Why the ‘The White Lotus effect' hasn't returned tourists to this tropical paradise
Thailand 's foreign visitor numbers dropped for the fourth consecutive month in May, down 14 per cent to 2.6 million, after the government set high hopes for tourist numbers following the success of The White Lotus.
The number of Chinese tourists, who make up the largest proportion of visitors to Thailand, has fallen by nearly one million this year due to fears over scam centres on the Myanmar border, as well as a recent earthquake.
Flights booked from China between June and August show a 15 per cent decline compared to last year.
But there has been a rise in Western visitors, with US tourists increasing by 12 per cent.
The government reported a 20 per cent increase in tourists from the UK between January and May.
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The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Uber brings helicopter taxis to the Amalfi Coast
Uber has announced that customers will be able to book helicopters in minutes in Italy this summer to beat crowds. From 26 July to 23 August, travellers on Italy's Amalfi Coast can reserve a private Uber Copter to take them between Sorrento and Capri using the Uber app for €250 (around £184) per head. The dual-pilot helicopter service will operate every Saturday and Sunday with a 9am departure from Sorrento and 5pm return from Capri. The journey includes door-to-door transportation to and from the helipad and is available for groups of up to six passengers. The American transport company, best known for its taxis, is also launching the Uber Boat in Italy with private charters for up to 12 people available between 26 July until 24 August. Travellers will sail from Sorrento Marina on Italian Gozzo 35 boats, with ample opportunity to soak in the coastline's most breathtaking spots on the four-hour trip. Each trip comes with its own personal skipper and complimentary snacks and beverages. This summer is set to be the southern coastline's busiest on record following the launch of international flights at Salerno Airport. The Amalfi Coast, famed for its pastel-coloured fishing villages and excellent food, is one of Italy's most popular tourist spots, attracting around five million tourists a year. Very narrow roads link the most popular towns on the coastline meaning travellers face traffic bottlenecks and competition over seasonal ferries. Uber said it is responding to the rise in demand from international customers for Uber's mobility services, which increased by up to 25 per cent last summer in places like Rome, Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast. It added that more than 400,000 international customers used the Uber app in Italy during the holiday period in 2024. Anabel Diaz, vice president, EMEA Mobility at Uber, said: 'At Uber, we strive to help our customers go anywhere, wherever they are travelling. Italy is fast becoming one of our most popular tourist destinations, with travellers turning to the Uber app to help make their holiday travel stress-free. This summer, we're adding a series of unforgettable experiences that will make travelling by land, sea or air more magical than ever before.' Customers are required to book at least 48 in advance via the Uber Reserve from anywhere in Italy beginning on 25 June for both the Uber Copter and Uber Boat. The availability of Uber Copter and Uber Boat is expected to be limited and subject to weather conditions.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
I ditched the UK to live on a cheap island with my kids – I was sick of splashing cash on nursery fees and bills
A MUM has shared how she ditched the UK for sunny Thailand with her kids and husband. Lauren took to social media and shared why she left England and has no regrets in uprooting her family to South East Asia. The mum-of-two revealed that she and her family decided the cost of living and their busy schedule was too much. Instead of putting up with it, they sold their house and bought a one-way ticket to Thailand for a new life. She said: "We didn't leave because we hated the UK. "We left because life started to feel like one long checklist we didn't remember choosing. Wake up. Rush. Work. Nursery. School. Bills. Repeat. "We wanted more presence, more connection, more sunsets and slow mornings. "So we sold almost everything, booked a one-way ticket, and figured it out as we went. "It's not perfect, but it's ours, and we've never felt more free." Lauren often shared her new life in Thailand on social media and recently shared one of their favourite breakfasts while they stayed in Koh Samui. She headed to one of her favourite food vendors and ordered fried chicken and sticky rice before getting some Thai milk tea. The mum even said that she thought the iced tea was better than English Breakfast tea. 3 Gobsmacked shoppers watch on as hungry elephant raids Thai store and leaves with trunk full of snacks The mum added: "Hands down they are better than an English breakfast tea. They're sweet, they're icy. They