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☆ COVID curbs over, China's tourists hit Thai beaches for first time in 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kwang Jirapornkuhakan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Colorful umbrellas are seen in a restaurant as tourists enjoy a beach in the island of Phuket in Thailand January 19, 2023. Previously, when I was here, I ate mango sticky rice, which was delicious. Back in China I kept thinking about the mango sticky rice here. The Chinese return was welcomed by businesses, despite some wariness about a huge spike in COVID infections in China after Beijing ended its zero-COVID policy. The Thai government is expecting at least five million Chinese tourist arrivals this year, with some 300,000 coming in the first quarter.

☆ Thai elephant camp adds more jumbos as Chinese tourists return
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Kwang Jirapornkuhakan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] A Chinese tourist rides on an elephant in a jungle park ahead of Lunar New Year in Phuket, Thailand January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaPHUKET, Thailand, Jan 21 (Reuters) - An elephant camp in Thailand has purchased six new jumbos to welcome tourists and returning Chinese visitors, offering activities from elephant rides to elephant showers, the owner said. Pang Chang Kamala Elephant Camp on the resort island of Phuket is also adding programmes such as elephant care due to a rise in bookings after the Lunar New Year, camp owner Wittaya Taweeros told Reuters. With 25 elephants now, the camp can receive 300 tourists per day, up from 200, he added. China's reopening raises hopes for the return of Chinese visitors, who accounted for nearly a third of Thailand's 40 million foreign tourist arrivals in pre-pandemic 2019.

REUTERS/Jorge Silva/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports last year declined due to infrastructure outages, U.S. sanctions and rising competition in its key Asia market despite assistance from ally Iran, according to shipping data and documents. Iran expanded its role in Venezuela last year, sending supplies to boost exports and technicians to repair a refinery. Venezuela's crude production averaged some 721,000 bpd according to a preliminary data for December and OPEC reports. A U.S. license granted to Chevron Corp (CVX.N) to recover output and exports in Venezuela will take effect this year. A global appetite for fuel alternatives boosted its oil byproducts exports, which added millions of dollars last year.

☆ Factbox: What is APEC and which leaders are attending Bangkok summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A general view outside of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center venue during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, at Asoke Junction, in Bangkok, Thailand November 17, 2022. The United States will be the APEC host in 2023. CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPINGXi met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Bangkok on Thursday for talks. RUSSIA FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ANDREI BELOUSOVBelousov will represent President Valadmir Putin at APEC. PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER JAMES MARAPEMarape will hold meetings with U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken.

[1/5] A person enters a cannabis shop near the venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand November 17, 2022. Since Thailand decriminalised cannabis this year shops selling homegrown and imported strains, pre-rolled joints and gummies sprang up rapidly. A cannabis regulation bill to govern cultivation, sale, and consumption has been delayed in parliament, causing confusion over just aspects will be legal. The president of Thailand's association of forensic physicians, Smith Srisont, petitioned a court last week to re-list it as a narcotic. Akira Wongwan, the chief executive of a medical cannabis business, Adam Group, said profit margins for recreational cannabis were "super high".

☆ Thailand's floating basket festival
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A boy swims in a fountain at Saphan Hin park as he helps to place a Krathong, or a "floating basket", in the water amid a yearly festival during which rafts of neatly folded banana leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and incense, are offered to...moreA boy swims in a fountain at Saphan Hin park as he helps to place a Krathong, or a "floating basket", in the water amid a yearly festival during which rafts of neatly folded banana leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and incense, are offered to thank the water goddess for good luck and for using her water to grow crops and support all life, in Phuket, Thailand November 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jorge Silva TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYClose

☆ Extreme piercings put devotees in soul-cleansing trance at Thai festival
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A medium woman with her mouth pierced is portrayed while in trance at the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket Town, Thailand, October 2. Worshippers on Thailand's Phuket island have celebrated a nine-day Taoist festival, with many piercing their...moreA medium woman with her mouth pierced is portrayed while in trance at the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket Town, Thailand, October 2. Worshippers on Thailand's Phuket island have celebrated a nine-day Taoist festival, with many piercing their faces with metal spikes and walking on hot coals to show devotion to deities. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaClose

☆ Ritual piercings mark annual Taoist festival in Thailand
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A medium man with his mouth pierced is portrayed while in trance during the Kathu Shrine procession amidst celebrations of the annual vegetarian festival, observed by Taoist devotees from the Thai-Chinese community in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, in Phuket Town, Thailand October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaPHUKET, Thailand Oct 4 (Reuters) - Worshippers on Thailand's Phuket island have celebrated a nine-day Taoist festival, with many piercing their faces with metal spikes and walking on hot coals to show devotion to deities. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival, which was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, drew thousands of people from the ethnic Chinese community, who marched from a temple in traditional costume. Devotees, who abstain from sex, alcohol, and meat during the festival, say the piercings symbolise repentance for sins and is meant to ward off evil spirits. The piercing is believed to have been influenced by the Indian Thaipusam festival.

☆ Thai Aug exports rise 7.5% y/y, slightly lower than forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA view of the port of Bangkok, Thailand May 26, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD PACKAGE - SEARCH BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD SEPTEMBER 26 FOR ALL IMAGES/File PhotoBANGKOK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Thailand's customs-based exports rose 7.5% in August from a year earlier, the commerce minister said on Monday, slightly lower than analysts' expectations. That compares with a forecast rise of 7.7% for August in a Reuters poll, and after July's 4.3% increase. In the January-August period, exports rose 11% year on year, Jurin Laksanawisit told a news conference. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Satawasin Staporncharnchai Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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