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The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) wants the new tourism and sports minister to increase funding for marketing, incentives and chartered flights so that Thailand can compete with neighbouring countries and attract at least 35.5 million foreign tourists.

Atta president Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn said that even though the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) subsidies for chartered flights and incentive groups are expected to draw 300,000 foreign visitors this year, the effort is insufficient to stimulate the tourism industry.

He said the association plans to ask Tourism and Sports Minister Artthakorn Sirilatthayakorn to allocate a greater budget to double these numbers, as Deputy Prime Minister Thamanat Prompow recently announced a goal of attracting 2 million Chinese tourists in the last four months of this year.

Mr Thanapol said Atta would also highlight critical issues such as tourists’ safety concerns and the lack of new manmade destinations and convenient facilities.

Atta also intends to encourage top-rank officials to attend roadshows or marketing trips overseas to promote Thailand and restore tour agents’ confidence.

The association held the Atta Travel Art Mice and Leisure 2025 event in Bangkok on Monday, joined by more than 670 buyers and sellers from across Thailand.

Atta expects more than 2,000 business matchings, generating roughly 500 million baht in transactions.

Tassanapong Phettrakul, assistant manager of Alcazar Cabaret Show Pattaya, said it would like to increase opportunities from Indian and domestic tourists, now that Pattaya is experiencing a decline in the Chinese and South Korean markets, which were typically the city’s top arrivals.

He said Alcazar Pattaya gained only 1,000 daily visitors on average, a decline from 1,800 in normal times.

He said he hopes the new government will improve Thailand’s tourism image and showcase unique products to visitors.

Surasak Tharapatn, group general manager of Panviman Group of Resorts, said the first priority for the government was to tackle the strong baht which pushes foreign tourists to other destinations, as the prices for similar hotels in Vietnam is now 20-30% cheaper than Thailand.

INDIAN OPPORTUNITY

In collaboration with the TAT, Atta also held a roadshow in the third quarter of this year, visiting Kochi and Ahmedabad in India.

Vathanachai Chatrirath, vice-president of Atta, said Indian tourists could be a potential market for Thailand due to its large population and growing middle class.

Indians’ average length of stay is seven days, with daily expenditure of 4,000-5,000 baht.

He said Indian arrivals could reach 3 million in 2026, rising from 2.2 million this year, as many airlines are planning to increase capacity.

Mr Vathanachai said some Thai carriers have switched their fleets from flying Chinese routes to India instead.

He said that the TAT holding a Diwali celebration in Thailand may not be the right tactic to lure Indian tourists since they typically preferred to stay with their families at home during the festival.

The authority should hire Bollywood stars or top-tier Indian singers to perform in Thailand, following the lead of Malaysia and Singapore, said Mr Vathanachai.

Rabbit Life Insurance, a subsidiary of BTS Group Holdings, is targeting 2.6 billion baht in premiums this year amid robust demand for whole life, health and annuity insurance products.

Total premiums surged by 22% year-on-year to 1.92 billion baht in the first eight months of 2025, supported across agency, broker and online channels, said managing director Korn Chinsawananon.

First-year premiums tallied 1.5 billion baht, up 21%, while profits totalled 356 million baht, reflecting the strong product portfolio and financial stability, as evidenced by a capital adequacy ratio of 213%, he said.

Whole life insurance was the top-selling category this year, with sales surging tenfold to 495 million baht, reflecting rising consumer interest in long-term life planning and sustainable family security.

Health insurance also skyrocketed, increasing by 144% to 26.4 million baht, led by the popular Health Smile plan, which offers flexible coverage that can be combined with existing welfare benefits to maximise value.

Annuity insurance, designed to support retirement planning amid Thailand’s ageing society, grew 115% to 60.2 million baht, as such products are gaining strong traction among customers seeking financial stability in their later years.

Mr Korn said the company aims to finish 2025 with total premiums exceeding 2.6 billion baht, driven by tax-saving insurance products and an omni-channel approach.

For 2026, he said Rabbit Life plans to leverage data-driven insurance strategies to offer more personalised, flexible solutions that meet the needs of all life stages. The company has set a target of 3 billion baht in premiums, a 15% increase from 2025, while continuing to strengthen its network of quality agents.

By combining product innovation, multi-channel distribution, and data-driven insights, Rabbit Life remains focused on building long-term relationships with its customers, delivering solutions for every life stage, and establishing itself as a modern, competitive life insurance provider prepared for sustainable growth, said Mr Korn.

Chinese sci-fi author Chen Qiufan will join Bangkok Climate Action Week today.

