Thailand's foreign visitors down more than 6% y/y so far in 2025
There were about 18.98 million foreign visitors during the period, it said in a statement. China was the largest source market with 2.64 million visitors.
Last month, the Bank of Thailand cut its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals this year to 35 million from 37.5 million. There was a record of nearly 40 million visitors in 2019, before the pandemic.
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The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Still throwing shrimp on the barbie: Tourism Australia's advertising is stuck in a 1980s time warp
Tourism Australia has just launched its latest global A$130m campaign, 'Come and Say G'day'. It's a sequel to the 2022 ad featuring brand ambassador Ruby the Roo. The ad is a feast of sweeping drone shots, saturated colours, iconic landmarks and feel-good energy. Friendly animals, iconic landscapes and a familiar message: come and say g'day. Tourism Australia is rolling out five tailored ads for key markets. Each features celebrity endorsements: Robert Irwin in the United States; Nigella Lawson in the United Kingdom; and with stars from China (Yosh Yu), Japan (Abareru-kun) and India (Sara Tendulkar) fronting the others. It's a smart shift that acknowledges what tourism marketers have long known: you can't please everyone with one ad. But despite its polish, the campaign recycles old-school imagery – quirky, sunny, laid-back Australia – offering a nostalgic view that feels stuck in 1984, not tuned to 2025. Australian tourism ads have long leaned on a small set of cultural cliches. Perhaps the most famous is the one which also created the mould: Paul Hogan's famous 1984 'shrimp on the barbie' campaign. It was the first widely aired campaign to crystallise the now-familiar image of Australia for international audiences: laid-back, larrikin, sun-soaked. It deliberately played into stereotypes Americans found appealing – friendly locals, casual charm and a wild but welcoming landscape and wildlife. Many have said this wasn't just a tourism ad but a nation-branding exercise that framed Australians as approachable, humorous and uncomplicated. Subsequent campaigns have continued to echo this formula, sometimes ironically, as in the 2018 Dundee reboot, and sometimes earnestly, like the controversial 2006 line 'So where the bloody hell are you?' (which was banned in the UK). A 2008 Baz Luhrmann-directed campaign brought cinematic flair to the same stereotypes and imagery, tying it to his film Australia. With a $40m budget and a rollout across 22 countries, it leaned on emotional storytelling and sweeping outback visuals. Despite its ambition, the campaign drew mixed reviews. Tourism operators said it felt out of touch, more fantasy than invitation, with some questioning whether its landscapes even looked uniquely Australian. Australia has changed a lot in 40 years, but tourism ads have returned again and again to familiar themes: white sandy beaches, red desert landscapes, barbecues and blokey humour. These images helped build Australia's global brand in the late 20th century, especially in English-speaking markets. But times have changed, and tourists are savvier. They want to see the real culture of a place. And here we are again: outback peril, thieving emus and the shrimp/prawn clash feels like a 1984 throwback. For a country in the 21st century that prides itself on diversity, the 2025 campaign feels strangely one-dimensional. There are flashes of multiculturalism from the international stars, but the campaign centres on broad white stereotypes of 'Aussie-ness': the blokey pub with the wisecracking bartender, sunburned adventurers speeding on a 4WD in the outback, and laid-back lunches debating the pronunciation of imported dishes. There's no meaningful presence of contemporary Indigenous voices or storytelling – just the echo of a didgeridoo, a fleeting image of Uluru as a background slide and a brief cameo from Kamilaroi actor and playwright Thomas Weatherall. There's nothing about Australia's vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods, food scenes or festivals beyond the usual mainstream. The campaign positions Australia as an adventure playground, but doesn't say anything about who lives here. This is particularly disappointing given Tourism Australia's own research shows travellers are increasingly interested in meaningful, authentic experiences. People want to connect with locals, understand cultural stories and travel more sustainably. National tourism campaigns face enormous scrutiny. This often means bold ideas become watered down. Creativity is sacrificed and so is the chance to tell a richer, more honest story about who we are. Tourism ads don't need to lose their charm. Ruby the Roo is endearing and memorable. But the way we tell stories about Australia needs to evolve. Internationally, there are successful campaigns that move beyond