Thailand’s borders remain largely shut to almost all foreigners, the pandemic is expected to cause a 80% fall in revenues.
23/07/2020
TOURIST HOTSPOTS DESERTED AND DESPERATE
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, bird flu, SARS, political upheavals, passenger boats sinking. None of these have had anywhere near the effect of this year’s Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand. Visitor numbers, even from the usually enthusiastic Tourism Authority of Thailand, are expected to plummet up to 80% for the year. The other 20% mostly visited the Kingdom in the first quarter before the ‘disruption’. Last year, almost 40 million tourists visited Thailand.
Phuket and Pattaya, both economies built around the tourist dollar, are almost devoid of any tourists – a few domestic tourists and long-term expats won't be enough to revive economies that previously relied on thousands of daily arrivals, not less than a hundred.
Above; Bangla Rd. Phuket.
In Phuket, over a month after the reopening on June 13. there were only three domestic flights out of the airport terminal, all to Bangkok and only 60% full. Even the most optimistic travel consultants are wondering how long even the lean and mean low-cost airlines can keep flying with limited passengers, on limited flights and most of their fleet still gathering dust on airfields around the country.
On Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, the situation is even worse than in Phuket and Pattaya with beaches almost entirely empty. The streets of Koh Samui are eerily quiet. Along Chaweng’s Beach Road, a famous tourist hotspot, shopping and party zone, shuttered shops stretch all the way along the beach strip.
In the months before, over the traditional Thai tourism ‘high season’ Samui (although not as busy as the good old days) had been buzzing with traffic. You very rarely see the notorious Taxi's anymore on Samui at the moment.
Above; Bangla Rd. Phuket.
Nearly 40 million tourists made their way to Thailand in 2019, attracted by the spectacular beaches, ornate temples, famous cuisine and exotic culture. In 2020, the country will struggle to reach even 20% of that.
Since April, Thailand has imposed a ban on all incoming passenger flights. Then in June, politicians, eager to restart the tourist economy, started chatting about travel bubbles with other low-risk cities and countries. But the number of infected Thai repatriates, and the resurgence of Covid-19 in some of the previously low-risk countries,has shelved any idea of travel bubbles which only included Japan, S.Korea, Taiwan and China indefinately.
For now, Thailand’s borders remain largely shut to almost all foreigners. Certainly there are no tourists being allowed into the country to populate the bars and shops in the country’s most popular tourists areas. Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor for marketing communication at the TAT, says that during previous crises, revenue and passenger traffic dropped up to 20%.
“This year, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause a 80% fall in revenues. It’s a huge impact.”
As the country started re-opening shops in a rollout of ‘re-opening phases’ during May and June, shops eagerly opened their doors around the country hoping to restart their businesses. Restaurants, retailers, shopping centres, service industries. Even the bars and pubs were allowed to re-open from the start of July.
But now many of these small businesses which hadn't already closed permanently have shut up shop again with their enthusiasm for re-opening replaced with a reality that there are just a lot fewer customers than before. In tourist hotspots like Pattaya, Patong (the main tourist town in Phuket) and Samui, the previously busy tourist destinations are now virtually ghost towns.
Above; Lamai Beach, Koh Samui.
The GM of Nora Buri resort and spa in Samui reports that, of his hotel’s 144 rooms, about 100 remain empty, though this will fall to 85 over the coming holiday weekend.
“Government measures might sustain hotels for a while but it will not be a long-term solution. Profit is out of the question at this moment, we just want to maintain the resort.” He said
The GM of another 5 star hotel in Kata, Phuket, reported that his resort is re-opening 10 rooms, instigated by the Government’s domestic tourism stimulus package, and intends keeping those rooms open with a skeleton staff.
In Koh Samui, businesses remain focused on basic survival for now, doing whatever they can to find a few customers just to pay for their skeleton staff and rent.
Many more, in Samui and across the country, remain closed indefinitely, or are already permanently closed, whilst others are having to put up their properties for sale. In fact there isn't much left on the Chewang Beach Road that isn't either for sale or rent with regards to shops, bars, restaurants and spas.
MENZZOO MAGAZINE
July 2020
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