Latest news with #ThapaneeKiatphaibool
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Chonburi confirmed as Tomorrowland's Thai home
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) confirms that Chonburi will host the legendary Belgian-born music festival when it makes its full-scale Asian debut in December 2026 – the perfect time for an outdoor celebration with cooler weather. That's right: three full days of music, fantasy stages and EDM madness by the sea. Chonburi, home to previous large-scale events like Rolling Loud Thailand, was handpicked for its capacity, convenient access and track record of hosting successful international music festivals. Located just a short drive from Bangkok, the province is well-connected via major highways and airports including U-Tapao International Airport and both Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang which make it easy for partygoers flying in from around the world. The event site itself sits close to the coast with the area privately owned and currently under preparation for the mega-scale production. Surrounding communities and hotels are expected to have a substantial impact in accommodating the tens of thousands expected tourists to attend. TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool shares that the partnership with Tomorrowland spans five years and the economic impact is expected to reach the billions of baht. She also reveals plans to bring not just the main event, but also Tomorrowland's Event Academy model to Thailand – similar to what exists in Belgium. 'This is more than just a festival,' said Thapanee. 'It's an immersive experience that will elevate Thailand's global reputation in music tourism.'
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Specialists urge revamp of state procurement process
Technical experts have urged an overhaul of the bidder qualification criteria for government auctions to prevent registration system collapses for state projects with a massive amount of registrants. The comments follow glitches in the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) registration system for the 1.76-billion-baht co-payment scheme, which subsidises hotel rooms for domestic tourists. The glitches led to crashes from the first day of registration on Tuesday. The TAT apologised on Wednesday for the glitches. A source with experience in developing large-scale registration systems who requested anonymity said it might be difficult to pinpoint the exact flaws in the co-payment system's registration. The source likened the mess to hiring a home builder to construct a large building, the kind of project that requires specialised expertise. Designing a registration system for a large project requires a robust queuing mechanism, added the source. "These kinds of systems must be able to efficiently manage massive volumes of user traffic, particularly during peak registration periods," said the source. Without a well-engineered queuing structure, users may experience timeouts, system crashes or delayed responses -- issues that severely erode public trust. The source emphasised the need to reform the government procurement process. Instead of awarding contracts to the bidder proposing the lowest price, the contracts should be awarded to those with the best value or the best price-performance, noted the source. If state agencies prioritise the lowest bid, the bidders will compromise on technical specifications so the project cost does not exceed the budget, and this undermines the overall system quality, said the source. Furthermore, the terms of reference should clearly stipulate that eligible bidders must have experience in building systems capable of handling at least 10,000 transactions per second. A thorough load performance test must be conducted prior to the system's launch to ensure stability and scalability under peak demand, the source added. Another source who is familiar with government projects and requested anonymity said to build a system that can handle a heavy workload, one approach is using a front-end component that places incoming requests into a queueing system. This prioritises speed and avoids too much processing upfront. Then, the back-end can gradually pull requests from the queue and process them in order. "In other words, we don't 'fire' requests directly at the back-end. Instead, the back-end 'sweeps' requests from the queue and processes them accordingly. This kind of architecture makes the system much less likely to crash under load," said the source. The source questioned whether it would be better to use an existing system that has already been optimised and proven it can handle heavy traffic loads. TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said earlier the agency changed from using the Pao Tang application managed by Krungthai Bank in the previous scheme to its own app -- Amazing Thailand -- to establish data ownership and tighten security checks through verification on the state-owned ThaID app. She said the two apps could help enhance security, allowing the TAT to assure the public that registrants' personal data is protected according to national standards. The TAT said its co-payment system was developed by Raventure Co, which was established in 2023. Creden Data reported the company has 2 million baht in registered capital. The company said its executives had experience in developing government apps, including the Mor Prom vaccination information service during the pandemic. Ms Thapanee said the registration process, which has been heavily criticised for its complexity, is needed to avoid large losses from fraud, as occurred in the past four phases of the "We Travel Together" scheme.
