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STAGE IN NEW TOURISM CAMPAIGN Thailand tops BBC News travel destination survey…p
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THAILAND TOPS BBC NEWS TRAVEL DESTINATION SURVEY
Asurvey by BBC News has found that Thailand is the most popular destination in Southeast Asia for travelers from Europe and North America.
The survey was conducted with members of BBC Global Minds, an online community, a proprietary panel of international news consumers from around the world, with approximately 19,000 profiled members.
The survey found that 57.4 percent of respondents said they were planning a trip to Southeast Asia and that they would choose to visit Thailand, which was more than any other country in the region.
The survey results found that visitors to Southeast Asia are often experienced world travelers, looking for new and different experiences. They typically plan to stay for between one or two weeks and prefer self planned trips over package deals. following the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Thailand has earned the top spot for having the most award-winning hotel or resort properties, according to the 14th Agoda Gold Circle Awards (GCA).
Sales, BBC News, says: “Travel has been in a state of flux since the pandemic and we are seeing a wonderful comeback throughout Southeast Asia currently for travelers and the travel industry as a whole. It is fantastic to see that travelers from across the world are planning on coming to Southeast Asia.”
The survey, which had 1,414 respondents, also found that nearly 4 in 5 Europeans who plan to visit Southeast Asia said they plan to embark on their trip within the next six months.
Data showed that travelers are prioritizing cultural and sustainable travel with 91 percent of respondents looking for unique heritage and cultural experiences at their chosen destination. In addition, 72 percent of travelers said they were conscious about minimizing their impact on the local environment.
The news comes as the Tourism Authority of Thailand has revealed that it expects North Americans to lead the resurgence of western visitors to Thailand in 2023.
According to Thitiporn Maneenate, director of the Americas region, arrivals from the United States and Canada had risen steadily during Q4 of 2022, a trend which is expected to continue throughout the winter season in North America.
The award, which evaluates real guest reviews on several factors such as value, price, service and flexibility, is presented to hotels and resorts regarded as the best by their customers.
With tourism markets opening up to international travel worldwide, this year’s Gold Circle Awards were presented to more than 2,000 properties in 41 markets.
With 246 award-winning properties, Thailand has received this accolade for the fourth consecutive year.
Taiwan took second place with 209 properties, followed by Japan with 198. India entered the Top 10 list for the first time, while South Korea, Malaysia, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam retained their spots in the top 10 rankings.
ISSUE 246 • JANUARY 2023
Happening THAILAND AIMS TO BECOME DEVELOPED COUNTRY BY 2037
The Government of Thailand has approved a plan for tertiary education development with an aim to become a developed country by 2037.
The World Bank defines a high-income economy as a nation with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of 12,696 USD or more in 2020. Thailand's GNI per capita in 2021 was 7,260 USD, according to World Bank data. of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
Thai Government Deputy Spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek was quoted by local media as saying that the first policy framework is aimed at developing people's skills and promoting the country's competitiveness and sustainable development so the nation can adjust to constant global changes.
Last month, the Thai cabinet passed a number of draft policies and strategies to serve as development frameworks for higher education, science, research, and innovation between 2023 and 2027, which were proposed by the Ministry The policy framework comprises four strategies, she said, adding that one involves economic development by promoting a value-driven and creative economy to boost competitiveness and self-reliance. The second strategy is to promote sustainable development so the country can deal with challenges and adjust to global dynamism, with key action plans including creating a low-carbon society, while the third is on the advancement in science, technology, research, and innovation with key action plans, including the targeted S-curve industries, and the fourth is to develop human resources and educational and research institutes as a basis to propel the economy, she stated.
The second draft policy framework is aimed at developing human resources, comprising three strategies, she said.
The first strategy involves capacity-building by providing education to support the life-long learning process and upgrading the quality of education and creating high-caliber personnel, while the second involves building a research ecosystem through innovative research and technology transfer through developing infrastructure or conductive factors, and the third is to push for the transformation of higher education with good governance practices, developing higher educational institutes based on their own characteristics, promoting financial security in the higher education system and pushing for digital higher education.
There are also three plans for urgent implementation within three years, such as developing high-caliber personnel to respond to BCG development, and promoting local community enterprises, the grassroots economy, SMEs, and startups, she added.
