They will work together to measure happiness and quality of life at the two sites.

Loei, Nan old town, Uthong ancient city, Pattaya city and Koh Chang are among other designated sites of Dasta where happiness will be measured.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed recently by the two organisations provides a framework for the delivery of training to enable 30 Dasta staff to begin deploying the Happiness Index in destination communities. Faculty members of tourism studies from the universities of Srinakharinwirote and Mahidol, researchers from Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) and members of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata), also joined the training.

The initiative aims to show that measuring destination wellbeing and happiness is as important as counting GDP, profits and income and provides a more rounded and assured pathway to sector sustainability. The Happiness Index survey for Dasta in Sukhothai and Ayutthaya includes indicators for satisfaction with life, access to nature and arts, community engagement, standard of living, lifelong learning, and health.

“Planet Happiness will help Dasta and its partners by deploying what is perhaps the best, most progressive, adaptable and easy to use Happiness Index survey on the planet,” said Laura Musikanski, author, lawyer and co-founder of Planet Happiness, a project of the Happiness Alliance, a non-profit organisation with eight years’ experience in happiness and wellbeing measurements.

After  igning the MOU, Dr Chumpol Musiganont, deputy director-general of Dasta, told reporters that the long-term viability of tourism sites depended on tourism improving the quality of life of host communities and engaging local people more directly in tourism issues. Over time, the survey will help measure how well this is being done.

“Dasta will measure the quality of life for tourism communities in Thailand, and then take corrective action to enhance wellbeing, where we can,” said Chumpol.

Co-founder and director of Planet Happiness, Dr Paul Rogers, welcomed Dasta to the initiative, saying it was Planet Happiness’s first government agency partner and that Happiness Index surveys were already up and running in 10 tourism destinations in Turkey, Nepal, Indonesia, England, Mozambique, Vietnam and Laos. Thailand is the latest edition.

Rogers said that following Dasta’s example, Planet Happiness can provide governments and destinations anywhere in the world with the model and survey tools to accurately measure tourism community wellbeing. This would help avoid issues and problems associated with over-tourism, he said.

“Planet Happiness aims to work with tourism organisations and universities to promote Gross National Happiness in Thailand and beyond,” Rogers added. “We want to move beyond the narrow tourism dollar and GDP agenda. Dasta promotes sustainable and quality tourism objectives in Thailand.”

The unused 11-rai plot of land on Sukhumvit Soi 77 and another three-rai area in Hua Hin that both are not yet under construction are being developed as chemical-free farms to inspire city dwellers to improve their quality of life.

The projects are based on its 3Gs principle; Green – making use of an empty land by turning it into a green space, Grow – farming vegetables and fruits on that empty land, and Give – revenue from selling part of the produce will be used as a shared resource for the society. The products from the farm will go to restaurants in the Siri House project in Bangkok and the Escape hotels in Hua Hin and Khao Yai.

“This is another major step forward in our ‘For Greater Wellbeing’ vision. Our aim is for Sansiri Backyards become the city’s green communities and contribute towards sustainable urban living,” says Jariya Janjerdsak, Sansiri’s assistant executive vice president of product development.

Jariya adds that Sansiri begins to build up the green mind among its employees by giving each a table farm kit to plant on desks. The Sansiri Backyard will also be introduced to other properties.

Singer Note Panayanggool, who joins the project launch, says a liveable city should contain a good balance between prosperity and green space.

“In the big cities of Thailand, we disconnect from nature. We can help make green spaces by taking responsibility for our planet. When people understand the importance of nature, our cities will be more liveable.”

Jongsarid Cunvong of Kamnan Chul Farm adds: “I am proud that we have produced organic crops that are eco-friendly, and have helped creating a balanced nature through rotation farming under the concept of zero-waste management. I am delighted that a private sector developer like Sansiri gives priority to life quality for city dwellers, who long for green spaces and a healthy life resulting from having access to natural organic food. It is good not only for people but also for our planet.”