do give you that little tea fix." She said the next step to the perfect breakfast was to locate the nearest beach. "The beach closest to our house here is Chong Mon. And if you are coming to Koh Samui, even just on holiday, I really recommend this area," Lauren said. "It's kind of like a mix between touristy but not too touristy. Moving house hacks 1. Declutter Before You Pack Sort through your belongings and get rid of anything you no longer need. Donate, sell, or recycle items to lighten your load. 2. Create an Inventory Make a list of all your items. This helps keep track of everything and ensures nothing gets lost in the move. 3. Use Quality Packing Materials Invest in sturdy boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape. This will protect your belongings during the move. 4. Label Everything Clearly label each box with its contents and the room it belongs to. This makes unpacking much easier and more organized. 5. Pack a 'First Day' Box Include essentials like toiletries, a change of clothes, snacks, and important documents. This will keep you from rummaging through boxes on your first day. 6. Take Photos of Electronics Setup Before unplugging your electronics, take photos of the wiring setup. This will make it easier to reconnect everything at your new place. 7. Use Suitcases for Heavy Items Pack books and other heavy items in rolling suitcases. This makes them easier to transport and reduces the risk of injury. 8. Colour-Code Your Boxes Use different coloured stickers or markers for each room. This will help movers quickly identify where each box should go in your new home. "The beach here is so good for kids because the water is really shallow." Finally, she and her family sat down on the beach to enjoy their breakfast with a stunning view. The clip went viral on her TikTok account @ lifealongsidelauren with 120k views. People were quick to take to the comments in awe of Lauren's new life. One person wrote: "Living the dream, I would swap my builders' tea in England for yours any day of the week." Another commented: 'I have been following for a while just wanted to say that because of you and your TikTok my future with my kids will look the same!" "I haven't seen your posts for ages, glad you're still enjoying your new life," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Brekkie on the "Love watching your adventures! We are coming to to Thailand in August and can't wait,' claimed a fifth. Someone else added: 'Such an inspiration."
Times
6 hours ago
- Times
Guided tours are bad tourism — here's how they need to improve
We stumbled off the coach, blinking in the harsh light but delighted to have arrived in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Some of us had been dreaming of this moment since Joanna Lumley discovered this Silk Road city in 2018. Others even longer, but in all the excitement half the group missed the guide's instructions to cross the road and were left behind. By the time they caught up, the vanguard was fighting through an international brigade of tourists to gain entry to the fortress of Nasrullah Khan, the 19th-century 'Butcher of Bukhara'. In a forest of flags held up by dozens of guides, some of us joined different groups. Others got lost. Alone, I blundered into the throne room in the same way Arthur Conolly had in 1841. He'd come to rescue the British spy Charles Stoddart from a three-year incarceration in the bug pit: 12ft deep, 4ft wide and regularly topped up with ticks, rats and scorpions. However, as Conolly was thrown into the same foul hole himself, he must have realised that all hope was lost. • 17 of the best Silk Road tours Now, 183 years later, as we were hurried up stairs, down alleys and along battlements, all trying to make sense of the garbled words in our earpieces, some of us shared Conolly's despair. I found one of our group slumped on a stone bench in the shade of an arch. 'This is not how I dreamt Bukhara would be,' she sighed. Guided tours have been around as long as tourists — Herodotus was unimpressed with his while on a Treasures of Egypt trip in 442BC — but the type in which a coachload of confused travellers follow a pink umbrella through the busy heart of an ancient city is a product of the industrial age. Groups were being led around Rome in the 1820s; the essayist William Hazlitt noted with disappointment that the Eternal City comprised 'an almost uninterrupted succession of narrow, vulgar-looking streets'. In the 1920s the Rev Henry Mullineux of the St Barnabas Society was leading group tours of the Western Front. A decade later coach tours were all the rage: in 1936 Yelloway Motor Services of Rochdale offered an eight-day guided tour of the West Country for £8.75 all-in. • I'm 62: here's what I've learnt during ten years of group tours But as the travel industry matured, the way in which tourists were shown the sights remained all but unchanged. The shepherd leads the flock through the streets, corralling them at each point of interest. Facts and figures are reeled off; Herodotus recounts how