Tourism sector will only start recovering next year, say experts

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

Businesses that have been severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those that rely mainly on tourism in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), are in dire need of support.

 

Pratya Samalapa, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC), however, said it is still too early to predict when the tourism industry will recover as it relies mainly on arrivals from China.

 

He said there may be fewer tourists even after the government lifts travel restrictions as many countries are still struggling with the pandemic and blocking overseas travel to curb the contagion.

 

“After the tourism business is unlocked, there will only be some stranded Thais returning and maybe some groups arriving to hold seminars. This may help some businesses, but will not be able to stimulate recovery, especially since this region fully relies on foreign tourists,” Pratya said.

 

The private sector is working on tourism stimulus measures to propose to the government. The proposal will focus on domestic travel to help tourism businesses survive, before preparations can be made to take in foreign tourists once the outbreak ends.

 

Meanwhile, Teerin Tanyawattanakul, chair of the Chonburi Chamber of Commerce, said the agency has discussed the Phase 2 of the relaxation of measures with the provincial authorities, and is considering lifting restrictions on golf courses, parks, hotels, resorts, restaurants and tourist attractions in the province.

 

Tourism has been hit the hardest by the Covid-19 outbreak, with most tourists having disappeared and operators losing 80 to 90 per cent of their income.

 

The Chonburi and EEC Tourism Development Plan, which does not cover Pattaya City and Bangsaen, was created to promote other attractions in the province, such as the Hundred Pillar House or Ban Roi Sao.

 

“We expect the Covid-19 outbreak to end by the beginning of 2021 and travel should once again begin once the vaccine is found. The tourism sector in Chonburi should return to normal by the second quarter of next year,” Teerin said.

 

Thanate Vorasaran, vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said the eastern region is suffering the most and not much can be done because it relies mainly on foreign arrivals.

 

All borders to Thailand are still closed and no tourists are allowed to land. It is believed that Thai nationals may be allowed to travel overseas by the beginning of July, and the government may allow interprovincial travel soon if the number of new Covid-19 cases remains low.

 

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year, though it is believed that Chinese tourists may be allowed into the country by July as the number of infections in the country is under control. Operators believe there will be a large influx of Chinese tourists because they are not able to travel anywhere else.

 

“TCT predicts that the number of tourists in 2021 will match the number in 2019. Hence, it is important for operators in the tourism sector to start preparing for the influx,” Thanate said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30387799

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-05-14

 

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4 minutes ago, webfact said:

The tourism sector in Chonburi should return to normal by the second quarter of next year,” Teerin said.

I think Teerin has lost a few marbles, whilst on lockdown, if he thinks it will be anywhere near normal by that time !

I thought it was initially quite balanced until he started mentioning China having things under control (the demon might have but has still lost 100-200k souls) and that the predicted 2021 numbers will equal 2019. Only a viable vaccine could lead to that sort of spring back.

 

"Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year," I hope he is wrong.

35 minutes ago, webfact said:

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year, though it is believed that Chinese tourists may be allowed into the country by July as the number of infections in the country is under control. Operators believe there will be a large influx of Chinese tourists because they are not able to travel anywhere else.

Sure, sadly they will open it up to the Chinese for sure and hordes of them will come.

I bet Oct., Nov. and Dec. will show the greatest influx of Chinese for a 3 month period in the history of the country.

2 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Sure, sadly they will open it up to the Chinese for sure and hordes of them will come.

I bet Oct., Nov. and Dec. will show the greatest influx of Chinese for a 3 month period in the history of the country.

I can avoid them in the suburbs of BKK, but not at the airports clogging everything up. I had of group of 8 older Chinese women pushing past me at security and immigration last year at Suvarnbhumi, some of them had BO too.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The tourism sector in Chonburi should return to normal by the second quarter of next year,” Teerin said.

i think its a sober assessment except for this part,

its not going to return to normal for many years,

its going to take the world many years of work to recover economy

from the lockdown that was foolishly self inflicted

Edited May 13, 20206 yr by brokenbone

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year.

 

I hope they allow those of us that live in Thailand and are held up in other countries to return to our homes very soon. 

25 minutes ago, brokenbone said:

i think its a sober assessment except for this part,

its not going to return to normal for many years,

its going to take the world many years of work to recover economy

from the lockdown that was foolishly self inflicted

I saw a video today from NDTV in Pattaya and he said 80% was closed, it looked a ghost town. Bars and clubs are going to suffer from the lockdown and virus social distancing, especially bars/clubs that are enclosed.