Jate Sopitpongstorn is among the young generation concerned about the quality of life and has started his own organic farm.

“Happiness gained from organic farming is so worthwhile you cannot put a price on it. Sufficiency agriculture enables a balanced lifestyle; a life lived in moderation with the self, doing everything in harmony with nature. I am happy to play a part in not harming our planet. Few people living in cities understand this concept.”

Sansiri Backyard @T77 Sukhmvit and Sansiri Backyard @ HuaHin expect to be ready for the public to explore in October.

The research was conducted with 16,500 football fans around the world, including 500 football fans from Singapore between February 25 and March 25.

According to the survey commissioned by Expedia Group, Brand Expedia and Hotels.com with 500 Thai respondents, 49 per cent of Thai travellers have planned holidays around sporting events at least once.

Forty-eight per cent of male and 50 per cent of female respondents confessed to planning their holidays around their favourite team. Showing their dedication, 36 per cent admitted to actually changing holiday bookings to make sure they don’t miss a match.

As avid travellers with the excuse of catching their favourite football team, 51 per cent of Thai football fans travel out of their home country to watch one to three football matches per season, with 61 per cent having skipped work to go to a football game.

Forty-six per cent of the respondents said they are willing to travel up to four hours to an away match to see their team up close.

“Muay Thai is Thailand’s national sport and people come together to watch it on weekends. European football is by far a different level of interest among Thais. So just like in neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Singapore, the preferred football league of Thais is the European League. In our study, more than one third of them even changed their travel plans before to make sure that they don’t miss a match,” said Lavinia Rajaram, head of communications, Asia Pacific, Brand Expedia.

“At Expedia Group, we go to great lengths to ensure that travellers get access to a wide range of flights, accommodation and activity options at great prices, so that they can enjoy their football adventures to the fullest without needing to fuss over the travel booking and planning processes.”

Among all the famed football stadiums in the world, Manchester United FC’s Old Trafford topped the list of most desired destination to watch live football, as voted by 31 per cent of Thai football fans. This was followed by Liverpool FC’s Anfield which came in second (24 per cent), and England’s Wembley Stadium (8 per cent) in third place.

Footie fans are also serious about their match companions, with ex-professional footballers topping their celebrity wish lists. Former Brazilian forward Ronaldo was voted the most desirable celebrity to join fans travelling to a football game (34 per cent). Former English midfielder David Beckham came in a close second (29 per cent), while American actor Brad Pitt came in third (8 per cent).

When it comes to booking travel for an overseas football game, 65 per cent confirmed they book their travel for a trip as soon as their team’s fixtures are announced, with women (72 per cent) being more likely to do so immediately than men (63 per cent).

In terms of the top consideration factors for their choice of accommodation, more than half (63 per cent) of Thai football fans identified proximity to the stadium as the most important factor in their choice of accommodation, followed by the availability of free breakfast (43 per cent) and third is the distance to transportation; train or bus stations (43 per cent).

In terms of the accommodation type for football-related trips, almost one-third (29 per cent) prefer three-star hotels, 18 per cent prefer four-star hotels, and 15 per cent prefer five-star hotels.

Many football fans also see travelling for football as an opportunity to explore a new city. Aside from watching football, 67 per cent prioritise sightseeing when visiting someplace new. Shopping is the second most popular pasttime, with 57 per cent hoping to bag a bargain.

Wanderlust becomes wanderlunch with food playing a meaty role on football-related travels –

49 per cent would visit street food markets, 52 per cent would search out restaurants, while 43 per cent would try out local coffee shops.

In terms of the sacrifices that Thai football fans were willing to make for the beautiful game, when asked, close to half (48 per cent) would give up a holiday, 41 per cent would sacrifice drinking for a month, while skipping desserts for a month came in third at 30 per cent.

In terms of actual spend for an away match, a quarter (24 per cent) are willing to spend more than Bt20,000 for a match considering tickets, accommodation (if applicable), travel, food and/or drinks per person.

