Thailand's tourism industry will face greater risks next year if the government continues to restrict foreign tourism.
06/09/2020
BANK WARNS OF HARDER HITS FOR TOURISM SECTOR
Thailand's tourism industry will face greater risks next year if the government continues to restrict foreign travellers from entering the country, says the Bank of Thailand.
Foreign arrivals could be downgraded from a projection of 8 million this year and 16 million next year given the deflated tourism outlook, said Don Nakornthab, senior director of the economic and policy department.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry and the National Economic and Social Development Council already cut their projections for this year's foreign tourist arrivals to 6.7 million and next year's to 12 million.
The difference of 1.3 million foreign arrivals this year in projections from the central bank and the two state organisations would result in a 0.5% decline in Thailand's GDP, said Mr Don.
The loss cannot be computed directly into full-year GDP calculations because there are other economic factors to be considered, he said.
Thailand received no foreign tourist arrivals for the fourth consecutive month in July as international travel restrictions remain in place to safeguard against a second outbreak.
Foreign arrivals to Thailand reached 40 million in 2019, with revenue generated from the tourism industry contributing almost 20% of GDP.
With inbound flight restrictions still in place, the ratio of foreign travellers is expected to shrink by 100% year-on-year between April and December, said Mr Don.
He said the government should consider looking into proper measures to allow foreign travellers to return to stir tourism and economic growth momentum.
"If foreign travellers still cannot visit the country, this will impact Thailand's economic growth more severely next year. The government should strike a balance between tourism measures and outbreak containment," said Mr Don.
Above; Au Patong, Phuket.
PHUKET
Meanwhile in Phuket the government's plan to reopen the resort island of Phuket as a model to welcome back foreign visitors has hit a wall after the country last week saw the first case of local Covid-19 infection in more than three months.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the launch of the so-called "Phuket model" scheduled for next month as part of efforts to revive the local economy, is likely to be pushed back.
He said TAT officials are visiting Phuket this long weekend to discuss disease control measures with business operators, adding the proposed model to bring back foreign tourists may have to be adjusted if the country faces a second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Under the Phuket model, floated by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, about 200 visitors from Australia and New Zealand will be allowed in. Australia currently on lockdown, Thai returnees and Australian's with homes and work permits in Thailand are allowed to leave the country on scheduled flights. However, they must first test negative for the virus in their country of origin and stay in quarantine for 14 days at designated places in Phuket.
The visitors can travel throughout the province if they test negative for Covid-19. But if they want to visit other provinces, they will have to stay in quarantine in their respective provinces for another seven days.
Mr Yuthasak also said domestic travel during the four-day weekend was less than robust with hotel occupancy recorded at 30% and estimated spending at around 8.8 billion baht. However, he said tourism activities have picked up since July.
As a result, the TAT plans to increase offers under the government's Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) campaign to spur long-distance travel and generate income for local businesses, he said.
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