Top National Thailand Stories From the Past Week: Chinese Tour Groups arrive, Warning of Romance Scams, and more

By
Goongnang Suksawat
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Here is a look at the top NATIONAL Thailand stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, Monday, February 6th, 2023, to Sunday, February 12th, 2023. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.

Let’s get started and see what the top stories were!

1. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s recent exclusive interview with Chinese media outlet CCTV has been viewed more than 490 million times on cctvplus.com.

After the video went viral, the Chinese media reported that Anutin is now like a celebrity in China. His role in welcoming the first group of Chinese tourists traveling to Thailand on January 9th really added to his popularity in China.

2. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy and Spring Airlines welcomed the first Chinese group tours on Monday, February 6th.

The first group tour of 40 Chinese tourists departed from Guangzhou, China and arrived at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok on a Spring Airlines flight No. 9C7419, after three years of harsh Covid-19 restrictions in China.

3. More than 50,000 tourists joined in the Full Moon Party on Phangan Island.

The Full Moon party was mainly run after midnight on February 6th and was at the Rin Beach in Baan Tai. Rooms were fully booked and restaurants were full of customers.

4. 3,660 Thai soldiers have set a new Guinness World Record after performing the largest Muay Thai Wai Kru ceremony as part of the government’s attempt to push Muay Thai as the country’s unique soft power.

Muay Thai is now officially in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest outdoor gathering and synchronized performance of the Wai Kru Ceremony.

5. The Thai Royal Police came out to warn Thais not to fall victim to romance scams after statistics showed that over 403 police reports in January 2023 were related to love frauds, resulting in substantial financial losses to numerous victims totaling over 190 million baht.

As Valentine’s Day is approaching, Thai Police decided to raise awareness about romance scams that are still rampant in the country, with women in their 40s being the most targeted, according to statistics.

And, that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!

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Goongnang Suksawat
Goong Nang is a News Translator who has worked professionally for multiple news organizations in Thailand for many years and has worked with The Pattaya News for more than three years. Specializes primarily in local news for Phuket, Pattaya, and also national news, with emphasis on translation between Thai to English and working as an intermediary between reporters and English-speaking writers. Originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, but lives in Phuket and Krabi except when commuting between the three.