[ad_1]
PHUKET: Phuket’s go-go dancers sit playing on their phones in empty bars that line deserted streets as the Thai resort island reels from the ravages of the pandemic with little sign of recovery anytime soon.
Pools are empty, chairs are stacked in deserted restaurants, and normally crowded beaches are so quiet that even rare species of sea turtles can be seen nesting.
READ: Thailand delays the reception of the first foreign tourists since April
READ: Thailand will allow long-stay tourists on Phuket Island from October
Last year, more than nine million tourists visited Phuket, the second most popular destination in the kingdom after Bangkok.
Thailand’s decision to focus on fighting the virus has dealt a brutal blow to the economy, which is expected to contract between 7% and 9% this year. (Photo: AFP / Lillian Suwanrumpha)
Today, nearly all of the island’s 3,000 hotels are closed and the main city of Patong has become a “ghost town,” says local mogul Preechawut Keesin, who owns five nightclubs and around 600 hotel rooms.
So far, Thailand has remained relatively unscathed from the global outbreak with around 3,600 confirmed cases and only a few dozen deaths.
Last year, more than 9 million tourists visited Phuket, the second most popular destination in Thailand after Bangkok. (Photo: AFP / Lillian Suwanrumpha)
But the kingdom’s decision to focus on fighting the virus has dealt a brutal blow to the economy, which is expected to contract between 7% and 9% this year and leave millions unemployed.
“My boss wants to help the staff keep their jobs, but I don’t think we can survive after the end of the year,” sighs Jantima Tongsrijern, manager of the Pum Pui bar.
WORSE THAN TSUNAMI
In normal times, 80 percent of the island’s profits come from tourism, a sector that employs more than 300,000 people.
Tens of thousands of people who lost their jobs have returned to their home provinces.
READ: Private pools, fancy dining in Thailand’s lavish COVID-19 quarantine
Life is hard for those who endure it.
Bars have been left deserted in Phuket as the Thai resort island reels from the ravages of the pandemic with little sign of recovery. (Photo: AFP / Lillian Suwanrumpha)
Some have accepted huge pay cuts, while others have no choice but to join the long lines at food distribution centers or gather an income where they can.
A bar owner, Orathai Sidel, says she used to earn 100,000 baht (US $ 3,200) a month in peak season.
With his business a victim of the pandemic, he now sells desserts from a street cart, earning just $ 3 a day to try to cover his children’s school fees.
“We’re just fighting to survive,” says street vendor Poi, fired in June from the restaurant where she used to work.
Phuket was supposed to receive Thailand’s first foreign tourists since April in a cautious kingdom experiment, but their arrival remains delayed.
And the mandatory two-week quarantine and high price (several thousand dollars per person) will mean this is a niche market.
LEE: Thailand will slowly restart tourism with a flight from China
“We will have to focus on developing local clients and individual travelers rather than mass tourism,” says Preechawut Keesin.
Before the pandemic, domestic tourists only accounted for 30 percent of Phuket’s visitors, prompting the local tourism industry to reconsider its business model.
Trial packages are already being offered to domestic tourists for as little as US $ 30 for two nights, including flights from Bangkok, but the soaring prices mean hotels probably won’t even recoup their costs.
“We don’t expect to be back to normal in three years,” predicts Kongsak Khoopongsakorn.
“The situation is much worse than after the 2004 tsunami.”
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
