‘10,000 Thai tour guides out of jobs’

[snoop1130]

‘10,000 Thai tour guides out of jobs’

By The Nation

 

Wirote Sitaprasertnand

 

The Tourist Guide Association says over 10,000 Thai tour guides have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak choking off business from China and the government has to help them.

 

Wirote Sitaprasertnand, the association’s president, has written to Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn requesting remedial measures. 

 

Wirote asked for tourism promotions to generate more work for guides and travel agencies and training for guides in additional languages and techniques for boosting the quality of travel services, as well as an “allowance” system to support guides left with no income.

 

Warning that Thai guides catering to tourists of all nationalities, not just Chinese, stand to lose while the scare persists, he said the government has to turn crisis into opportunity by increasing everyone’s potential ahead of the next high season.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30382030

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-12

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[YetAnother]

15 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Warning that Thai guides catering to tourists of all nationalities, not just Chinese, stand to lose while the scare persists, he said the government has to turn crisis into opportunity by increasing everyone’s potential ahead of the next high season.

180 degrees wrong; what he wants is for the govt to deep pocket him and his organization and then, maybe , maybe some of that money might make it to the people he cites; far more likely is every member of his family gets a brand new mercedes

[Orton Rd]

Amazon coffee and Starbucks are always hiring

[Just1Voice]

Gosh, people might have to actually go out and find a real job. lol

[khunpa]

13 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

Gosh, people might have to actually go out and find a real job. lol

And with the worlds lowest unemployment rate this should not be a problem, right?.....Or?.........

[CNXexpat]

30 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

Gosh, people might have to actually go out and find a real job. lol

I guess you don´t know that tour guides have to show their knowledge at a test and the license costs approx. 40,000 Baht. 

 

But hey, they can find a job in restaurants, markets, massages, hotels - oh wait, they have problems too (numbers for Chiang Mai):

- Hotel bookings down 50-80%
- Elephant camp bookings down 50-80%
- Car rental business down 50%
- Money exchanges down 40%
- Clothes sales down as much as 90% (they may mean markets)
- Van operators and tour guide services down 70-80%
- Massage parlors down 80-90%

[steven100]

they can go and talk to ANUTIN or whatever his name is and work in the factory to make masks

[Just1Voice]

I have been predicting a crash such as this for a number of years now, I just did not know it would be a little virus that would bring it about. 

[david555]

I normally flight visit home country April /May but not booking as never know how this go evolve , as flight money can be postponed , but my studio booking almost not ….. just suppose  they could  make rule in Europe or U.K. all must go quarantine from China or East Asia …… money spend for nothing .

 

As in beginning a Sky news Video link with American in China virus city , told U.SA gov. contact expected the top of contagion in April ….. and it looks it is going that way

[ozz1]

That's ok the army can employ them just more generals needed the Chinese will save them

[sammieuk1]

But still the Baht marches on so face saved ????

[ukrules]

So tragic, maybe the Europeans will come back one day if they make it possible to get a visa without spending half the day on a crappy website.

[ExpatLife]

15 minutes ago, ukrules said:

So tragic, maybe the Europeans will come back one day if they make it possible to get a visa without spending half the day on a crappy website.

I heard something about pigs being able to fly  

[PatOngo]

They can always revert to that age old mass employer...……....watching rice grow!

[Colabamumbai]

They can go back to the farm. 

[Deli]

This happens when focusing on 1 market only and at the same time driving out all the others.

Definitely not the sharpest tools in command.

[Nyezhov]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

So tragic, maybe the Europeans will come back one day if they make it possible to get a visa without spending half the day on a crappy website.

and have a holiday with clean air.

[RichardColeman]

So have the TAT revised the figure down from a 5% rise to a 4.9% rise yet ? 

[Emdog]

I am a tad concerned that some of those out of work may choose the option of mugging old expats like me.

[bartender100]

Might soon re-employ them  as morticians

[thaibeachlovers]

12 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

I guess you don´t know that tour guides have to show their knowledge at a test and the license costs approx. 40,000 Baht. 

 

But hey, they can find a job in restaurants, markets, massages, hotels - oh wait, they have problems too (numbers for Chiang Mai):

- Hotel bookings down 50-80%
- Elephant camp bookings down 50-80%
- Car rental business down 50%
- Money exchanges down 40%
- Clothes sales down as much as 90% (they may mean markets)
- Van operators and tour guide services down 70-80%
- Massage parlors down 80-90%

Test????? If that's so, how come none of the Thai guides on the tours I went on were much use? Most couldn't even speak English properly. I could have done a better job.

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, Colabamumbai said:

They can go back to the farm. 

Excellent idea ; we are sorely lacking in labor in the rice fields and sugar cane fields which we are forced to burn before cutting because of this: no workers ...

[david555]

5 hours ago, PatOngo said:

They can always revert to that age old mass employer...……....watching rice grow!

And so the Thai girls become slim again by ..

"real working"... vertical....????

 

.

[terminatorchiangmai]

35 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Test????? If that's so, how come none of the Thai guides on the tours I went on were much use? Most couldn't even speak English properly. I could have done a better job.

Cheap tours , cheap guides and maybe not even licensed.

I have 6 perfect English speaking guides with a license working for me freelance at a cost of 1,500.- THB per guide per day.

[Lacessit]

8 minutes ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

Cheap tours , cheap guides and maybe not even licensed.

I have 6 perfect English speaking guides with a license working for me freelance at a cost of 1,500.- THB per guide per day.

How's business for you? A tour guide I know in Chiang Mai ( multi-lingual ) says all of his work is in Vietnam, nothing in Thailand.

[terminatorchiangmai]

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

How's business for you? A tour guide I know in Chiang Mai ( multi-lingual ) says all of his work is in Vietnam, nothing in Thailand.

Business is down 30 % and i not even have Chinese clients.

[Lacessit]

19 minutes ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

Business is down 30 % and i not even have Chinese clients.

Much like I am hearing for other businesses. Some restaurants are closing for lunch to save on overheads. Visa agents are in the same boat.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Deli said:

This happens when focusing on 1 market only and at the same time driving out all the others.

Definitely not the sharpest tools in command.

Not helped by the fact that 90% of the minsters and 90% of the senior beaurocrats have little to zero knowledg, experience, insight or capability in the subject areas where they are assigned.

 

And even worse they're only interested in one thing; their turn at the trough, their %, showing off their expensive cars to their buddies, etc. 

[rebo]

Make hay while the sun shines and save it for a rainy day ...

[Darkside Gray]

That seems like a awful lot of tour guides?