tourism – Page 4 – Tom Vater

The Death of Bangkok’s Amazing Streetfood in The Daily Telegraph

April 18, 2017tomLeave a Comment

My thoughts on the imminent demise of Bangkok’s incredibly varied, often delicious and pretty cheap streetfood in today’s Daily Telegraph. “Since the May 2014 military coup, Bangkok has been gradually changing from a chaotic, bustling happy-go-lucky south-east Asian capital with a hedonistic bent into an increasingly drab and orderly bargain basement version of Singapore,” said […]

Odisha – The Land That Time Forgot in The Nikkei Asian Review

August 31, 2016March 2, 2019tomLeave a Comment

My latest story with French journalist Laure Siegel on Odisha, one of India’s least visited states, and its fledgling tourist industry, published in the Nikkei Asian Review. PURI, India — “Jay Jagannath! Jay Jagannath!” A sea of people chants the sacred mantra while pulling on thick ropes hauling three massive, 14-meter-high wooden carts decorated in […]

Is tourism in Thailand becoming unsustainable? – Interview in The Daily Telegraph

May 18, 2016tomLeave a Comment

Gavin Haines at The Daily Telegraph on whether mass tourism on Thailand‘s holiday islands is sustainable as visitor numbers continue to go up. I get to put in my five cents worth. Read the full story here.

Thailand’s Island hideaways in The Sunday Times

July 29, 2015tomLeave a Comment

The Sunday Times has just re-published my Thai Islands hideaway feature. If you have a subscription to the paper you can read the story here. If you don’t, you can see the same story in The Daily Telegraph. The feature also ran as a photo story.

Hell in our Time – The Rohingya of Sittwe

June 3, 2015June 4, 2015tomLeave a Comment

Here’s an account of my visit to Sittwe, home of many Rohingya, in August 2012. This is not a particularly hands-on story, nor did it involve any courage on my part. Better reportages on the same subject have surfaced in the media in recent days. But as Sittwe is now sealed off and as no […]

My story on the Nepal earthquake for The Daily Telegraph: What does the future hold for tourism?

April 29, 2015May 19, 2015tomLeave a Comment

Holidaymakers in Nepal were helping dig locals out of the rubble in the aftermath of Saturday’s earthquake. Tom Vater assesses the damage to the country’s tourist industry. Read the full story in The Daily Telegraph today.

Thailand ministers try to tempt tourists back – The Daily Telegraph

January 16, 2015March 28, 2015tomLeave a Comment

Thailand attempts to fix its sagging international image while admitting it is facing increasing competition from Cambodia, Laos and Burma. My thoughts on the kingdom’s tourism woes in The Daily Telegraph. Thailand attempts to fix its sagging international image while admitting it is facing increasing competition from Cambodia, Laos and Burma Shortly after the military […]

Thailand: Murder in the Land of Smiles in The Diplomat

October 11, 2014October 12, 2014tomLeave a Comment

The country’s tourism sector is taking a hit following a high-profile murder case and a bungled police response. My report in last week’s The Diplomat.

Thailand: Is the party over for now? The effect of the curfew on tourism – in The Daily Telegraph

May 28, 2014June 1, 2014tomLeave a Comment

As the military relaxes the curfew imposed following last week’s coup, Tom Vater reports on how strictly it is being enforced in Thailand’s party hot spots… Read the full story here. Photograph by Aroon Thaewchatturat at the Full Moon Party in Ko Panghan, Thailand

My Lowdown on Songkran, Thai New Year in The Daily Telegraph

April 1, 2014tomLeave a Comment

It’s hot as hell in Bangkok at the moment. The city is waiting for rain. And for Thai New Year. Here’s my lowdown on the kingdom’s most important festival in today’s Daily Telegraph.