cliches. New Zealand's long-running 100% Pure New Zealand campaign includes strong environmental messaging and Māori cultural narratives. Canada's Indigenous Tourism campaign puts First Nations voices front and centre. Australia could take a leaf out of their books. Celebrity cameos are appealing, but if we want the world to see our real and wonderfully multicultural Australia, we need to let our local guides, community operators and cultural custodians tell their stories. For 40 years, we've rolled out variations of the same campaign, relying on familiar cliches while ignoring repeated calls for deeper, more inclusive storytelling. Tourism campaigns don't just sell destinations. They tell stories about national identity. They shape how we see ourselves, and how the world sees us. Right now, we're telling a story that's safe, surface-level and stuck in a 1980s time warp. Anita Manfreda is a senior lecturer in tourism at Torrens University Australia and Simon Pawson is a professor of tourism, Torrens University Australia This article was originally published in the Conversation
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Singapore lender DBS maintains 2025 outlook, Q2 profit beats forecasts with 1% rise
SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Singapore's biggest bank DBS Group ( opens new tab maintained its 2025 outlook after posting a 1% rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday that beat expectations on the back of higher total income. "While external uncertainties remain, we have opportunities ahead of us," Chief Executive Officer Tan Su Shan said in a statement. "Our proactive management of the balance sheet puts us in a good position to navigate the interest rate cycle, while strong capital and liquidity ensure we are well placed to support customers," she added. Tan maintained the 2025 outlook in general, including anticipating group net interest income slightly above 2024 levels, and net profit to be below 2024 levels, according to her observations and slides accompanying the results. DBS's results followed that of smaller peer Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp ( opens new tab, which posted on Friday an in-line second quarter net profit, but cut its 2025 net interest income expectations and flagged persisting tariff uncertainty. Major global lenders such as HSBC(HSBA.L), opens new tab and Standard Chartered(STAN.L), opens new tab reported a mixed bag of results last week, with some also highlighting the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest lender by assets, said April-June net profit climbed to S$2.82 billion ($2.19 billion) from S$2.79 billion a year earlier. That beat the mean estimate of S$2.77 billion from three analysts, according to LSEG data. It declared an ordinary dividend of 60 Singapore cents per share and a Capital return dividend of 15 Singapore cents per share for the second quarter DBS' second quarter return on equity declined to 16.7%, from 18.2% a year ago. Net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, dropped to 2.05% in the second quarter from 2.14% in the same period a year earlier. ($1 = 1.2848 Singapore dollars)
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Molly-Mae Hague soaks up the sun on family holiday in Turkey with Tommy Fury and their daughter Bambi after facing backlash for saying she 'hasn't done one fun thing all summer'
Molly-Mae Hague looked in good spirits as she enjoyed a family holiday to Turkey with her partner Tommy Fury and their daughter Bambi on Wednesday. The former Love Island star, 26, has been soaking up the sun in the resort city of Antalya after recently spending time in St. Tropez. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Molly-Mae shared a photo of herself in a black bikini top and cream linen trousers as she cradled two-year-old Bambi in her arms. The influencer also posted a video of boxer Tommy, also 26, as he pushed Bambi along on an inflatable unicorn in the pool. Molly-Mae captioned the clip: 'If we can't come by unicorn then we aren't coming x'. Another photo saw Tommy posing with Bambi outside their hotel with Molly-Mae writing: 'We don't want to leave!' The star also posted an adorable photo of her daughter in a pair of round sunglasses and a hat, captioning it 'YOU' with a heart. It comes after Molly-Mae was accused of 'always moaning' in recent weeks after complaining she'd 'not done one fun thing all summer' despite jetting off to multiple destinations. Prior to her current trip, she travelled business class to one of the most luxurious hotels in the UAE, the five-star Jumeirah Al Naseem, where rooms cost £14K a night. To date, the millionaire Love Island star has spent the warmer months enjoying first class trips to Dubai, Paris, Saint Tropez and Wimbledon 's Centre Court, where she was greeted like Hollywood royalty after being invited by tournament sponsor Evian. If that wasn't enough time away from home, that month