[ad_1]
BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) – As Phuket and other Thai tourist destinations prepare for a slight increase in business from the countdown to 2021, a new virus outbreak among workers at seafood factories near Bangkok could not come in worst moment.
Thailand discovered a record cluster of infections in Samut Sakhon province last week, prompting a 14-day shutdown of the industrial district. The government is reflecting on the need to extend the sidewalks to other locations.
Another nationwide blockade or restrictions on domestic travel could be the “nail in the coffin” for many tourism-related businesses, according to the president of the Phuket Hotel Association, Anthony Lark.
“Everyone is losing money and just trying to cover expenses,” Lark said by phone on Monday (December 21).
“If the government cannot control the virus and restrictions on national or interprovincial air travel are introduced, you will see that the owners of hotels, restaurants and boats cannot do anything.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Monday that it will take about a week to assess whether stricter restrictions are needed.
News of a widespread outbreak in a seafood market, bringing Thailand’s total infections to 5,289 on Monday, came just a day after the government announced plans to ease some restrictions on tourists from 56 countries, including the United States, Japan and Singapore.
Thailand is betting on a tourism revival to help it emerge from the recession, although the central bank predicts that it could take two years for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to return to pre-pandemic growth levels. Foreign tourist arrivals generated more than US $ 60 billion (Singapore $ 79.6 billion) in revenue of some 40 million visitors in 2019.
While the international market has been virtually dormant for months, domestic travelers have kept many places afloat, including Phuket, where businesses were counting on a hit during the end of the year holidays.
Travelers to the Thai capital account for 99 percent of Phuket’s tourists since the nation closed its borders in late March, according to Lark.
Before the pandemic, foreign tourists made up two-thirds of visitors to the island province, but contributed about 90 percent of Phuket’s tourism revenue.
“The Bangkok weekend warriors have been supporting all the support businesses,” Lark said, noting that some hotel occupancy rates have reached 80 percent at times.
But the new restrictions “would be the nail in the coffin for so many companies already booked and waiting for Bangkok tourists.”
[ad_2]
