Patpong in the center of Bangkok, one of the most famous red light streets in the world, now deserted even though Thailand has opened to tourism.
Severely affected by Covid-19, the majority of bars, nightclubs and massage parlors in Patpong are now closed. At the night market, where tourists often buy Red Bull T-shirts, boxing pants, and cheap watches, the hawker stalls have also disappeared. Thailand's efforts to restart the tourism industry are suffering from a lack of tourism services and workers.
A street in Bangkok's Soi Cowboy red light district, bustling in 2012 and gloomy in 2021. Photo: Imagebroker/Alamy; Cavan/Alamy
The tourism industry accounted for 20% of Thailand's GDP before the pandemic, with nearly 40 million international visitors, earning $60 billion in 2019. Like many countries starting to treat Covid-19 as a common disease, Thailand has restarted tourism by opening quite early from July 1, 2021 in Phuket and November 1, 2021 in Bangkok. From February 1, most entry conditions have been relaxed. Now, however, visitors to the bustling restaurants, bars and markets may be in for a shock. Because most are still closed, many small businesses that play a large role in Thailand's tourism ecosystem have stopped operating during the blockades and have not reopened.
The government is also working to revive the tourism industry with a subsidy program for domestic tourists, reducing room rates, airfares and meals.program tourist sandbox, exemption from isolation for international visitors to Phuket and other island destinations.
However, Thai airline and hotel associations said these measures were not strong enough, especially for small hotels affected by the absence of large tourist groups from abroad. Large businesses are also attracting the current small number of visitors with many special packages - unintentionally putting pressure on small businesses to try to stay afloat.
According to Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, President of the Thai Hotel Association, staffing is a particular challenge for small businesses. "To stay open, hotels need workers, but they don't have the needs and the money to do all of this. Many workers in the industry have changed jobs during the pandemic and don't want to come back, because they're in business. will face a lot of costs."
Besides, the number of guests staying is still low, most Thai hotels only keep temporary staff, not full-time employees to cut costs. This complicates tourism recovery efforts.
Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Thailand, Piti Disyatat, said: "Thai tourism industry depends on many factors, it will take a long time to recover. Without workers, this industry will not be able to survive. welcome many tourists and the economy will not be able to develop as expected."
Suvarnabhumi International Airport was deserted on January 1, even though Bangkok had been open since November last year. Photo: AFP
This year, Thailand is expected to welcome nearly 10 million international visitors. That is an optimistic forecast, provided that Omicron and other new strains do not affect the possibility of recovery in the second half of 2022. Currently, there are strict regulations for Thai tourist entry, such as testing requirements. Covid multiple times and providing proof of purchasing health insurance with a compensation of at least $50,000 is a barrier for many travelers.
In fact, not many people venture to Thailand if they have to quarantine when returning home. That is why the Thai government wants to start negotiations with China - the country's largest source of international visitors soon, and Malaysia to establish a bilateral tourism bubble.
Tim Leelahaphan, an economist at Standard Chartered Plc in Bangkok, said: "We think a travel bubble would be more positive for the Thai tourism industry, compared to the quarantine exemption program 'Test&Go' is current. Because this program is not enough to attract travelers who have to be quarantined on their return."
At least until 2024 Thailand's tourism industry will recover to pre-pandemic levels. The country now has many competitors in the race to attract international tourists back to Asia. At the beginning of February, the Philippines began to welcome guests who had been vaccinated, tested negative, and had health insurance. Indonesia opens the island of Bali to all international visitors and so does Sri Lanka. Countries are gradually opening up, challenging the reality of what the world will be like when guests are still traveling, Covid is still spreading.