Bangkok Post
4 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Early birds to benefit most from planned tourism subsidies
The 750-million-baht subsidy for airlines and tour groups to stimulate the tourism industry will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, aiming to generate 33.5 billion baht in revenue, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The 'Summer Blast China & Overseas Market' programme was among seven projects worth 3.96 billion baht the government allocated to the TAT on June 24. These seven projects were estimated to generate 200 billion baht for the economy, creating 226,102 jobs and earning 7.78 billion baht in tax collection. The result should be a 49-fold return on investment, said TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool. The largest chunk of stimulus funding is 1.76 billion baht for the co-payment domestic tourism scheme. However, it got off to a rough start when the online registration system crashed and needed to be overhauled to meet heavy demand. Another 800 million baht is allotted for promotional campaigns with online travel agents. For the Summer Blast scheme, 350 million baht is earmarked for chartered flights from China, Taiwan and South Korea, with a target of adding 140,000 tourist arrivals via 1,000 flights, said Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, deputy governor for international marketing for Asia and the South Pacific at the TAT. She said each chartered flight recording a load factor of more than 80% is eligible to receive a 350,000-baht subsidy, while those attaining a 60-79% load factor are eligible for a 300,000-baht subsidy. The TAT expects this programme to help penetrate 15 second-tier cities in China and persuade operators to fly to less busy airports in Thailand, such as Krabi and Samui. Another 250 million baht is allocated to a joint promotional campaign with commercial airlines, aiming to bringing in at least 500,000 inbound travellers. Ms Pattaraanong said in addition to Thai carriers, international airlines are also eligible to benefit from this scheme, and can apply for the subsidy based on three conditions. Airlines can submit their proposals requesting a subsidy if they are able to increase frequencies of their existing flights, open new routes to Thailand, or increase their load factor compared with their performance over the last three months. She said airlines wishing to join the scheme must commit to attaining the passenger number targets set by the TAT. Meanwhile, tour companies worldwide can participate by arranging groups of at least 30 people to travel to Thailand and stay for a minimum of four nights. The incentive for tour companies was set at 150 million baht, with a target of attracting 150,000 tourists. Ms Pattaraanong said the TAT discussed the scheme with local airlines, while the TAT's overseas offices plan to publicise the campaign to international airlines within their sphere of influence. She said every airline has shown an interest in joining the scheme and they are eager to start as soon as possible. However, the TAT is still awaiting a budget allocation, which is expected in the middle of the month, said Ms Pattaraanong. This means it is likely these projects will commence in August, she said, with the duration running through July 2026.
Bangkok Post
4 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Early birds to benefit most from planned TAT subsidies
The 750-million-baht subsidy for airlines and tour groups to stimulate the tourism industry will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, aiming to generate 33.5 billion baht in revenue, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The 'Summer Blast China & Overseas Market' programme was among seven projects worth 3.96 billion baht the government allocated to the TAT on June 24. These seven projects were estimated to generate 200 billion baht for the economy, creating 226,102 jobs and earning 7.78 billion baht in tax collection. The result should be a 49-fold return on investment, said TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool. The largest chunk of stimulus funding is 1.76 billion baht for the co-payment domestic tourism scheme. Another 800 million baht is allotted for promotional campaigns with online travel agents. For the Summer Blast scheme, 350 million baht is earmarked for chartered flights from China, Taiwan and South Korea, with a target of adding 140,000 tourist arrivals via 1,000 flights, said Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, deputy governor for international marketing for Asia and the South Pacific at the TAT. She said each chartered flight recording a load factor of more than 80% is eligible to receive a 350,000-baht subsidy, while those attaining a 60-79% load factor are eligible for a 300,000-baht subsidy. The TAT expects this programme to help penetrate 15 second-tier cities in China and persuade operators to fly to less busy airports in Thailand, such as Krabi and Samui. Another 250 million