Spilornis

Definitely worth a discussion. Passports as we know them are a relatively recent item. Late 1800's perhaps

The local QR payment methods used around Asia have been a brilliant way to break the monopoly of Apple and Google along with Visa and Mastercard. You have to wonder why Western countries have not followed suit as cashless payments will never cease growing

Maybe in years gone by but as of 2025 the birth rate was 1.9 ( slightly below replacement rate). What keeps the population numbers increasing is people living longer. In fifty years if not sooner the Indian population in raw numbers will decline. About the only places where the birth rate is over 2 are in Africa. (27 out of the top 30 countries are in Africa)

China's population will halve over the next fifty years. India will reduce by around 10%. (It had zero growth recently for the first time ever). It's the same with most developed economies although immigration will impact some. TBH it's why I'm not too worried by climate change longer term. How individual countries/regions manage this transition including the difficult decision of how much do you spend on the ageing will be vital.

12 hours 15 mins non stop from Manchester to Phuket according to Google. If the prices are right that could be a winter winner. From March to September places like Turkey and Spain probably offer better outcomes with much shorter flights and decent on ground value. (I see the flights from Oslo and Stckholm contain the adjective "direct" and not "non-stop". )

I was thinking about cane burning. It's done for a different reason in that the crop is burnt while growing to encourage cane growth and remove competing weeds. In Australia it was stopped over thirty years ago. Can you plough rice stubble into the ground like they do wheat. What are the realistic alternatives I wonder. Cities in India are becoming unlivable in some months due to heavy air pollution to which rural burning is a big contributor.

Thailand needs to develop tertiary industries. There is a point where tourism dollars tip into over tourism which in turn leads to stagnation. Thailand is not there yet but if it simply chases numbers it may get there very soon.

The swings are driven simply by Chinese numbers. You could have a 20% increase or decrease in the number of Western tourists but it will be outweighed by a 5% or less swing in Chinese tourists. As we all know pure numbers never tell the real story.

Most countries have followed this path. In truth they didn't want to simply because of the cost but these days with computerised payments etc and the massive business of foreign online sales it is unavoidable

The "modern holiday" is a week if not less. Practically flights are limited to twelve hours which counts out most European travellers and certainly those from USA. Thailand has to market itself as a regional destination. It happens to be within 3-4 hours flying time of 3 billion people. That's the future market. The debate is about when and how you transition to that market

This practice is not confined to Thailand. Malaysia is the same as is Vietnam particularly HCMC. In Vietnam some analysts suggest it's due to owners not wanting to face a loss and thereby a debt to the bank. They prefer simply to pay the interest.

Just some ideas as a frquent user of their main competition ... Changi challenge 1 Get your check in/immigration (entry and exit) down to five minutes or less. This is what Changi can do today. The biggest wait these days at Changi is for baggage as you exit so quickly you wait 10-15 mins for your bag. Challenge 2 Mid level affordable hotels within walking distance or by common shuttle bus departing every 10 minutes (this would beat Changi where hotels are eye wateringly expensive) Challenge 3 Pay airlines to come to your airport recognising that each plane brings revenue in the form of passengers Challenge 4 Get your airspace right (Changi airspace is very congested and can add 30 minutes to a flight as your plane joins the flight path. As Johor airport grows this problem will get worse)

90/120 days in any calendar year with a maximum one entry time of 60 days is around the sweet spot. With e gates, digital passports etc tracking of days is very easy for most countries. The days of visa runs allowing permanent stays are coming to an end is my guess

1.6% GDP growth is a worrying figure. By comparison Malaysia is predicting 4.7%. At 1.6% it is perhaps insufficient to absorb new labor entrants to the employment market. Australia is predicting just over 3% and Vietnam nearly 7%.

Tesla rolled out its supervised Full Self Drive (FSD) software in Australia and NZ about three weeks ago. These are the first right hand drive countries to use the technology. So far (over 1 million kms driven by Tesla drivers) all is good. I wonder which Asian country will be the first to try it out. (Singapore probably but that doesn't really count). If it works FSD will be a game changer. Tomorrow just became that little closer