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Published on : Tuesday, August 18, 2020
The corona virus has rendered a destructive blow to normal tourism. The only revenues in tourism are coming from the domestic market, the volume of which is directly linked to Thailand’s level of development.
With the world grappling with the devastating consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism is among the sectors worst affected, especially in Thailand. A major source of revenue and jobs in Asia, tourism started to feel the pain early when the Chinese outbound market collapsed almost overnight in late January.
After months of lockdowns, countries are carefully easing travel restrictions, starting with domestic tourism. Vietnam, praised worldwide for its timely and aggressive response to the virus, was among the first to encourage its citizens to travel again.
“Such cases have led to the extension of international travel restrictions and destination lockdowns, which ultimately has hampered the recovery of the sector, leaving jobs and economies under threat,” said Lim Boon Kwee, the chief operating officer of the Bangkok-based hospitality chain Dusit International Plc.
“The daily deluge of online information — some factual, some fake — also makes the situation confusing and difficult to analyze,” he added.
Kwee said further that restrictions on travel will discourage tourism and hospitality revenue in the short and medium term. “Until international borders reopen, everyone in our sector will be doing our utmost to encourage more domestic trips and also entice more domestic spending,” he said.
Willem Niemeijer, the CEO of Bangkok-based Yaana Ventures, said that before corona, there were a few Thai destinations that visibly appealed more to domestic travelers. Among them Bang Saen, Khao Yai and Loei can be mentioned. Others appeal more to international travelers, such as Phuket and Koh Samui.
“This is a devastating blow for normal tourism. The only revenues in tourism are in the domestic market, the volume of which is directly linked to the nation’s level of development,” said Niemeijer.
The UNWTO opined that international tourist arrivals might drop by between 58% and 78% by year-end, depending on when governments reopen borders. That would cause loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourists globally, putting around 100 million and 120 million jobs at risk.
Tags: Thailand