On the future of Thai Island Times
Please give this a read for details on the forthcoming paid version of the newsletter.
Dear reader,
After a year and a half of offering all Thai Island Times content for free, the time has come for me to introduce a paid version of the newsletter.
First, if you don’t want to upgrade or aren’t sure yet, no worries! You are more than welcome to stay on as a free subscriber, a status that will typically get you at least four articles per month. But if you’ve been enjoying the newsletter and are able to support it, please consider upgrading. Read on for the details.
Why support Thai Island Times?
1) There is so much more to Thailand’s islands and coastal areas than has ever been covered in any form of media. Before Thai Island Times, I believe that no English-language publications had ever exclusively covered all coastal Thai regions in the comprehensive, cohesive way that I’m devoted to. If you have a passion for this part of the world and you want to experience the full extent of a bottomless dive into Thai islands and coastal areas, please consider upgrading.
2) By supporting Thai Island Times, you’re supporting a breed of independent travel media that’s in short supply in an era when so much travel writing is funded, in some way, by corporations or government tourism boards, often without any public disclosure of such arrangements. I never engage in PR content or ‘pay for play’ in which companies or tourism authorities provide freebies, such as flights and rooms, to writers or ‘influencers’ in exchange for positive publicity. Whenever you’re here, you are reading genuine independent travel media, 100%.
3) The fact that Thai Island Times is entirely independent enables me to showcase places as they truly are, and not as some hotel tycoon or minister would like them to appear. Instead of writing about Thai islands and coastal areas as rose-tinted fantasy lands, I’m dedicated to spotlighting the realities of social and environmental harm whenever I encounter them. Your support makes it possible to keep this honest and increasingly rare approach to travel media alive.
4) Becoming a paying subscriber is also a way to help a pair of travel professionals during a time of severe instability in our industry. I entered travel media in 2011 thanks to a stroke of luck and having enough cash saved from years of working two bar jobs to give pro writing a shot. From myself and my long-time partner Chin, a food tour guide and owner of a small tour company that endured a nearly 100% decline in business starting in April 2020, your support is hugely appreciated.
What paying subscribers can expect
Four paid articles (at minimum) per month will usually be travel-related stories, especially those focusing on obscure, minimally touristed places like Ko Wiang and Ko Chik. This is partly because these types of places require considerable resources to cover, but I also reckon that putting them behind a paywall might reduce the chances of someone trying to turn them into ‘the next Ko Phi Phi.’
I plan to eventually publish picks of my favorite spots in various categories across all of coastal Thailand; for example the most impressive viewpoints and little-known beaches. Informed by more than a decade of obsessive research into Thai islands and coastal areas, these choice picks will be reserved for paying subscribers.
An upgrade will also get you access to all archived articles that are set on the paid-only status. And in the event that I publish any of my travel writing outside of the newsletter — for example in a book — paying subscribers will get access to discounts that won’t be offered to free subscribers.
In addition, paying subscribers are welcome to email me if they have questions about trip planning, travel and/or relocation to Thai islands and coastal areas. I can’t make any guarantees, but I’m much more likely to answer inquiries from people who have shown their willingness to support Thai Island Times.
How much does it cost?
At least four articles per month are accessible only to paying subscribers for $6 monthly or $60 annually. You can upgrade through this link or any of the ‘subscribe’ buttons. (It’s usually simple, but do get in touch if you have any problems.)
If you can’t afford to upgrade…
We understand how the pandemic has upended livelihoods and thrown countless people into financial insecurity. If you, like us, are among those who have endured financial hardship, I will consider offering a discount or possibly comping you an upgraded subscription for a limited period of time.
Discounts and comps are determined on a case by case basis. If you’re struggling financially due to sickness or loss of a job, for example, and you want to receive the full newsletter, please contact me and tell me about your situation.
What free subscribers can expect
All of the month-end Island Wraps, updates on Thailand’s tourism reopening efforts and most other news-oriented content stays free. Free subscribers also get at least one full-length travel article and several shorter pieces each month.
The fine print
Paid subscriptions are securely processed by Substack Inc., a San Francisco-based tech company that has never had a serious data breach as far as I know. The only personal data that myself or anyone associated with Thai Island Times will ever see is your email address. Credit card details, passwords and other sensitive data is securely protected by Substack.
In the event that I need to take a break from the newsletter, for example due to an emergency, payments will be temporarily suspended and the duration of annual subscriptions will be extended to cover the time away. If I need to stop producing the newsletter altogether, monthly payments will be terminated and prorated refunds will be made available to annual subscribers.
For the sake of formality, please note that I do reserve the rights to repurpose or re-publish any Thai Island Times content, including paid content, as I see fit. If I ever opt to publish any paid content elsewhere, I’ll try to leave a gap of at least six months between when it becomes available to paying subscribers and when it appears elsewhere. I’m only mentioning this to clarify my rights as publisher; I have no plans to repurpose any Thai Island Times content in the foreseeable future.
If you have any questions or comments about paid subscriptions or Thai Island Times in general, you’ll find my email address on the About page.
Many thanks,
David Luekens 🌴