THAILAND: Water A Good Rescue .

To cool people down during the summer, new waterparks have sprung up around Bangkok and in the provinces.

Dusit Zoo in Bangkok has renovated its resting area not far from the entrance on Rama V Road as a water playground and area for children. The zoo has set aside a 9 million baht budget covering an area for children. The zoo has set aside a 9 million baht budget covering an area about 1,500m².

The Jungle Water Park, located on 4 rai in Muang district of Pathum Thani, opened two weeks ago. The highlight is the Dropkick Extreme Waterslide, which is open to those above the age of 12. There are water slides for children as well. The facility is the first waterpark in the province, according to Surachai Khan-asa, governor of Pathum Thani.

Kids Water Park at Chiang Mai Zoo, which opened on April 8, will be open for a month to test the system before its official opening, according to the zoo director Niphon Wichairat. The water playground is about 900m² and is equipped with water domes, fountains, water buckets, water sprays and slides. The pool can accommodate up to 100 kids, he said.

The waterpark in Sa Kaeo is called Dreamer Waterpark and is built on a 19 rai plot of land on Highway 33, about 2km from the immigration checkpoint in Aranyaprathet, where people can cross to Poipet in Cambodia. The waterpark is the first facility of its kind in Sa Kaeo, according to Dreamer Waterpark managing director Kongkompaipak Yordudomnithipak, adding that it would serve not only people in the in the province, but also those from the neighbouring country, he said. Highlights are a wave pool, which creates artificial waves, a 450m-long Lazy River, 11 sets of water slides and a Kids' Zone.


Bangkok has been selected as the host venue for the 2017 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit. WTTC was founded in 1989 by a group of industry leaders led by James Robinson III, CEO of American Express to raise awareness of travel & tourism as one of the world's largest industries.

"Travel and tourism is one of the most important generators of jobs and wealth in the world, contributing to over US$7.2 trillion in GDP to the world economy and supporting 284 million jobs, which is one in 11 jobs on the planet," said WTTC president and CEO David Scowsill.

The WTTC Global Summit brings together hundreds of leaders from public sector organisations and private companies worldwide to discuss and tackle the most important issues in the tourism sector yearly,he said. Topics for this year include global trend, sustainable finance and capital market and disease and migration.

The tourism industry in the Kingdom generates about 16.5% of GDP, according to statistics of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. About 4.16 million people or close to 11% of 37.87 million employed people work for the tourism business.

The ministry expects about 32 million visitors will travel to Thailand this year, up from 30 million last year, and will generate up to 2.4 trillion baht, increasing from around 2.2 trillion baht last year.

Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul regards the opportunity for hosting the global summit as a "great opportunity" to showcase Bangkok as an important meeting place for gathering the world's top travel and tourism executives.

The 2017 Global Summit will be organised on April 26-27 next year.

Bangkok Airways has opened a lounge at Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos. The 132m² facility can accommodate up to 42 passengers. The lounge is near Exit 3 on the second floor of the International Departure Terminal.

All passengers of the airline can use the lounge, which serves snacks, hot or cold drinks and has free Wi-Fi. The lounge is open two times a day, relating to its flight schedules, which are 10.20am-12.20pm and 3.20pm-5.20pm.


A small-size laid-back hotel has opened at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Called Boxtel, it is in the basement of the airport. The hotel features 12 rooms of 4m². Each room has a single bed, a working desk and free Wi-Fi.


It also has a common area with free snacks. The service is available with three options for staying; four hours rest and the net price is 1,160 baht, six hours for 1,720 baht and eight hours for 2,280 baht.