Molly-Mae also visited private members' club Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds. Molly-Mae treated herself to a couple of nights in one of the cabins, where members can enjoy spa facilities, country bike rides and tennis. In May, she flew on a private jet to Disneyland Paris to celebrate her 26th birthday alongside Tommy, their daughter and some of her best friends. She shared pictures from inside the jet alongside photos complete with birthday cake, balloons and plenty of Minnie Mouse ears. Come June, Molly-Mae told her YouTube followers she was jetting off yet again. First to Germany for two nights for a 'secret project' and then on to the South of France to shoot the summer campaign for her clothing brand Maebe. Basking in the sunshine at a luxury villa in St Tropez, the influencer shared various snaps of herself lounging on sunbeds and dining at luxury restaurants. Later that month, Molly-Mae was whisked back to the Cotswolds for a 'surprise staycation'. She also faced criticism after complaining about a recent £86,000 motorhome holiday. Molly-Mae's sister Zoe Rae has also come under fire for her 'tone deaf' posts of late after revealing she had fled Bali for Dubai after just 48 hours because it didn't live up to her expectations. In her latest YouTube video, Molly-Mae claimed that she 'didn't care' about the uproar but has been left 'scared' about discussing anything 'controversial' She also spent time on a work trip in St Tropez Her vlog also saw her struggling with the difficulties of motherhood and sharing an update on her relationship with Tommy. Filming herself in the driving seat and Bambi in the back she said: 'I'm trying so so hard to stay positive but, I feel like I need to keep my camera running all day so you can see like every single thing, [Bambi] is a huge problem, [She] screams [I] can't even get like socks and shoes on'. 'I don't care who tells me I am out of touch with reality or all this stuff thats going on on T ikTok at the minute, I don't care i'm not going to not talk about it'. She later went on: 'I feel like I don't want to talk about anything controversial anymore because in the last video I said some things I probably could have worded better and even with all the motherhood things I am talking about at the minute, it's just a lot'. 'Debunking that whole thing about me feeling like I shouldn't talk about what is going on in the day because I am scared about what people will think and what they have to say about it'. Moving on to Tommy, with whom she rekindled her romance earlier this year, she explained why he hadn't featured in her Vlogs despite them being back together. 'I've see so many comments saying "[My sister] Zoe is more the dad" I only vlog when I am not with Tommy, I am with Tommy literally 80% of the week and he is with Bambi majority of the week,' 'But I Vlog when we are here and he is at his because it's just something that I am not ready to like open up with yet and like flinging the camera around like when we're a family'. Before adding:'I just think like we're not there yet and still figuring out life and living situations. I'm not ready to vlog like we used to'. Last week fans blasted the TV personality for 'always moaning' after after she said she'd 'not done one fun thing all summer' despite jetting off to multiple destinations. She said: 'I don't care who tells me I am out of touch with reality or all this stuff thats going on on TikTok at the minute, I don't care i'm not going to not talk about it' She said in her vlog: 'I said to a friend the other day, that I'm going to make it to the end of summer having not done one fun thing.' She then spoke to her sister and said: 'Zoe, I haven't socialised once. I'm going to get to the end of this summer having not done one social fun thing. 'I haven't a life. That's not good is it. Summer will end and I've not done one fun social thing.' It left some fans open-mouthed as they called out how she failed to acknowledge the three holidays she's already been on this year. Some comments read: 'She's a millionaire, she can literally wake up tomorrow and do whatever the hell she wants', 'Wimbledon, lunches, Spain, Dubai, France, Centre Parcs... let's normalise that', 'This was so jarring because she can casually spend 6k in Dior on an outfit to log to Wimbledon then complains she has no time for herself', 'Why does she always want us to feel sorry for her?' The mum-of-one - in this year alone - has been on no expense-spared trips to Dubai, Budapest and even Disneyland in 2025. Back in March she and Tommy took baby Bambi on a family holiday to the United Arab Emirates, marking a reunion holiday for the clan. Just a month later Tommy had treated Molly to a European trip as the pair enjoyed downtime in Budapest. During their break, they stayed at The Pullman, a five-star hotel where prices start from at least £500 per night. Meanwhile, in May the doting parents took Bambi to Disneyland Paris where they enjoyed a lavish stay at the park's resort. It comes after her candid complaints about a recent £86,000 motorhome holiday her family went on - after Tommy said their daughter Bambi shouldn't be spoilt with five star trips. The family were travelling on a swanky Elddis Avalon 255 motorhome. Yet Molly-Mae revealed the trip had been struck with delays, leaving Bambi 'overtired and overstimulated'. She explained: 'Tommy has bought a motorhome and we spent our first weekend in the motorhome this weekend. Obviously, being us, we went in feet first and decided to go to the Isle of Man. She said in her vlog: 'I said to a friend the other day, that I'm going to make it to the end of summer having not done one fun thing. 