Real estate is one of the vital industries in Thailand and has played a significant role in generating revenue for the country. To understand and manage the process and transactions, there’s a lot that home buyers need to know to buy and sell property in Thailand and Hua Hin alike. So, keeping these homebuyer tips in mind is essential.
Andy Dyett, Property Expert is our Lazudi expert who will share expert tips on how to buy property in Hua Hin in this article.
To start, one of the first issues that many buyers are often concerned about is location pricing. The reason why some areas seem to cost more than others was due to the fact that some general rules on pricing tend to be based on ‘location, the desirability of the property, the facilities as well as the neighbourhood.’ Generally, the South and North of Hua Hin tend to be 10-20% less costly than in the past. However, it has now changed due to elevated land plots, better roads and upscale developments that provide high-premium design and materials. To keep it simple the beaches are more attractive, also the beach to mountains creates good options for elevated land plots for both potential and existing buyers.
Another focused area is how Hua Hin has always been popular with retirees, so we asked our Property Expert Andy Dyett for his opinions on areas that are popular among retirees as well as expats in general. Both retirees and expats are keen on playing golf and tend to choose a residence that is nearby golf courses. Mr Dyett, also added that retirees favoured areas with great access to golf courses. Locations such as Banyan Golf Course located in the South and Black Mountain in the North have seen major growth from developers looking to acquire land at reasonable prices. Mr Dyett also added further that for expats even though the South of Hua Hin is higher in price but it has more attractive properties. In addition, buying land plots on a golf course, thus, is still considered one of the best investments due to the aesthetics of the open spaces and the surrounding environment. “Developers are also always looking for cost-effective value in the land so they can sell affordable homes. The individuals are willing to pay more if they get what they were looking for. For those that purchase the land plots, they tend to head 20-30 minutes to the South as the prices are very attractive and it is a great investment opportunity and I agree with that,” said Andy Dyett.
Next, we move to a topic about the condo market in Hua Hin, as this market is growing gradually and steadily as buyers prefer condos with communal facilities as opposed to owning a villa. Villa will require them to maintain not just the villa but the pool and the landscaped garden. The condo pricing is also transparent as buyers know the value of the condo as well as the average cost when compared to villas which are harder to benchmark. Moreover, condos that are situated on the hillside away from the beach are much more difficult to sell even at lower prices. Mr Dyett also stated further that he sees that the airport will become a significant factor in this market. This means that better access to Hua Hin could attract foreign as well as Thai buyers.
Lastly, we ask our expert if there is any advice for first-time buyers of the Hua Hin real estate market. We learned that it is critical for buyers to select a property based on its location value.Also, if the property is withAndy Dyett, Property Expert
in a villa development, it should have good security, services, and communal areas well-maintained as it will add value to the property. Areas that are on the rise with infrastructure and amenities are also something buyers should look out for, as they will add value to the area as well as the property. Mr Dyett added that buyers should not overlook the local law as each provincial area may have slightly different laws. So it is important to speak to the experts first.
We hope that this article has been helpful to you in one way or another. If you would like to explore the property in Hua Hin, please feel free to contact us today at Lazudi. Our highly experienced team will be happy to assist you!
ISSUE 246 • JANUARY 2023
Happening THAILAND’S TOP GOOGLE SEARCHES OF 2022 REVEALED - HUA HIN AMONG MOST SEARCHED DESTINATIONS
Curious to find out what other people in Thailand were searching for in 2022? Google has put out its annual report.
December is the time of year when people look back on the past twelve months, and Google has done exactly that with its 2022 Year in Search report.
The tech company released the list to highlight the top trending searches in Thailand and across the world over the previous year.
Google builds its lists by identifying top trending search queries, which are searches that have a high spike in traffic over a sustained period compared to last year.
In Thailand, government aid and stimulus schemes were among the most searched words for the fourth consecutive year.
And while the pandemic is over in most locations and with the COVID-19 situation improving considerably in 2022, the aftermath continues to impact people’s daily lives, which could go someway to explaining why the government’s various financial assistance packages continue to top the searches of people in Thailand.
Ranked first in Thailand’s top-10 searches was “State welfare card”, as people continued to try and deal with the economic impact of COVID-19 and the rise in the cost of living.
Second were searches for the actress Nida Patcharaveerapong, better known by nickname Tangmo, who died in February after falling from a speedboat in the Chao Phraya River. Tangmo’s death dominated news coverage for weeks.
