Siam Yacht Club – where Old Siam meets the modern metropolis alongside the majestic River of Kings – announces its grand opening with a gala event held on 17 March and, to further mark the occasion, is now offering three very special offers.
 
Set in Bangkok’s Yaowarat/Charoen Krung Road neighborhood – one of the city’s oldest and lately most vibrant districts – Siam Yacht Club at Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers entices river cruisers and landlubbers alike with its distinctive five-star sense of place. This is where for centuries merchants, traders, travelers and explorers have converged to do business, report news and relate stirring tales of adventure.
 
That same time-honored heritage now continues at Siam Yacht Club – and in an ultramodern setting with the captivating skyline of metropolitan Bangkok as backdrop.
 
SYC’s well-arranged venues are enhanced by a delightful nautical-themed ambience and feature outstanding views of the Chao Phraya River. The restaurant and lounging spaces, each with its own mood and feel, are spread across 600 square meters and comprise 50 indoor and 150 outdoor seats in addition to a VIP room for up to 12 guests.

His Excellency Pat Bourne, Irish Ambassador to Thailand (4th from left), was the guest of honour at the “St. Patrick’s Day Shindig 2023”, which was held at Surasak Ballroom, Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn Bangkok. This annual event is organised by the Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce and gives the Irish expatriate community in Bangkok the opportunity to celebrate this special day.
Pictured from left: Mr. Paul Potter, President of the St. Patrick’s Society Bangkok; Mr. Conor Bracken, President of the Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Paul Scales - Vice President, Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce; His Excellency Pat Bourne, Irish Ambassador to Thailand; Ms. Sinead Gonley, Enterprise Ireland, and Mr. Tiarnan McCaughan, Enterprise Ireland.
 

Accor, the region’s largest international hotel operator, has continued its rapid expansion in the Philippines with the signing of South Palms Resort Panglao Bohol - MGallery, a locally-inspired five-star resort on the idyllic island of Panglao that will introduce this emerging destination’s unique heritage and community values to visitors from all around the world. The resort joins a strong pipeline of 16 committed projects across the country, and will become the first resort-style property for MGallery in the Philippines.
 
Scheduled to open its doors in 2024, the 188-key South Palms Resort Panglao Bohol – MGallery will be nestled within 6.4-hectare of expansive grounds, surrounded by palm trees and overlooking the powder-soft sands of Panglao’s South coast. Throughout their stay in this tropical paradise, travellers will be able to soak up the stunning scenery and explore the island’s cultural charms and natural wonders, including snorkelling and scuba diving in the turquoise seas.
 
When guests are not exploring the island or neighbouring Bohol, they will be able to dine at a choice of four restaurants, cool off in the swimming pool, grab refreshments at the pool bar, work out in a well-equipped fitness centre, or enjoy soothing therapies at the spa. A ballroom and meeting rooms will also present compelling opportunities for original, out-of-town corporate events and dream weddings. Everything for guests to create their own stories, stories that stay.

 TAT are proud to unveil a brand new category at the forthcoming 14th Thailand Tourism Awards, with awards now being presented for Low Carbon Tourism and Sustainability. The category aims to promote and develop new avenues in tourism which are both high value and sustainable. 
 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) invites business owners and entrepreneurs to send their entries to the 14th Thai Tourism Awards, 2023.

 Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of TAT, stated that ‘The Thailand Tourism Awards are highly respected and recognized globally, and due to the exceptional reputation that the awards have garnered, TAT has continued to hold them biannually, this year’s awards being the 14th in total. For this year’s awards, we will be accepting entries over 5 categories, namely 1. Attraction, 
2. Accommodation, 3. Health and Wellness and Tourism, 4. Tour Programmes, and 5. Low Carbon & Sustainability, with the overall aim of creating and meeting Sustainable Tourism Goals. We hope that by placing the emphasis firmly on sustainable, low-carbon tourism we can add value and reach out to environmentally conscious tourists, as well as promoting conservational awareness in both business owners and tourists.’
The Thailand Tourism Awards have proven instrumental in increasing the value of tourism related products and services on a global platform and bolstering confidence amongst the tourists that use these products and services. The awards’ ‘Kinnaree’ logo has now become synonymous with high standards regarding safe, sustainable and responsible tourism. 