The event, titled “In Search Of Hope-Full Futures”, is set to take place at SEA Junction, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, from 2pm-6pm today. Supported by the London Climate Action Week, Bangkok Climate Action Week today is a collaboration between the city and civil society, which has organised over 232 activities across the capital.

Chen Qiufan (aka Stanley Chan) is a fiction writer, screenwriter and columnist who has published work through various outlets such as Science Fiction World, Esquire, Chutzpah! and ZUI Found. His short stories include The Fish Of Lijiang, The Year Of The Rat and The Flower Of Shazui, all of which are available in Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction In Translation, a collection of 13 shorties edited and translated by Ken Liu. In their new book AI 2041: Ten Visions For Our Future (2021), Chen and Kai-Fu Lee predict how artificial intelligence will change the world within two decades.

Chen has won several literary accolades, including Taiwan’s Dragon Fantasy Award and China’s Galaxy and Nebula Awards. In English, he has been featured in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Interzone and The Magazine Of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Liu Cixin, China’s most acclaimed science fiction author, praised his debut novel, The Waste Tide (2013) as “the pinnacle of near-future SF writing”.

Chen and other speakers will join a two-part programme to envision alternative futures of Asia amid the techno-apocalyptic climate crisis. A panel, titled “Fiction, Imagination and Climate Agency”, will explore the potential of speculative storytelling in creating new perspectives. Meanwhile, a game-based workshop titled “Climate Dreams and Dynamic Disruptions” will delve into alternative scenarios for Asia’s islands and oceans.

Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), the Singapore-listed food and beverage company, plans to invest around 9 billion baht in fiscal 2026.

ThaiBev’s 2026 fiscal year runs from Oct 1, 2025 to Sept 30, 2026.

A total of 4 billion baht is for its non-alcoholic beverage business, 2 billion for its spirits business, 2 billion for its beer business, and 1 billion for its food business.

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, group chief executive, said the global and regional economies are experiencing slower growth and trade policy uncertainty.

Changes in US policy have created a negative impact on trade in Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, he said.

Regarding politics, Mr Thapana said the Thai government’s growing stability is lifting confidence, driven by its economic team.

“There are positive signs from October as the new government emphasises improving the economy,” he said.

Despite the uncertain trade outlook, there is a clearer direction in multilateral trade negotiations, said Mr Thapana.

The company is continuing to strengthen its business foundations and implement its “Passion 2030” roadmap that comprises two strategic pillars: “Reach Competitively” and “Digital for Growth”.

The first pillar focuses on ensuring complete product delivery coverage across all channels, with seamless integration, high service quality, and cost competitiveness.

The second segment involves leveraging digital technology to enhance its growth potential by improving efficiency, effectiveness and insights, while increasing connectivity with its consumers and business partners to ensure responsiveness to their evolving needs.

Sopon Racharaksa, executive vice-president and chief of the spirits product group, said the company encountered headwinds from challenges in the business environment at home and abroad.

The company plans to allocate 2 billion baht for its spirits product group, with 1 billion in reserve for international investments, such as expanding production capacity in New Zealand and increasing warehouse capacity in the UK.

For the beer business, the company plans to invest 2 billion baht in fiscal 2026, most of which will be allocated to a new plant in Cambodia, said Michael Chye Hin Fah, chief of the beer product group.

Located in Kandal province, roughly 50 kilometres from Phnom Penh, the new plant has a production capacity of 50 million litres per year in the first phase.

The plant is under construction and is expected to open in the next few months, according to ThaiBev.

Kosit Suksingha, president and group chief operating officer for Thailand, said the company is set to invest 4 billion baht in the non-alcoholic beverage segment.

The majority of the budget will be allocated to its projects abroad, he said, including a dairy cattle farm and a dairy production facility in Malaysia, as well as a non-alcoholic beverage production site in Cambodia.

Mr Kosit said the project in Malaysia aligns with the company’s strategy to tap into the growing halal market, while the facility in Cambodia will enable the company to produce and distribute products more effectively.

Some 700-800 million baht of investment in Thailand will be directed towards upgrading existing production lines and reforming its beverage packaging, he said.

Non-alcoholic sales are projected to grow by double digits this year, said Mr Kosit. This segment contributes 5% of the company’s total sales.

Paisarn Aowsathaporn, first vice-president and chief of food business for Thailand, said the company plans to invest 1 billion baht in the food business in 2026.

The investment is focused on roughly 45 additional KFC outlets. ThaiBev also wants to refresh its Oishi Buffet and Oishi Ramen restaurants, following this year’s rebranding of Shabushi, aimed to attract both Gen Z and Gen X consumers, he said.