Thai police ruled that no foul play was involved in Tangmo’s death, but pressed charges against six people for “recklessness” and the involvement in her death.
Third place went to another stimulus scheme, the “Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) Phase 5”.
Under the scheme, the government covered 50 per cent of bills for food and basic necessities when paid via the Pao Tang app at participating shops. The subsidy was capped at 150 baht per day at a total of 800 baht per person.
“Tai Lar” (The Giver), a popular Thai drama series was the fourth most searched for term in 2022, followed by Indian film “Gangubai Kathiawadi”, which is the story of a young girl sold into sex slavery who rises to own a brothel and procure rights and protections for sex workers in Mumbai, India, in the 1950s and ‘60s.
‘Botnoi Voice’ a web application for creating voice from text (Text to Speech) powered by AI that teachers and students use in teaching and learning, which ranked sixth.
The popular online game Wordle was seventh, while eighth and ninth places went to the Thai drama series “Duay Rak Lae Haklang” (P.S. I Hate Your) and “Khue Thoe” (Bad Romeo). “Sor Thor 02,” the government’s online platform for vocational education institutes, was in tenth place.
Thai people following news both domestically and internationally
News regarding the actress Tangmo was the most searched item in the news category and the second most searched item overall.
In addition, Thais were searching for news related to the mass shooting at the children’s centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province in October.
Thais also followed news on global events, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and “Itaewon News,” a tragedy that occurred in the heart of Seoul.
Tourism recovery corresponds with Google data
With the improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the country, more Thais started traveling and this corresponded with Google Trends data, the company said.
According to Google, searches for “travel” increased 53% in 2022 compared to the same time a year previously. The most searched for destinations were Bangkok in first place, followed by “Suphanburi”, “Hua Hin”, “Chiang Mai” and “Rayong”, which ranked in second to fifth place, respectively.
Regarding international travel, destinations that are a relatively short flight from Thailand were the most searched for. Ranked first was Singapore, followed by Vietnam and Laos. In fourth and fifth place respectively were Japan and Korea.
Google said Thais used Search to find out about different “methods”. In this category, “ATK test method” was the most popular search, followed by “How to register for a state welfare card” and “Covid treatment method” in second and third, respectively. “How to Play the Rubik’s Cube” and “How to Make Mango Sticky Rice” were also included in the list this year. Globally, Google’s Year in Search report also found that the popular online game Wordle was the most searched for term overall. Searches for the game were found to have peaked in February, a short time after it was bought by the New York Times.
The second most searched for term of the year globally was “India v England” after the two countries faced one another in the Cricket World Cup.
The third most searched term was Ukraine, which also topped the most searched for news topics. The death of Queen Elizabeth was the second most searched for news topic, followed by “election results”.
Johnny Depp was the most searched person globally, following his televised defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, who was also the third most searched person of the year.
Other popular and notable search terms were:
Trending news
1. Tangmo Nida 2. Mass shooting in Nongbua Lamphu 3. “Phra Bida” cult leader 4. Russia-Ukraine war 5. Nong Chompoo murder case in Mukdahan
Trending domestic destinations
1. Bangkok 2. Suphanburi 3. Hua Hin 4. Chiang Mai 5. Rayong
Trending overseas destinations
1. Singapore 2. Vietnam 3. Laos 4. Japan 5. Korea
Trending people
1. Chinese singer Jackson Wang 2. Prinn Panitchpakdi, former Democrat deputy leader 3. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt 4. Actress Amena “Mo” Pinit 5. Actor Thanapon ‘Tle’ Nimtaisuk
The annual Banyan Club Championship 2022 was staged on 17th - 18th December 2022 at Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin. The premier club event of the year was contested over two days with the crowning of the Club Champions for 2022, welcoming Dewey Davis and Kimberly Pech, as respective men’s and ladies’ Champions into the Banyan Golf Club’s exclusive hall of fame. Thank you to all participants who joined for the fun tournament, and stay tuned for 2023 activities and many more fun social golf events at Banyan Golf Club! Khun Pinyo Jansawang, Villa Market Hua Hin Index Store Manager providing Sarah Dean with a shopping trolley that was used to help distribute toys and other gifts to underprivileged children in Hua Hin. The toys had been donated by a group of expats and locals. คุุณภิิญโญ จัันทร์์สว่่าง ผู้้�จััดการ์ร์�านว่ิลล่า มาร์์เก็ต หััว่หัิน สาขา Index มอบ สิ�งของใหั�กับซาร์่าหั์ ดีน เพื่่�อส่งมอบใหั�กับเด็กด�อยโอกาสในหััว่หัิน
At Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin, we started our Christmas celebrations early with our Banyan Christmas Scramble on 21st December 2022. Celebrating victory in the Christmas Scramble was the team of Ken Wilkie, Ryan Wilkie, Meaw Wilkie & Joe Morrisey (HCAP 3.8), Net score 56.2 (-16) And special prizes for the best festive dressed golfer goes to Seppo Hujanen and Filiz Hordern. Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin would like to thank you to all participants and all the winners who joined us for Christmas fun. As a further endorsement of its quality, Banyan Residences has been named as the “Best Housing Development – Hua Hin” at the Property Guru Thailand Property Awards 2022. Judged by a group of industry specialists, the award was based upon the contemporary design of the villas, their liveability and surrounding facilities, which include the highly acclaimed 18-hole Banyan Golf Club and onsite Be Well Medical Center. Banyan Hua Hin’s senior management team collected the accolade at a black-tie gala ceremony at The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok.
