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Thailand is getting ready to welcome tourists back after a disastrous shutdown

2021-10-28
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Summary:Thailand prepares to reopen to fully vaccinated visitors on November 1 after 18 months of Covid travel restrictions. Hotels, street food vendors, and tuktuks are preparing for the return of tourists to Bangkok. However, industry analysts predict that the hot metropolis, which was the world's most visited city prior to the outbreak, would take some time to return to its throbbing, addictive old self.

Compass Cambodia report - Thailand prepares to reopen to fully vaccinated visitors on November 1 after 18 months of Covid travel restrictions. Hotels, street food vendors, and tuktuks are preparing for the return of tourists to Bangkok. However, industry analysts predict that the hot metropolis, which was the world's most visited city prior to the outbreak, would take some time to return to its throbbing, addictive old self.

The Coronavirus epidemic reduced visitor numbers from 40 million in 2019 to just 73,000 in the first eight months of 2021, causing the country's tourism-dependent economy to have its poorest performance in almost two decades.

Despite Thailand still registering approximately 10,000 Covid infections each day and a vaccination rate of roughly 40%, authorities are keen to restore the sector, which accounts for a fifth of the GDP.

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Despite the virus's prevalence, the government hopes that a plan to phase down strict quarantine regulations will entice visitors back to bars and beaches. "We expect the tourism business to recover to normal levels around the middle of next year," said Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, a spokeswoman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

According to authorities, the kingdom expects at least a million visitors by March and nearly $30 billion in income until 2022. The lack of tourists has left an indelible mark on Bangkok's Chinatown, with closed stores visible beneath neon lights and lines of empty tuktuks. Samran, a 25-year driver, has seen his salary collapse by 90% and now earns only $3 per day. “I'd like to stop, but I'm too old. "I'm not going to get hired for anything else," the 58-year-old added. "Since April 2020, I haven't picked up a single tourist." In an attempt to keep Covid at bay, Thailand closed its airspace to international planes at that time.

Authorities established a 14-day hotel quarantine once this limitation was lifted, discouraging all but the most determined travelers. A strategy to make it easier to visit the southern tourist island of Phuket, which was implemented in July as a first step toward normalcy, drew just tens of thousands of visitors - a drop in the ocean.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha proposed a staged plan for Thailand's re-opening in an attempt to stop the bleeding in the economy.

From November 1, fully vaccinated tourists from more than 40 "low-risk" countries will be allowed to enter with a negative Covid result and will be retested once they arrive.

A number of European countries, as well as China and the United States, are on the list. With 11 million visitors in 2019, China is Thailand's most popular tourist destination. However, with Beijing mandating a two-week minimum quarantine on returnees, few Chinese tourists are anticipated to visit the kingdom's sun-drenched beaches in November. The second part of the re-opening, scheduled for December 1, will see the end of a seven-month embargo on drinking in bars and restaurants, which industry insiders say is critical to attracting visitors. "We're definitely hoping the Thai government will abolish the alcohol restriction because it discourages guests from returning," Daniel Kerr, general manager of the five-star Chatrium hotel, said. T At the height of the Covid crisis, only 10% of the hotel's 400 rooms were occupied. Things are picking up lately, with more than half of the rooms reserved for the New Year - despite the fact that Thais account for 85 percent of the reservations.

Closures and layoffs resulted in about half of the hotel industry's workforce being laid off.

 

Source: Compass Cambodia comprehensive arrangement, AFP

 

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