangzhou will fly in on October 26 and another group will be flown in from Shanghai on October 28.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said on Tuesday that flights for future STV tourist groups from Europe are still considering which airport they will land in, as it may depend on where the tourists have booked their 14-day mandatory quarantine.
“I confirm that all foreigners who are arriving will have strictly complied with health measures. They will undergo the 14-day quarantine in alterative state facilities, and if they are clear of infection, they will be allowed to travel around the country. However, each tourist will be required to have a tracker app. Most of them, so far, have expressed a desire to travel to the beaches once their quarantine is complete,” Yuthasak said.
Ten international airlines have started selling tickets to Thailand and the first group of special tourists is landing in Bangkok today (October 20), the Transport Ministry said.
All foreign arrivals will be required to follow procedures set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine in alternative state quarantine (ASQ) facilities.
The airlines selling tickets to Thailand are Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, EVA Air and KLM.
Meanwhile, a flight from Shanghai carrying Thais as well as a group of 41 tourists with special tourist visa (STV) will land in Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday at 5pm. Another group of 100 tourists from Guangzhou is scheduled to land in Bangkok on October 26.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced that Thailand has opened its skies, but flights are only allowed to land under strict regulations.
Thai airlines, meanwhile, have yet to seek permission for international destinations as airports overseas are open under conditions that will not generate enough profits.
The Social Development and Human Security Ministry is building a database of disabled persons in Phitsanulok province, so they are covered by state welfare and can participate in career development schemes, Minister Chuti Krairiksh said recently.
The project, developed in collaboration with the Public Health Ministry and Naresuan University, will cover more than 30,000 people in the province.
The aim of the scheme is to ensure all disabled people have equal opportunities, the minister said.
The database will be set up using blockchain technology, which will make it difficult to change, hack or steal.
Chuti added that more provinces will be covered once it proves successful in Phitsanulok.
The Department of Internal Trade is helping transport vegetables from urban farms to Bangkok markets to ensure an uninterrupted supply during the Vegetarian Festival, while people can buy veggies at reasonable prices, said Watthanasak Sua-Iam, the department’s deputy director-general.
This year’s Vegetarian Festival runs from October 16-25.
“The department has surveyed the demand for vegetables at markets in Bangkok and provided transport vehicles to bring 10 organic vegetables that have the highest demand from Ban Mai Agricultural Group in Nonthaburi province to sell at farm prices to help alleviate people’s financial burden,” he said.
“The continuous rainfall in the past week has resulted in increasing vegetable output, whereas farmers will need more transport vehicles to bring their produce to the markets. The transport that the department is providing should help lower the cost for growers and consequently lower the selling price of these vegetables,” he added.
“We estimate that until the festival ends next week, there should be no vegetable shortage problem.
“The department has also organised the ‘Wallet Friendly Vegetarian Dish’ campaign at several partner markets to sell affordable vegetarian dishes at Bt20-25 to help low-income earners who wished to participate in the festival, while normal dishes would be priced at Bt30-35 at these markets,” added Watthanasak.
The Student Union of the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, Chiang Mai University, announced on Monday night its decision to cancel SOTUS activities, as it is an “incubation of authoritarianism” in the education institution.
The word SOTUS stands for seniority, order, tradition, unity, and spirit. This kind of activity is held normally in universities to help new students and old students bond together. However, SOTUS activities in some cases have allowed old students to violate the rights of new students.
The student union slammed SOTUS as promoting authoritarianism.
In addition, the union also announced cancellation of “seniority-forced respect” among students.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported nine new cases in state quarantine facilities over a 24-hour period on Tuesday.
Six soldiers who returned from a UN mission in South Sudan on October 12 tested positive on the same day, but the results were unclear. Their infection was confirmed on October 15.
A 22-year-old Thai male student returned from the United Arab Emirates on October 9 and tested positive on October 16 in a Bangkok state quarantine hotel.
A 26-year-old Thai woman who returned from Oman on October 14 tested positive in the Chonburi state quarantine facility.
A 25-year-old Thai masseuse returned from the United Arab Emirates on October 9 and tested positive on October 16. She developed a severe cough and headache while in quarantine in Bangkok, and revealed she been infected once before in September.
Meanwhile, three other patients have recovered and discharged.
The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand has risen to 3,700 (753 in state quarantine), 150 of whom are in hospital and 3,491 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 40.6 million (up by 337,854). Of them, 30.3 million have recovered, while 9.17 million are active cases (72,805 in severe condition) and 1.12 million died (up by 4,389).
Thailand ranks 144th in the list of most Covid-19 cases in the world, while the US tops the list with 8.45 million cases, followed by India 7.59 million, Brazil 5.25 million, Russia 1.41 million and Spain 1 million.
Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Thong Chai is still struggling with heavy flooding, with water levels as high as 50 to 70 centimetres.
On Tuesday, key markets and several residential areas were inundated, affecting some 100 households.
Locals are complaining about there being a severe shortage of food and drinking water, as heavy flooding has cut the main route connecting to the big city.
Locals say no agencies have shown up to help them or provide them with basic necessities.
Several children and elderly are among the stranded residents, as volunteer rescuers are looking for ways to help the victims.
A six-year-old boy in Si Sa Ket province was swept away by the water currents in front of his sister on Monday after he reportedly fell into a canal.
Rescuers were unable to find the body on Monday.
At 10am, the sister, 10, ran to her neighbours to tell them that her brother had fallen into the water under the bridge in Sano subdistrict and they later told the parents.
The boy’s family promptly called rescuers for help. Khukan district police then launched a rescue operation sending divers to search for the victim.
Soda Pimsut, the village headman, said he had seen the two kids before the incident. He said that the two were heading to take a walk around the canal.
Due to a strong current, the rescuers were unable to find the boy and the operation had to end when it got dark but they would start the search again on Tuesday.
Demand for metal in the first eight months of the year fell by 14 per cent from the same period of last year to 11 million tonnes, due to the impact of Covid-19, the Metal Industry Group of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said.
Nava Chanthanasukhon, president of the Metal Industry Group, said: “We expect that towards the year-end the demand for metal will increase and will make the total demand in 2020 drop from that of 2019 by 10 per cent, or at 16.7 million tonnes,” he said.
“In 2019, the global metal demand is at 1,767 million tonnes, but this year we estimate that Covid-19 would have lowered the demand by 2.4 per cent, or to 1,725 million tonnes, as almost all industrial countries are using less metal during the outbreak, except for China which will see 8 per cent increase in metal demand,” he added.
“Excluding China, the global demand of metal in 2020 should drop by 13 per cent year on year.”
Nava said that during the global financial crisis of 2009, metal demand in Thailand had dropped by 21 per cent, but jumped by 31 per cent in the next year.
“The Covid-19 crisis would be different from other crises and would take longer to recover,” he said. “Next year we estimate that the demand would improve by 4-5 per cent to 17.3 to 17.5 million tonnes, thanks to the government’s internal industry protection measure.”
“The measure called ‘Made in Thailand” had been proposed by the FTI to the Cabinet and was approved on September 1,” he said. “The Ministry of Finance will stipulate all government agencies to include at least 60 per cent of locally manufactured products in their annual procurement list, while the construction of government projects must use at least 90 per cent of metal produced domestically.”
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) 
Chuti Krairiksh 