Daryl Long (left), Colin Dyer (right) from Phoenix Golf Society, Jonathan Fairfield (centre) at the Monsoon Valley and Jungle Aid charity jazz event Daryl Long (ซ�าย), Colin Dyer (ขว่า) จัาก Phoenix Golf Society, Jonathan Fairfield (กลาง) ที� Monsoon Valley ในงานแจั๊สการ์กุศลของ Jungle Aid
Ladies of Hua Hin partying at Cool Breeze
กลุ่มสาว่ ๆ ในหััว่หัิน ปาร์์ตีที� Cool Breeze
Father Christmas and carol singers in Father Teds. On December 19, the Ted’s Christmas Pub Olympics Fundraiser raised over 30,000 THB for Mercy House Foundation - บานเมตตา. John Murphy with Paul King GM of True Arena and Richard Buckle from Surf FM at the Hua Hin World Cup
คุุณพื่่อคุร์ิสต์มาสและคุณะนักร์�องปร์ะสานเสียงเพื่ลง Christmas ที� Father Teds เม่�อว่ันที� 19 ธัันว่าคุม ในงาน Ted’s Christmas Pub Olympics Fundraiser ได�ร์ะดมทุนกว่่า 30,000 บาท ใหั�กับม้ลนธับ�านเมตตา
John Murphy กับ Paul King General ผู้้�จััดการ์ทัว่ไปของ True Arena และ Richard Buckle จัาก Surf FM ที�งาน Hua Hin World Cup
Guido Campigotto, F&B Manager from Monsoon Valley Vineyard presenting Jungle Aid with a cheque for 136,000 THB Guido Campigotto ผู้้�จััดการ์แผู้นกอาหัาร์และเคุร์่�องด่�ม จัาก Monsoon Valley Vineyard มอบเช็็คุม้ลคุ่า 136,000 บาท ใหั�กับม้ลนธัิ Jungle Aid ในงานแจั๊สการ์กุศล
Mr. Kittipong Sukphakkul, Deputy Governor of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, presided over the opening ceremony of the “Thai cloth can be worn by all ages and can be worn every day” fashion show at the Holiday Inn Resort Vana Nava Hua Hin.
Andy Dyett winner of Orchid Palm Homes Most Properties Sold in 2022.
Participants of the 20th Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade at Monsoon Valley. ผู้้�เข�าร์ว่มงาน หััว่หัิน ว่ินเทจัคุาร์์ พื่าเหัร์ด คุร์ั�งที� 20 ที� Monsoon Valley นายกิตตพื่งษ์์ สุขภิาคุกุล ร์องผู้้�ว่่าร์าช็การ์จัังหัว่ัดปร์ะจัว่บคุร์ขันธั์เป็น ปร์ะธัานเปิดงานแฟช็ั�นโช็ว่์ “ผู้�าไทย ใส่ได�ทุกว่ัย ใส่ได�ทุกว่ัน” ณ โร์งแร์ม ฮอลิเดย์ อินน์ ร์ีสอร์์ท ว่านา นาว่า หััว่หัิน