The company is promoting the restaurants under Food of Asia, its food business subsidiary, at One Bangkok to serve employees in the buildings, which is expected to tally 10,000 by the end of this year.

ThaiBev also launched the Sook Delivery application to provide vertical delivery options for office building residents.

Mr Paisarn said he expects the food business to grow by 9% per year from 2026-2030.

A debate about street art has emerged in Bangkok, with some people calling for strict prosecution of vandals who defaced commissioned murals, while others argue that the acts were part of the normal ‘bombing’ culture in graffiti art.

The issue was sparked by a recent incident on Charoen Krung Soi 30, where an work painted by a Spanish artist under the ‘Krungthep Creative Streets’ project was damaged by three street vandals. One of them was arrested and faced charges on Monday while two remained at large.

Many people called the actions disrespectful to the original artist and unpleasant for the city’s image. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited the site and condemned it as unacceptable.

The Embassy of France in Thailand, which co-hosted the project with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said on Facebook that the perpetrators had ‘damaged the beauty of the art’.

After the news emerged, more complaints about such behaviour from other parts of Bangkok and other cities were reported, with people asking authorities to step up efforts to find and prosecute the vandals.

The defaced, original murals were created under legal projects to revive selected neighbourhoods, but many graffiti artists also target empty spaces and do not obtain permission to paint. (Story continues below)

Some people maintain that the actions were ‘normal in graffiti bombing culture’, the idea being that painting over another artist’s work is a way to bluff and show power by applying quick throw-ups or tags.

Street art culture has evolved over the decades as a way to make a statement, usually against the prevailing social structure, in cities all over the world. Some practitioners, Banksy being the most notable, have raised it to a high art form.

Graffiti has been around forever but the style of expression most people are familiar with today originated in the 1960s in cities in the United States. Young people, most of them black, used graffiti to express themselves and advocate for their rights.

In Thailand, people generally regard graffiti as bad manners and vandalism. When the damage is done to a work that was created with permission from the property owners, it violates the Maintenance, Cleanliness and Orderliness Act.

‘People who witness unlawful painting or other damaging of government property can report via TraffyFondue,’ the BMA advises on Facebook, referring to the popular app for citizen complaints.

On Wednesday, a 17-year-old man was also arrested in Nakhon Ratchasima for damaging a portrait mural of Luang Phor Khun Parissudho, a famous monk who died in 2015. Police said the teenager admitted his wrongdoing.

A Pheu Thai MP has questioned the government’s decision to appoint Vorapak Tanyawong as deputy finance minister, citing corruption charges filed against him by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in relation to the Energy Earth loan scandal.

The issue arose during Monday night’s parliamentary debate on the government’s policy statement under Section 162 of the Constitution, chaired by Deputy House Speaker Mongkol Surasajja.

Loei MP Lertsak Pattanachaikul of Pheu Thai reminded the chamber that in February, the NACC charged Mr Vorapak, then chief executive of Krungthai Bank, and 32 others with allegedly approving loans based on falsified information to benefit Energy Earth Plc. He warned that placing an individual under investigation in charge of financial institutions could erode public trust, particularly in light of the scandal’s scale, which involved tens of billions of baht.

Drawing comparisons with the Stark Corporation fraud, he argued that the Energy Earth case also inflicted widespread economic harm on investors.

Mr Lertsak detailed two key allegations: loans backed by non-existent Indonesian mines used as collateral, and a loan to Earth Holding that was allegedly employed to manipulate Energy Earth’s stock price.

These approvals, he claimed, paved the way for the company to issue debentures worth billions, later sold to thousands of retail investors, thereby deepening financial losses.

“This is not about discrediting the minister’s honour,” Mr Lertsak said. “It is about safeguarding the nation’s interests. Holding a ministerial post is a matter of national dignity.”

He pressed Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to explain how he could justify the appointment, and what assurances he could offer should the NACC later secure a conviction.

In his response, Mr Vorapak maintained that the allegations were not new and had already been examined when he was appointed advisor to then-Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira.

Mr Vorapak further noted that the company only defaulted in 2016, after his departure, due to a sudden withdrawal of creditor support.

“The real damage came after my term ended,” he said. “The facts show this was not fabricated business, but a liquidity crisis beyond management’s control.”

A 21-year-old man set himself on fire at a bus stop and ran out into the traffic on Phahon Yothin Road in Bangkok on Tuesday, horrifying pedestrians and motorists.

It happened around 10am at a bus stop in front of the Land Development Department office in Chatuchak district.

A CCTV recording showed the man, whose name has not been released, standing behind the bus stop and holding a large jar containing a liquid believed to be petrol.

He poured the liquid over his body before setting himself on fire with a lighter.