With a conceptual framework in place for judging, the 14th Thailand Tourism Awards, 2023’s criteria will be based on three main elements – Sustainable Tourism, operating under management processes which are socially, economically and environmentally conscious, and utilizing the BCG Economy model combined with Responsible Tourism and Low Carbon & Sustainability Management, Safety and Health Administration and Customer Interest.

The addiction rehabilitation center, Horizon Rehab Center, in collaboration with Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG), hosted a community educative seminar regarding Addiction Issues & Thailand’s Youth. The seminar aims to educate the youth, who will certainly go on to become the driving force of the country, regarding the danger and consequences that comes with the use of drugs. As well as providing advice for parents and family to find an efficient solution for major societal issues in Drug Addiction and Digital Addiction, which is becoming more and more severe
                 
Mr. Craig Gagnon, Clinical Director of Horizon Rehab Center, revealed some fascinating facts that 1 in 9 youths, aged from 12-25 year old have had a history of drug abuse. In addition, Third Culture Kids, youth who grew up in a different culture from the norm, such as youth who relocate to Thailand with their parents, is another group that are at risk. Third Culture Kids could be more at risk from lack of intimacy and guidance as a result of parents who may spend much of their time at work, and also from relocation, which could mean a constant struggle with cultural differences, or an identity crisis. With all these possible risk factors, in combination with the curiosity that comes with their age, means Third Culture Kids can be prone to drug abuse and/or addition. Meanwhile, Digital Addiction is another issue that could significantly affects the youth, both in terms of Emotional Quotient (EQ), the ability to learn social skills in everyday’s life, as well as relationship with others, resulting in a long-term damage. Surveys has revealed a shocking result, finding that a youth addicted to smartphone could be as young as 2 years old.
“I hope that this seminar could help educate the youth, the parents, and the organizations involved in safeguarding the youth about the importance of issues that could arise from Drug Addiction and Digital Addiction. In order to put further emphasis on attending the youth’s behavior, staying on guard, and to develop high quality youths. This seminar is one of the visions of us at Horizon Rehab Center, which is to be the driving force that helps develop a safe, sustainable Thai society.
One of the Horizon Rehab Center Staff has also mentioned that Horizon Rehab Center was created in order to help those who struggle with different addiction issues, especially with drug addiction. “Drug abuse issue is not exclusive to just Thailand, but is a major problem in many countries around the globe as well. For example, the number of death as a result of drug overdose in the US in 2021 was over 170,000. Which, by the way, is 7.5 times increase from 2015 and are still rising every year. While in Thailand, 39% of 15-24 years old Thais has been found to be involved or use drugs in 2019, with over 2.7 million youth between the age of 15-19 that uses drug, and over 300,000 having to go through treatment for drug abuse in the same year. Along with drug addiction, there is also Process Addiction, which is a behavioral addiction, such as gambling addiction, gaming addiction, internet addiction, and digital addictions, which are now classified as disease by countries like South Korea or Japan”.
As for the center’s approach towards treatment, it will be a western style treatment, which have been through empirical studies and proved to be successful in practical treatment. “I want to thank Thonburi Healthcare Group for providing support for our center this whole time, especially in our center’s western style treatment approach that has been put to use overseas and was found to be successful. Not only would we help with physical recovery, but we also provide a psychological treatment to bring them back to normal life while maintaining their sobriety, with counselor’s, support worker’s, and specialist’s full attention along each step. Moreover, there will also be family plan with parents and family to create an aftercare plan and deepen their understanding of the client. We aim to create the best possible treatment program in Thailand.” Said the staff.