Additionally, searches for the destination also tend to grow in the leadup to the football event, as seen in the 30 per cent increase in searches for Madrid as a destination in the leadup to the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final on June 2.

Designed by Arne Jacobsen, the first Giraffe was created specifically for the restaurant at the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen – the very same hotel that housed Jacobsen’s the Egg, the Swan and other well-known chair designs. The Giraffe originally had a wooden frame outlining the shell and the base. Jacobsen experimented quite a bit – he even created a special version in leather on a star base as a gift for the hotel manager. This version he then developed into what we know today as the Little Giraffe, characterised by a lower back and a four-legged base.

The Little Giraffe is designed for daily use in hotel lobbies, canteens, restaurants or meeting rooms but also works beautifully around any dining table at home. The chair is available with a removable fabric cover, which can easily be changed with a zipper. Among the many advantages of a removable cover are easy stain removal and cleaning. The cover is easily added: simply put the cover on the shell, zip it up and attach the seat cushion with Velcro.

In addition to fabric, an array of leather is also available though it’s not removable like the fabric cover. The seat cushion offers a great degree of comfort whilst maintaining a look which pays homage to the original Giraffe.

The base for the Little Giraffe comes in two versions. One is a star base on wheels with an adjustable height, whilst the other is a fixed four-legged base. Both bases are available in satin polished or powder-coated aluminium in black.

The Little Giraffe is now available at House of Fritz Hansen, on Soi Somkid off Ploenchit, Bangkok.

Learn more at http://www.NorseRepublics.com.

“I wanted to make a horror anthology with several parts like ‘See Prang’ and ‘Bangkok Haunted’. At first, I intended to do the whole movie myself but later changed my mind and went to look for another two directors. I chose Alwa [Ritsila] whose short films I liked and Prang [Tharnwimol Ornphaplew],” says director Anusorn “Aam” Soisa-ngim, who oversaw the whole project and directed “Happy New Year”.

The anthology is splits into three distinctive segments with no wraparound narrative.

“Happy New Year” centres on office worker Gaem played by Napat “Yeepun” Banchongchitpaisal who agrees work on New Year’s Eve in the hope it will earn her a better position. She does the night shift in the same room as her boss, who died a few days earlier.

“Haunted House” is about two women – Bee, played by Nutjaree “Cherreen” Horvejkul and sister of Nichkhun 2PM, and Ann, by Korawan “Prim” Lodsantia from “The Face Thailand 3”. They both find jobs in Bangkok and rent a house, which is in a good area but which also has a family murder in its past.

“I selected Cherreen because I like what she did in previous movies. I found Prim while watching ‘The Face Thailand’ and thought she’d be perfect for the part. With her unsmiling face, I thought nobody would approach her,” says director Prang.

“Prim is great as Ann, Her lack of experience was evident during the workshop but she did really well during the shoot. I’m excited to play Bee,” says Cherreen.

The anthology wraps with “The Fifth Cinema”, set in a theatre to which admission by the public is prohibited.

“My idea was to make a movie about ghosts in a cinema. Bangkok theatres are large and luxurious and full of dark nooks and crannies. That makes them scary. While writing the script, I could see in my mind Yhok’s facial expression and eyes on ‘The Face Thailand’ and knew she’s be perfect with rapper Ake,” says director Alwa, who also plays a security guard in “Happy New Year.”

Kansiri Sirimat aka Yhok plays the cinema’s manager, Thananya “Pop” Manthawee stars as Oil, and rapper Narawut “Ake” Amnuay as a playboy figure.

“I think this playboy character is ideally suited to me,” laughs the rapper, who also wrote a song for the soundtrack.

TRUEMONEY Wallet is a fun, free and easy to use electronic wallet that can make your life easier in Thailand’s growing cashless |society. The e-wallet service by TrueMoney, which is Southeast Asia’s leading fintech firm, can be used to pay bills and shop online as well as cover goods and services that support the e-wallet.

