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By Sicha Rungrojtanakul |
Globally known for its beaches and nightlife district, Pattaya City is one of Thailand's most popular tourist destinations. Although it is designated a special autonomous region, allowed to elect its own mayor and regulate its tourism industry, it faces numerous limitations due to a lacklustre decentralization policy. Its stakeholders are now concerned that the city and its tourism sector would be outpaced by other global cities unless changes are made in its governance.
By Sicha Rungrojtanakul |
The Pattaya Beach Nourishment project has been underway for 6 years now in an attempt to solve the problem of beach erosion. Even though the approach is widely accepted internationally, there have been questions from the civil society sector about the project’s sustainability and inclusivity, once it was discovered that part of the beach was damaged by drainage water from the city. There are also concerns among local fishers about the disappearance of their source of income from the beach.
By Teeranai Charuvastra |
<p>Concern over the conditions of the King&rsquo;s eldest daughter, who has spent the past week in hospital care, appears to have prompted some government agencies to cancel their New Year celebrations &ndash; but others said they&rsquo;ll go ahead with the planned festivities.</p>
By Pattamon Wattanawanitchakorn (International Drug Policy Consortium), Thissadee Sawangying (Health Opportunity Network) |
<div> <div>In response to a recent report that labels Pattaya as the “world’s sex capital”, the junta head has announced a crackdown on prostitution.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 21 February 2017, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister and junta head, announced that he will <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2017/02/70207">order the police to uproot Pattaya’s sex industry</a>. </div></div>