baht is allocated to a joint promotional campaign with commercial airlines, aiming to bringing in at least 500,000 inbound travellers. Ms Pattaraanong said in addition to Thai carriers, international airlines are also eligible to benefit from this scheme, and can apply for the subsidy based on three conditions. Airlines can submit their proposals requesting a subsidy if they are able to increase frequencies of their existing flights, open new routes to Thailand, or increase their load factor compared with their performance over the last three months. She said airlines wishing to join the scheme must commit to attaining the passenger number targets set by the TAT. Meanwhile, tour companies worldwide can participate by arranging groups of at least 30 people to travel to Thailand and stay for a minimum of four nights. The incentive for tour companies was set at 150 million baht, with a target of attracting 150,000 tourists. Ms Pattaraanong said the TAT discussed the scheme with local airlines, while the TAT's overseas offices plan to publicise the campaign to international airlines within their sphere of influence. She said every airline has shown an interest in joining the scheme and they are eager to start as soon as possible. However, the TAT is still awaiting a budget allocation, which is expected in the middle of the month, said Ms Pattaraanong. This means it is likely these projects will commence in August, she said, with the duration running through July 2026.
Bangkok Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Bugs being fixed in travel subsidy sign-up system
Lessons learned from previous travel subsidy schemes that cost the government 2.3 billion baht due to fraud have the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) defending the complicated registration process for the latest programme. The agency has been working on fixing problems that led to crashes on the first day of registrations on Tuesday. As of Wednesday evening, it was still deciding whether it would have to suspend registrations, in which case it would inform the public, said TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool. The TAT has also pledged to regulate appropriate room prices and guard against overcharging by hoteliers during the low-season domestic travel promotion period. The agency apologised on Wednesday for glitches in registrations for the 1.76-billion-baht co-payment scheme, which subsidises hotel rooms for domestic tourists, offering 500,000 room nights in total. Ms Thapanee said the agency had changed from using the Pao Tang application managed by Krungthai Bank in the previous scheme to its own app — Amazing Thailand — to establish data ownership and tighten security checks through verification on the state-owned ThaID app. She said the two apps could help enhance security, allowing the TAT to assure the public that registrants' personal data is protected according to national standards. According to the TAT, the new system was developed by Raventure Co, which was established in 2023. The company said its executives had experience in developing government apps, including the Mor Prom vaccination information service during the pandemic. Ms Thapanee said the registration process, which has been heavily criticised for its complexity, is needed to avoid large losses from fraud, as occurred in the past four phases of the 'We Travel Together' scheme. Since the subsidy programme was first launched during the pandemic, a total of 1,489 fraud complaints have been filed in connection with bogus bookings to claim subsidies. Of the total, 1,411 are still under investigation and only 38 have been concluded. The unresolved fraud cases caused roughly 2.34 billion baht in damage. Ms Thapanee said the major bottleneck has been access to the ThaID app, which can accommodate only 100 visitors per second. To eliminate these obstacles, the developer has bypassed the process with ThaID at the beginning. Instead, tourists will be required to verify their identity via ThaID during check-in later, she said. The agency is also upgrading its main website and has put the list of hotel and tourism products on the front page to let unregistered users search for hotels before they enrol in the scheme. Responding to complaints from users unable to obtain a one-time password (OTP) for email verification, mostly Gmail users, she said the large amount of OTP submissions at one time made Google classify them as spam. These technical hurdles were partially resolved, and the TAT assured tourists the system should run smoothly within a week. In terms of concerns about overpriced hotel rooms in the scheme, Ms Thapanee said prices should not exceed 10% above last year's low-season rate. If any hotel is found to be selling overpriced rooms, the TAT has the right to blacklist the operators from the system, she said. However, as hoteliers sought to use dynamic pricing for the co-payment system, Ms Thapanee said hotels should adopt only two fixed rates: weekdays and weekends plus holidays.