You can conveniently link TrueMoney Wallet to your bank account or you can transfer money from your bank account to the e-wallet for use.

And now, TrueMoney has collaborated with Google to allow the use of the e-wallet service for Google Play for buying songs, movies, e-books, games and Android apps.

Although you can use your credit card on Google Play, you may feel uneasy about giving away your credit card number. The e-wallet service could thus be a safer way to spend online.

And you can limit the use by transferring as much money to your e-wallet as you need to use without worrying about your account being hacked or having your credit card number stolen.

To use TrueMoney Wallet, you need to download the TrueMoney Wallet app and then open the app and register for an e-wallet account. TrueMoney will send you an OTP (one-time password) as an SMS to the phone number you use for registering the e-wallet account. The phone number and OTP will be used together with phone number to prevent your account from being stolen.

And to start using TrueMoney Wallet with your Android account to buy content on Google Play, you must open the Google Play app and then select TrueMoney Wallet as the payment method.

Then, when you want to purchase an item on Google Play, you simply have to transfer money from your bank account to the e-wallet to cover the cost of the purchase and you can then buy the item in Google Play right away.

If you link the e-wallet with your bank account, you can use your TrueMoney Wallet account like a digital ATM without having to transfer the money from your account first. The limit on each use is set at Bt3,000 per transaction.

I tried using TrueMoney Wallet to subscribe for Google One cloud storage. I found registering for an e-wallet account with TrueMoney was a breeze. Then, I linked my Google account with the TrueMoney Wallet account to deduct the annual fee for the Google One service. When I was linking the service, an OTP access code was sent to my phone number for verifying.

TrueMoney Wallet has also joined with JOOX, NetMarble, NEXON, IGG and more to provide extra benefits if you use the e-wallet to make payments on Google Play.

For example, JOOX users who pay any amount for the JOOX VIP service will receive an additional 30 days at no cost, while the Lords Mobiles game players will obtain special items when purchasing defined packages. Moreover, each time TrueMoney is used for Google Play, you’ll be allowed to play the Chicken Hit game up to three times and win a cash-back reward via TrueMoney Wallet,

The e-wallet app can also be used to buy content from iTunes and App Store.

TrueMoney Wallet is also accepted at 7-Eleven shops and selected other shops. When I paid at 7-Eleven, the app generated a bar code for the cashier to scan and the value of the goods was automatically withdrawn from my TrueMoney Wallet account and an SMS sent to alert me of the deduction.

The TrueMoney Wallet app can also be used to pay utilities bills, top-up the EasyPass service for expressway access, buy tickets at Major Group theatres, make purchases at Makro, CP Freshmart, True Coffee, Chester Grills, McDonald, Dunkin’ Donuts and other shops.

You can also use it to shop at WeShop, Lazada, AliExpress, JD Central, Pomelo, Konvy.com, Agoda, Supersport, all of which offer discounts on selected goods when paying with the TrueMoney Wallet.

Established in 2003, TrueMoney became a part of Ascend Group in 2014. Its TrueMoney Wallet now has about 7 million active users each month. TrueMoney says it’s targeting 10 million users this year.

The service is free for users.

>> Users: 7 million

>> Available in: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia

>> Established in: 2003

>> Support: Both Apple Store and Google Play

>> Exclusivity: Service available to users of all mobile phone operators

THE YACHTING lifestyle has become increasingly popular in the region, with more people wanting to fulfil their dreams of tranquil and private cruises among idyllic islands with friends and family.

Vrit Yongsakul, managing director of Boat Lagoon Yachting, has led the growth of Thailand’s biggest yacht importer-distributor for 13 years, and he’s seeing interest in the lifestyle surge, especially in Thailand.

It’s largely driven by the appeal of absolute privacy, he says.

“You feel more free,” Vrit says.