a guide read out a list, without context, of the names of 300 kings on a long afternoon in Egypt. Then the sheep are herded onwards. The route is fixed, the clients are passive, and if you don't want to traipse half a mile through a sullen neighbourhood to see some street art, tough, because you won't know where you're going until you get there. I have nothing against group trips. They're a terrific way of making new friends and sharing experiences in wonderful destinations, but that tour of Bukhara was disappointing. It was also uncomfortable. There's something infantilising about following someone with a microphone and a flag through crowded streets like a seven-year-old on a school trip. Fortunately, Bukharans still welcome tourists. The same cannot be said of Paris. Last September I joined a walking tour of the city led by one of the world's biggest group tour operators. Twenty-two of us trudged through Montmartre following two tour leaders and the local guide. We clogged the pavements. We stood in shop doorways. We walked in roads. And then we blocked the door of a bakery that had been on TV. As the guide told us about Amélie, Emily in Paris or Chocolat — I wasn't really listening — the tour leaders caught up on their social media. Engrossed in their phones, they didn't notice as locals became increasingly enervés, subjecting us to a tirade of obscenities. Another hissed 'Ce n'est pas Disneyland' — but worse was to come. A lady in a wheelchair tried to push through a group of nice people who had suddenly become the exemplars of the dumb tourist. Later I asked the tour leaders about the incident. They were dismissive. 'They need tourists in Montmartre,' said one. 'The wheelchair woman had plenty of space,' said the other. I asked if there was an acceptable number of locals they were allowed to upset in the pursuit of so-called sustainable travel, but they declined to comment. I cringe when I recollect that afternoon. Assigning 20 or more guests to a single guide may be a cost-effective way of conducting tours, but in a world where tourists are increasingly resented more than they are welcomed, stomping through cities like an invading army is not a good look. • 11 of the best group tours for solo travellers None of us like to feel unwanted, and yet when I spoke last summer to the citizens of Palma, Barcelona, Santorini and other destinations blighted by overtourism, the human centipedes came second only to Airbnb in terms of disdain. It's a problem easily fixed. Reducing group sizes to a maximum of six and taking different routes around attractions means visitors will have a richer, more intimate experience, locals will be less irritated and there will be more work for guides. Yes, it will be more expensive, because more guides will have to be paid. But if that's the cost of a happy memory, I'll pay it. As for the guiding, I want storytellers not statisticians. I don't really care what year any cathedral or castle was built, or how many hectares a ruin occupies — and I certainly won't remember. But tell me the tales of the people who lived and died there and I'll be boring people in pubs about it for weeks. By Richard Mellor Launched in 1998 by the travel writer Jonny Bealby, Wild Frontiers crafts itineraries where the routes, transport and places to stay are painstakingly considered. Groups have an average of nine and prices tend to include all meals, permits and entrance fees. Most guides have deep regional knowledge, language skills and local contacts (which can translate into special access), while the firm seeks out unusual destinations — epitomised by a new Pioneer collection, and its Mongolia tour, which takes in giant ancient petroglyphs, remote mountain lakes and a golden eagle hunters' Twelve nights' full board from £4,195pp ( Fly to Ulaanbaatar Rated consistently highly for its tour leaders and customer service, Explore! offers more than 350 trips to about 100 countries — everything from Inca Trail hikes to cycling in Kerala. An average group size of 11 means that tours are flexible, and can emphasise locally owned hotels and restaurants. Potential travellers can find out who has already booked on a particular trip (age range, solos or couples, etc). This summer's tours include Slovenia via laid-back Ljubljana and the photogenic, mountain-backed Lake Seven nights' B&B from £1,595pp ( Fly to Ljubljana Steppes's biggest USP is the chance to travel with some true experts — think Jonathan Green, the founder of the Galapagos Whale Shark Project, or the author William Dalrymple on an Indian train charter. The average group size is ten and accommodation is mostly luxurious, highly characterful or both. Run by a team of ex-rangers, guides or camp managers, it focuses on culture, history, good old-fashioned adventure or iconic animal species — such as a boat-based November tour where you can snorkel alongside killer whales in northern Seven nights' full board from £7,559pp, including lectures ( Fly to Alta Are you a fan of guided tours — or not? Share your views in the comments
