Here is a look at the top NATIONAL stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, November 15th to the 21st, with some commentary. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.
1. Prime Minister visits Krabi for mobile cabinet meeting for tourism stimulus measures in Southern Thailand
The Thai Prime Minister had spent his two-day visit in Krabi last week mainly to attend a meeting with local authorities regarding the tourism budgets for Southern regions. Meanwhile, he and his mobile cabinet committees were also seen happily taking photos and wearing local clothes while visiting tourist attractions, prompting thousands of comments from Thai social media users.
2. Only 56 international travelers, with a fourth-quarter goal of 100,000, arrive in Hua Hin so far since the first day of Thailand’s reopening
Not only Pattaya, but the trend of internal travelers after country reopening in other popular tourist attractions like Hua Hin is also not favorable for domestic hospitality and tourism business sectors as only 56 arrivals were reported since the first day of the reopening on November 1st. Hua Hin-Cha-am Tourism Association Advisors predicted that the probable reasons were the concerning rate of infection in Thailand, making the country listed as the high-risk country for many other countries around the world, continued legal ban on entertainment and nightlife venues that are popular with tourists, and the complication of traveling measure requirements as well as a mandatory “quarantine” on arrival at a hotel waiting for negative Covid-19 test results, which could be up to a day.
3. Thailand’s Constitutional Court rules Section 1448 on heterosexual marriages lawful, LGBTQ rights groups “disappointed”
The ruling followed a petition submitted by an LGBTQ couple to the Central Juvenile and Family Court, requesting a marriage registration of an LGBTQ person earlier this year. The petition was forwarded to the Constitutional Court, asking them to consider whether Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code is constitutional or not. The decision of lawful heterosexual marriages, therefore, could be a major setback for many Thai LGBTQ activist groups’ continued journey in Thailand, disappointing Thai LGBTQ supporters nationwide. In short, the decision means the Constitutional Court ruled that marriage is currently legal only between a man and a woman, based on current Thai law. Focus now turns to creating and changing new laws, but that is likely to be a long and difficult process.
4. Multiple groups of prominent bar and nightlife industry owners and operators put even further pressure on CCSA, government, to reverse the current closure decision
Two groups of entertainment venues operators had submitted a petition to government officials to consider altering their recent decision to keep their businesses closed after New Year until January 16th as they have been affected by the continuation of closure orders for close to two years. They also urged financial remedies if the government failed to accelerate the reopening. Meanwhile, representatives of another similar group also discussed with the head of the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration committee on the same day, which has now potentially led to the re-discussion of this subject matter at the upcoming CCSA general meeting with the Prime Minister, possibly this week.
And, that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!
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