“Luxury yachts can take their owners anywhere they wish to go and at any time. And the owners have many destinations to choose from, so it never gets boring.”

Modern yachts are also designed with such a high level of comfort that they’re akin to luxury condominiums, says Vrit, who introduced a range of new British yachts in Singapore last week.

“It’s like taking your own condominium with you, complete with a comfortable living room and kitchen and elegant bedrooms.”

Vrit Yongsakul, managing director of Boat Lagoon Yachting, presents the upper deck of the yacht Princess Y85.

Yachting is a sociable pastime. Friends and family might take several yachts out together, cruising to islands much as the owners of luxury sports cars and motorcycles organise group outings on weekends. It all serves to cement long-lasting friendships, Vrit says.

Yacht owners obviously don’t have to worry about money. They had previously been concerned about how often the yacht was used and how best to maintain it, and whether friends were available to join them on a cruise, says Vrit.

His customers these days are more sophisticated and have more knowledge about yachting, and they can differentiate among various models, he says.

They might even consider the financial status of the manufacturer when deciding to buy a boat because they might want to upgrade later.

Customers make the decision to buy faster than in the past because they have more confidence in after-sales service, says Vrit.

Distributors typically place an order with the boat builder once a customer decides to buy. There can be a wait or one year to one and a half years for delivery.

Prospective customers can make their choice among models by taking a “test run” on one of the yachts Vrit has in stock, and he’ll also accommodate them if they want to buy right away.

“Many of our customers are financially ready to buy and they don’t want to wait – they want to get it right away,” he says.

Vrit’s long experience has taught him what his customers like and expect, and the boats he’s imported meet their demands, so they sell quickly.

His company’s sales have grown 10-15 per cent annually over the past 10 years. It sells about 40 yachts a year at prices ranging from Bt40 million-Bt900 million.

Vrit says his company has a great record of customers remaining loyal. First-time buyers often come back quickly to either upgrade their yachts or buy additional boats.

What Vrit was showing in Singapore last week was three new models of the Princess Yacht, the world’s most popular choice and built by a well-known British boatyard.

The range, including entry-level super yachts and sport yachts, were being shown for the first time in Asia at One 15 Marina Sentosa Cove. Visitors got to admire a Princess Y85, Princess F45 and Princess R35, together worth Bt450 million.

One was sold beforehand and two people expressed interest in the Princess Y85, alone worth Bt300 million.

The Princess Y85 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Motor Yacht class, offering elegant luxury living, lots of space, and great performance.

KNOW YOU should exercise more but unable to find the motivation to get started? If so, you might want to invest less than Bt3,000 in the Fitbit Inspire, a highly affordable and fashionable fitness tracker that keeps a close watch on your activities and alerts you to your smartphone notifications.

The Inspire is light and small and comfortable enough to wear all day and night to track both your activities and your sleep.

The Inspire is available in two colours, black and red. The black one has a white LED illuminating its greyscale display while the red one has a red LED and looks great with a red strap. I tried the red one and can confirm it looked sleek rather than gaudy.

The Inspire can also be made more fashionable with optional accessories like a premium hand-crafted Horween leather or trendy metal mesh strap.

The fitness watch tracks all-day steps, distance, active minutes and calories burned. And when you go to bed with it, its automatic sleep tracking works with the Fitbit app to let you understand your rest to try improve it. That’s important because medical experts are constantly stressing that a good night’s sleep can decrease the risk of diabetes and help with obesity.

Fitbit Inspire uses a 3-axis accelerometer and vibration motor to monitor your movements and calculate them into steps and calories burned, based on gender, age, weight and height.

It has sufficient memory to save seven days of detailed motion data – minute by minute.

To use it, you need to download and install the Fitbit app that will link with Inspire through a Bluetooth connection. You also need to register for an account with Fitbit for cloud space to store the data logged by the tracker.

