THE world is entering a dangerous and risky period of instability and insecurity. The rules-based order is eroding. Conflicts and geopolitical tensions have weakened international trust and highlighted the limits of traditional power leadership. Under the Trump presidency, the United States has squandered its strategic advantage and lost the moral high
Analysis
More Bangkok residents now opting for second-hand housing
A CLEAR shift has emerged in the Bangkok property market with residents increasingly opting for second-hand housing as reflected in a 1.5-fold increase in this segment’s transfer value, from 27% in 2020 to 38% in 2025, PPTVHD36 said today (Feb. 25). Research by Krungthai Compass shows that there are three key factors driving second-hand
Read moreAs the next crisis looms, Travel & Tourism faces a failure of leadership
IN MY 45 years of reporting on Thai, Asean and Asia-Pacific Travel & Tourism, I have covered multiple crises. Three of the most devastating were the 1997 financial crisis, the 2004 tsunami and the 2020-2022 Covid pandemic. Each left a swathe of destruction, with Travel & Tourism being particularly badly hit.
Read moreUS Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs boosts global economic growth: Academic
THE US Supreme Court ruling that a law President Donald Trump relied on to impose tariffs does not authorise the president to do so will have a positive impact on global economic growth in terms of the volume and value of world trade with Asian economies, including Thailand, benefiting, a respected Thai academic said
Read moreDomestic sales of pickup trucks seen plunging to lowest level in over two decades
Research by ttb analytics and published by PPTVHD36 AUTOMAKERS are facing a sharp slide in domestic sales of pickup trucks this year with the expected total of 171,000 units being a 24-year low and a contraction of 7% year-on-year, PPTVHD36 said yesterday (Jan. 22). ttb analytics, an economic analysis centre, said the drop in
Read moreIsraeli visitors to Thailand plummet as ‘Unwelcome’ signs come out
THE Israel-Palestine conflict has had a direct impact on visitor arrivals from Israel to Thailand in 2025 and will impact Thai travel & tourism well into 2026 and beyond. Visitor arrivals from Israel to Thailand plunged from 45,182 in Sept. 2025 to 28,773 in November 2025, just a little higher than 26,797 visitors in
Read moreThais affected by risk of country becoming ‘global money laundering hub’
By Thai Rath Money WITH Thailand now facing a risk of becoming a global money laundering hub due to multiple loopholes that facilitate the flow of grey money this inevitably impacts the economy and national confidence with ordinary Thais directly and indirectly vulnerable to this gray money cycle. The following are the key ways
Read moreThailand was the turning point where ‘Nobody’s Girl’ went from victim to warrior
“NOBODY’S GIRL” Virginia Roberts Giuffre found love, freedom and healing in Thailand. Although media coverage of her tell-all biography has been dominated by her contacts with the now defrocked prince Andrew and an Israeli former Prime Minister, it contains two heart-warming chapters narrating how she met her future husband in Chiang
Read moreWhere are Thailand’s rare-earth elements that US seeks found?
Analysis by Naewna newspaper AMID heavy international focus on rare-earth elements (REE) with the US rapidly rebuilding its supply chain in a move to end decades of dependence on China as tensions between the two powers persist despite a temporary trade truce, there is strong public interest about this within Thailand. This followed the
Read moreThai tourism still growing but signs of slowdown emerging
WHILE Thai tourism industry still looks rosy in 2025 signs of a slowdown next year have emerged with this requiring a comprehensive overhaul to maintain momentum, PPTVHD 26 quoted an in-depth research by TTB Analytics as saying today (Oct. 11). That a slowdown seems to be looming next year is due to saturation of
Read moreLuxury home market attracting more developers but demand limited
THAILAND’S luxury home market, with prices ranging from 25 to 100 million baht, is now attracting more mid-sized and new entrants as the mass market is saturated amid declining purchase power but this segment could be more challenging than they had anticipated, PPTVHD 36 quoted an analysis by Kiatnakin Phatra Bank (KKP) as saying
Read moreMasterpiece Fasting Buddha statue now on display at Thai National Museum
BUDDHIST devotees in Thailand and around the world now have a chance to visit and pray before a masterpiece replica of the Fasting Buddha, considered to be one of the “most profound and powerful depictions of the historical Buddha before his enlightenment.” The statue is on display at the National Museum in Bangkok, gifted
Read moreEx-Thai foreign minister openly blasts “Jewish money” for subverting US democracy
FORMER Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya has blasted the role of the “Jewish lobby” and “Jewish money” as a “blatant illustration” of how democracy is being subverted in the United States, and warned about the global threat to human freedom posed by the rising forces of authoritarianism. Now 80 years old, with nothing to
Read morePATA forecast confirms geopolitics poses top risk and threat to Travel & Tourism
GEOPOLITICAL turbulence is now indisputably the leading risk and threat facing Travel & Tourism, according to visitor arrivals forecasts presented by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). Statistical data presented at a webinar on June 26 clearly showed how countries and regions are being impacted by multiple geopolitical conflicts, and will continue to be
Read moreThe most catastrophic leadership failure in Travel & Tourism history
EXACTLY 30 years ago this November, the International Hotel Association convened for its annual convention in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was truly a Golden Age. Peace talks were under way to end centuries of conflicts in the Holy Land. Hope and optimism were in the air. The Dream Theme was “Peace Promotes Tourism Promotes
Read more‘Friend to many and enemy to none’ – Thailand celebrates 150 years of Peacebuilding Diplomacy
IN AN era of interminable tumult and turmoil, the tourism destinations which survive will be those which can live at peace with themselves, with their neighbours and the world at large. This brilliant speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa pinpoints how Thailand plans to navigate the swirling storms of global
Read moreHow Travel & Tourism is contributing to a decline in global press freedom
MILLIONS of dollars in advertising revenues being sucked up by tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft are strengthening their dominance over the dissemination of information and contributing to a “worrying decline” in press freedom worldwide, according to the RSF World Press Freedom Index released on May 3, 2025. Says the
Read moreAnalysis: Thaksin stuck in cul-de-sac steering Pheu Thai-led govt
DE FACTO PHEU THAI boss Thaksin Shinawatra is currently encountering dilemma and conundrum whilst steering the Pheu Thai-led coalition government, albeit literally behind the scenes, due to unresolved, inter-party conflict and sustained legal battles which might probably last until the end of their four-year term in the next couple of years, according to partisan
Read moreAnalysis: Yingluck’s scot-free homecoming Thaksin’s ultimate challenge
FUGITIVE FORMER prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra would have literally mingled with Songkran revellers in her home province of Chiang Mai over the upcoming weekend if de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra had not chosen to keep his self-exiled sister patiently waiting abroad for the yearly, water-splashing festival next time around. The billionaire power
Read moreCrisis-hit Thai tourism staring down an abyss
LED by sharp drops in its two top source-markets, Thailand ended the January- March first quarter with 9.5 million arrivals, an anemic 1.91% increase over the 9.37 million in the first quarter of 2024. Most disturbing is the downward trend from a high of 3,709,102 arrivals in January to 3,119,445 in February and 2,720,457 in
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