A Covid-19 test site in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on December 19.
Photographer: Jack Taylor / AFP via Getty Images
Photographer: Jack Taylor / AFP via Getty Images
As Phuket and other Thai tourist destinations prepare for a slight boom in business from the countdown to 2021, a new virus outbreak among seafood factory workers near Bangkok couldn’t come at a worse time.
Thailand discovered one record cluster of infections in Samut Sakhon province last week, causing a 14 day industrial area lockdown. The government is considering whether to extend curbs to other locations.
Another nationwide block or restriction on domestic travel could be the “nail in the box” for many tourism-related businesses, according to the president of the Phuket Hotel Association. Anthony Lark.
“Everyone is losing money and just trying to break even,” Lark said by phone Monday. “If the government cannot control the virus and there are domestic air travel or inter-provincial travel restrictions, then you will absolutely see hotel, restaurant and boat owners prank their business.”
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on Monday that he needs about a week to assess whether tougher curbs are needed.
News of a widespread outbreak in a fish market, which brought the total number of infections in Thailand to 5,289 on Monday, came just a day after the government announced plans to put some restrictions on tourists from 56 countries, including the US, Japan and Singapore. relax.
Thailand is betting on a revival of tourism to help it out of a recession, although the central bank predicts it could take two years for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to return to pre-pandemic levels. Foreign tourists generated more than $ 60 billion in revenues from approximately 40 million visitors in 2019.
While the international market has been virtually dormant for months, domestic travelers have sustained many places, including Phuket, where businesses have been counting on a bump during the year-end holidays.
Read: Thailand May Increase Lockdowns When Food Workers Strike; Shares are falling
According to Lark, travelers from the Thai capital have accounted for 99% of Phuket’s tourists since the nation closed its borders in late March. Before the pandemic, foreign tourists made up two-thirds of the island province’s visitors, but contributed about 90% of Phuket’s tourism revenue.
“Weekend fighters in Bangkok have backed all support companies,” said Lark, noting that occupancy rates at some hotels have risen by 80% at times. But new restrictions “would be the nail in the box for so many companies that were already booked and waiting for tourists from Bangkok.”