The Inspire comes with SmartTrack function that automatically recognises workouts like walks, runs, swims, bike rides and more. It logs the data and syncs with the Fitbit app to your online account to keep as your fitness record. Fitbit then sends a weekly report to compare that week’s fitness data with the previous one.

You can also use Fitbit app to customise the clock face. Options include a helpful stats clock face for workers or a polished clock face for work. Ten clock faces are available for you to select.

Fitbit can keep the Inspire’s price lower than Bt2,800 by cutting features like the heart rate sensor and floor climb tracking.

However, the Inspire is swim proof and water resistant to 50 metres, but while it tracks how long you have been swimming, it won’t tell you how many laps you’ve completed.

The touchscreen has a backlit OLED display which responds swiping and scrolling and boasts such functions as an easy-to-use dashboard that provides data on your steps, calories burned, activity, sleep and more from your wrist without having to check the app.

It’s intuitive to navigate too. You can do it by tapping the screen, swiping up and down or pressing the back button. You swipe down to scroll through the apps on the tracker, tap to open the app or swipe up to see your daily stats.

Two apps that are available are Timers and Alarm. You must first use the Fitbit app to set or delete alarms and use the Alarm app on the Inspire to turn the set alarms on or off. The Timers app provides a stopwatch and countdown timer, which can be handy for certain workouts.

The Inspire also supports the female health-tracking feature of the Fitbit app. The tracker and the app will let a woman follow her menstrual cycle and record symptoms.

You can stay connected on the go with updates from your smartphone apps and receive calls and text alerts as long as your phone is nearby.

The tracker has a good battery life. It can stay on to track your activity for five days after one charge. It takes about two hours to fully charge from zero battery level.

During the test, I found the Inspire was comfortable to wear and having it on my wrist during the night didn’t cause a problem. I tested it by walking for about one-and-a-half hours. At the end of the day, the Inspire reported that I had taken 15,991 steps, covered 11.25 kilometres and been active for about 109 minutes.

A nice feature of the tracker is that it reminds and encourages you to stretch your legs and take 250 steps every hour from 9 am to 5pm. This is good because sitting for too long is not good for the spine.

I also liked the Fitbit app feature that allowed me to monitor and log my meals and compare calories eaten to calories burned. This is handy if you want to lose weight.

Fitbit Inspire has a suggested retail price of Bt2,790 and the package comes with two sizes of wristband, small and large. It can be ordered from the Fitbit official store at Lazada.co.th.

Key specs

Small wristband: Fits a wrist between 5.5  7.1 inches in circumference

Large wristband: Fits a wrist between 7.1  8.7 inches in circumference

Operating Temperature: 10 degrees to 45 degrees C

Water Resistance: Water resistant up to 50 metres

Maximum Operating Altitude: 8,534 metres

Sensors: 3axis accelerometer, vibration motor

Display: Greyscale OLED touchscreen

Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 4.0

Syncing range: 6 metres

Memory: Saves 7 days of detailed motion data – minute by minute

Battery: Lithiumpolymer, twohour charging, fiveday battery life

Locals, expats and tourists are invited to select from thousands of fiction and nonfiction books in English plus a selection of other languages, donated by Neilson Hays Library supporters or withdrawn from the library shelves. Prices start at Bt20. Paper bags will also be pro¬vided for Bt10 and Neilson Hays cloth totes for Bt350.

Parking is available across the road in the Voravit Building for an hourly fee of Bt30.

For more information, call (02) 233 1731.

Asian invasion

Rising star DJ FF is one of the most popular and talented DJ and remixers from China and he’s hitting town tomorrow night with a gig at Insanity Bangkok starting at 10.

Entrance is Bt400 for men and Bt300 for ladies with one free drink.

Call (082) 731 8885 or Line: @insanity.

Doubling up

Ben Prok and James Fitch – one of the most exciting duos on the house music scene – will be vibrating Levels Club in Sukhumvit Soi 11 next Wednesday from 9pm to 2am.