'Tommy's family were spending the weekend in the Isle of Man. I was feeling spontaneous so we literally booked the ferry to the Isle of Man an hour before we needed to leave. 'We'd never used the motorhome before, we needed to pack it up, sort Bambi, I just had this wave of 'you only live once, have a bit of fun. 'Bambi doesn't need to be so perfectly routine every day, she's not a newborn anymore. 'I've got so stuck in my ways with the fact that her routine is her routine and I don't really steer away from it. 'I'm not gonna feel bad for that because that is what works for me and that is what works for Bambi and Tommy, so that's fine.' She then added of when things started to go wrong: 'So anyway, booked the ferry, packed the motorhome up and nearly didn't make the ferry but that's another story and then there was a two hour delay. 'This ferry, which was already gonna get us in at 11:30pm, which was already severely triggering me because Bambi goes to bed at 7pm, was not fine. It was giving me a prime example as to why the routine works for us. 'It was one of those moments where strangers come up to you and are like 'can I help? Is there anything I can do?' 'She was screaming that much for four hours straight. The boat basically had a malfunction and it wouldn't move for like two hours so we had a huge delay. 'She was so, so, so overtired and overstimulated - Bambi is so routine, she is the opposite of flexible.' And when they arrived things continued to go downhill, as she said: 'We managed to get to the Isle of Man at 1:30am in the morning. 'We didn't know where we were, what we were doing, we were going to a different campsite to Tommy's family. It was just a lot. 'We had to make our bed out of this sofa, I was like 'I'm really out of my depth, I'm struggling. The next day, Bambi was so tired, she was just screaming, literally screaming, so, so unhappy. Meanwhile her sister Zoe came under fire for complaining about a recent trip too. Molly-Mae's influencer sister was recently mocked by fans for leaving Bali after just 48 hours because it didn't live up to her expectations. Instead she and her husband Danny made a last minute decision to fly to Dubai instead after Zoe, 28, took to social media to admit 'something wasn't quite right'. The fitness influencer had planned the trip to Indonesia with her husband Danny to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. And despite staying in a huge sea view room at the Radisson Blu, a five-star hotel, they decided to leave early and jet to Dubai instead. Zoe explained that Bali looks better on social media than in real life, as influencers make it look luxurious, despite it being a developing country. In a YouTube video, Zoe told the camera: 'Since landing in Bali, something for us wasn't quite right. 'We came here with high expectations because we had seen on social media that everyone was having such a lovely time. Lovely places to eat and beaches, and lovely gyms and coffee shops. 'But I don't think the reality of Bali is shown much at all, and I do think it is down to a lot of influencers posting the more luxury side of things.' She added: 'Before joining the army, I spent five months travelling South East Asia. I did Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, I did a lot and spent time in these countries. But there is something very different about Bali. 'We got told Uluwatu where we are now is one of the best places to go, so if this is one of the better places, I'm not sure where the other places are like. 'I wasn't going to sit down and say anything, but people want to know.' Danny then joined the video and said: 'You either go on holiday to travel and experience culture or you want to go away and relax.' Zoe continued: 'Yeah, and we could have got a flight tomorrow as today is our anniversary, but time is precious and we just want to get out, and why delay it. 'We missed the mark, maybe we didn't do our own research, maybe it is our own fault. I did a lot of research though. 'I think it is just personal preference, and our preference was that this isn't for us, and we are making the executive decision to go enjoy our anniversary somewhere we know that we love and can relax and can drink the water.'