According to 3 Plus News, he walked around while on fire, terrifying two university students waiting for a bus, before running out onto the road and falling to the ground, underneath Senanikom BTS Station.

The sight of his burning body shocked motorists. One motorcyclist fell off his bike and was injured. He was taken to nearby Paolo Hospital along with the burned man.

A witness told police the man had a heated phone conversation with someone before setting himself ablaze. His mother said she learned her son had been having a problem with his girlfriend over the past few days.

His condition was not known.

Carrying on with some basic ‘easy to understand’ golf rules that we all need to know well. To correctly drop a golf ball, you must release the ball from your hand at knee height, allowing it to fall straight down without touching your body or equipment before hitting the ground. The ball must then land and come to rest within the defined relief area for that required situation. Should it bounce away from the dropping area you can try two more times. If still unsuccessful — you can then place the ball. If you drop the ball incorrectly, you simply must re-drop it without penalty, but you incur a penalty if you play the ball from a wrong place after dropping it.

In golf, a ball is declared “lost” if it’s not found within three minutes of starting a search for it, or if it’s hit out of bounds. The consequence for a lost ball is stroke-and-distance relief: you must add a one-stroke penalty and replay your previous shot from where you hit it last by dropping another ball, as near as possible to the original spot. You can avoid this by playing a provisional ball if you suspect your ball may be lost or out of bounds. But remember you must tell your playing partners before playing it.

When starting a hole, generally the player with the lowest score on the previous hole plays first. After starting a hole, the ball farthest from the hole is usually played first. However, to avoid slow play the Rules of Golf allows you to hit out of turn if the situation makes sense and is safe to do so.

Out of Bounds: Following on from last week where I mentioned that you could throw into a water hazard a caddie and receive no penalty for doing so. Many of you have asked me if this rule would also apply to a playing partner? — the answer is ‘Yes’ so have no fear of incurring a penalty shot if you have someone in mind.

The Pheu Thai Party are urging Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob to take swift action against those he claims offered him 40 million baht a month to look the other way on online crime.

In parliament on the second day of the joint sitting, as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government delivered its policy statement, Mr Chaichanok acknowledged his lack of political experience but vowed to take decisive action in tackling cybercrime.

During the debate, Pheu Thai MP Korkaew Pikulthong raised questions over the appointment of ministers linked to the Bhumjaithai Party’s (BJT) Buri Ram power base.

He argued that some lacked expertise, while others had tainted records, citing a corruption scandal in the Transport Ministry in 2011. Mr Korkaew further criticised the resurgence of call centre scams, which he claimed had been curbed under the previous Pheu Thai-led government.

In response, Mr Chaichanok recounted that shortly before taking office, he was contacted through a member of parliament by individuals who offered him 40 million baht per month in exchange for not pursuing action against call centre syndicates, online scammers and illegal websites.

The remarks quickly drew political fire. Danuporn Punnakanta, a Pheu Thai Party-list MP and party spokesman warned that if Mr Chaichanok failed to act, he could be accused of dereliction of duty.

“You started with bold claims, but if you let this go, people will see you as a minister who talks tough but delivers nothing,” he said.

A new waste collection fee for unsorted trash goes into effect on Wednesday, with discounts offered for households that properly separate their garbage.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will, from Wednesday, enforce a revised waste collection fee, increasing the monthly rate from 20 baht to 60 baht. However, households that participate in the city’s waste separation initiative, “This House Doesn’t Mix”, will continue to pay the original 20-baht flat fee.

Deputy Bangkok governor Chakkaphan Phewngam announced the change, citing the need to align fees with current operational costs. The initiative is part of the 2025 Bangkok Ordinance on waste management services under the Public Health Act.

To qualify for the discounted rate, residents must register and submit evidence of sorting waste into four categories via the BKK WASTE PAY platform. The system will issue reminders for documentation at scheduled intervals.

Failure to submit correct or complete evidence after three warnings will result in the suspension of the discount, and households will be required to pay the full fee for six months before reapplying.

For those who register through district officials and receive approval, the BMA will conduct on-site inspections. If waste sorting does not meet the required standards, the same warning and suspension process will apply.

On Sept 29, Mr Chakkaphan visited Pomprap Sattruphai district, inspecting the Mahanak Mosque Community, a model for waste separation. The community, spanning 23 rai, with 933 residents and 353 households, has been actively sorting waste since early this year, resulting in reduced waste volume and qualifying for the discounted fee.

As of Sept 26, over 710,000 households had registered to take part. They live in 278,178 single-family homes and 432,608 units across 3,049 group registrations (condominiums, housing estates, communities, flats).