The pair has more than 18 years of experience as DJs and has played such major music festivals as Ultra Music Festival, Global Gathering, Sunburn Festival and Sensation White.

Find out more or book your table at (082) 308 3246.

Putting the fun into getting fit

Fit Fest 2019 is back in Bangkok next month taking over more than 6,000 square metres of CentralWorld from June 69.

The festival will feature Thailand’s biggest rhythm cycling class by Absolute U; Thailand’s biggest barre class by Phisique 57; hiphop yoga by Yoga and Me and a lineup of non-stop activities from fitness idols Thanchanok “Bebe” Ritnaka, Patcharasri “Kalamare” Benjamas, and Yodchai “Noom” Yamakupt; a Thai boxing masterclass by popular boxer Buakhao, and the Thailand Koht-Fit Championship 2019 with prizes worth Bt50,000. Also featured will be booths manned by leading sport stores and more than 100 healthy food shops and a fitness concert.

Follow the movement of Fit Fest 2019 at Facebook: Fitfest.

Beauty in motion

Bangkok Beauty Show 2019, a one-stop-service trade show for the beauty industry, takes place at Hall 101 of Bitec Bangna during July 11-13 from 10am to 6pm.

This year health care industries from more than 10 countries including South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Pakistan will be taking part.

Admission is free and pre-registration is now open at bit.ly/bangkokbeautyshow2019

Find out more at http://www.BangkokBeautyShow.com.

The study examines vacation usage and trends across 19 countries. The report also found that global vacation deprivation is on the rise, and that workers in Thailand took the fewest number of vacation days in the world in 2018, alongside Japan and the US.

Incorporating insights from 300 fulltime working adults in Thailand, the study revealed that 80 per cent of Thais agree that they deserve more vacation days than they are given, ranking them fourth highest in Asia to express that, after Japan (54 per cent), Hong Kong (86 per cent) and India (82 per cent).

Consistent with 2017, most Asian have the hardest time leaving work behind when taking vacations. Asians also have the highest incidence of cancelling or postponing vacation plans due to work. The top three reasons for Thai workers not taking a holiday are: Don’t know where to go (27 per cent), saving up time for a long holiday (25 per cent) and can’t get time off work (24 per cent).

“Over the years we are starting to see more and more workers take short vacations, and this could be due to public holidays falling over a weekend, allowing for long weekend holidays. Thailand is a great example of that. While bigger trips are great, a quick break can drastically improve quality of life,” said Lavinia Rajaram, APAC Head of Communications for Brand Expedia.

Twenty four percent of Thais go six months or longer without a vacation, with more than a quarter (42 per cent) going three to six months a year without time off. Considering time off is so precious, one might be surprised to hear that almost a quarter (24 percent) of Thai workers admit to checking work email/voicemail at least once a day while on vacation.

While this behaviour has stayed mostly consistent over the past decade, perhaps there’s hope for future generations – younger workers are the least likely to check in frequently, at 19 per cent for 18-34 year olds, compared to 31 per cent of the 50 and over crowd.

Interestingly, the pressure to be available may be selfimposed – only a small number of respondents say their managers (17 per cent), junior staff (10 per cent) and clients (12 per cent) expect them to checkin daily while on vacation, proving most people need to simply give themselves permission to unplug.

The growing focus and conversation around mental health may be changing how Thai workers vacation, with 35 per cent of Thai respondents saying they regularly take vacations where their primary goal is “mental wellness”, and they overwhelmingly feel that vacation is a chance to “hit the reset button” on stress and anxiety. Thai workers also report taking an average of two mental health days each year, which most feel should be considered vacation days (82 per cent), rather than sick days (18 per cent).

“A wellnesscentric trip doesn’t have to mean a spa or yoga retreat, although those are popular options among Thais,” says Rajaram. “For most of us, recharging simply means we need to disconnect and slow down. Whether it’s a family vacation or a solo escape, set rules about how often you’re allowed to check email and try not to overschedule your days.”