Wishful thinking at best.....maybe in 10 years time....once they remove all the bars from Walking Street and make it “family friendly” ????????????????????????

So they are writing off Pattaya and Bangsaen if I read that right? 100 pillar house? Really?

like putting spiffy new mirrors on your car while the engine is blowing head gasket :"There, that ought to fix it!"

3 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

"Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year," I hope he is wrong.

Only Chinese where the virus started because of their low case numbers.

But not new Zealand, who only has 78 active cases left , 0 cases the last three days.

so my wife can go back after July but I can not go back to my house.

My son who holds a Thai passport can go back but Dad can not.

 

So, invite the country's people that started spreading the virus world wide, and risk a second wave, possibly  worse than the first. 

Nz has almost eliminated c19 we will know in the next few weeks if a second wave starts as we have now dropped to level 2 from level 4.

I was hoping to return by Xmas, then there may be no flights to LOS from NZ as the borders here may be shut for quite some time.

And if your allowed into Thailand you might not be able to go back to your country for some time.

Who knows??

 

 

 

 

 

As I have said before, as far as Thailand is concerned, they have not, nor will they, blamed China for anything whatsoever. This is because China owns Thailand and controls the powers that be. China will insist their people are allowed back in, as they are pedaling the belief that the virus is a western disease etc. 
it will be interesting to see what Thailand does if the Chinese flood back in and, god forbid, the infection rate here shoots back up. No idea how Thailand will explain that. 

22 minutes ago, mikebell said:

The Chinese are at work on Covid 20 & 21 as we speak.  Did I miss Covids 1 through 18?

The number comes from the year it was identified.

You may be joking about it, but many readers don't understand how it works.

A lot of <deleted> in this article. Number one is the idea that tourist numbers in 2021 will match 2019, which was a record breaking year. Not a chance. Second, why is the Eastern region worse off than others? Phuket and other Southern destinations have been hit just as hard. Third, the guy talks like a vaccine is inevitable. It's not. 

 

But what I really don't understand is why Thailand is unlikely to allow any foreigners to enter the country for the rest of this year. Iceland plans to reopen foreign tourism next month by requiring all arrivals to either pay for a Covid test right after landing, or pay for 14-day quarantine. Why can't Thailand do that?

 

And if Thailand is going to allow tourism from China as early as July, why wouldn't tourists be allowed to enter from New Zealand or Australia? Both have suppressed the virus and arrivals from those countries are probably less risky than tourists from China.

all these are guesses at this stage as no one can definitively say when the corona virus will be eradicated. tourism flow will depend largely on that and with no medication or vaccination in sight, it is purely guess work which is not going to help anybody.

1 hour ago, anfh said:

As I have said before, as far as Thailand is concerned, they have not, nor will they, blamed China for anything whatsoever. This is because China owns Thailand and controls the powers that be. China will insist their people are allowed back in, as they are pedaling the belief that the virus is a western disease etc. 
it will be interesting to see what Thailand does if the Chinese flood back in and, god forbid, the infection rate here shoots back up. No idea how Thailand will explain that. 

So true

3 hours ago, Jeff Simoneaux said:

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year.

 

I hope they allow those of us that live in Thailand and are held up in other countries to return to our homes very soon. 

Yep, many of us in the same position and I'm sure the same applies in other countries as well. It would be great of they actually gave some consideration to our predicament, but somehow I don't think we are on the radar at all. If I can get back in I think I will be inclined to stay in country with my wife until the pandemic has a vaccine or something. Seems like we have a few months at least before there is any chance of a return, though I would love to be mistaken.

Thailand tourism experts.... There's an oxymoron if ever there was one ????

5 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

"Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year," I hope he is wrong.

without foreign, non Chinese tourists

phuket/samui will not be able to hold out till next year

If to accept the predictions , there will be no tourist sector by then, but deserted towns with empty buildings . Who can sustain no income for a year? Even big boys will struggle 

4 hours ago, Jeff Simoneaux said:

Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year.

 

I hope they allow those of us that live in Thailand and are held up in other countries to return to our homes very soon. 

Yes I expect they will but the shortage of flights and the expense may be prohibitive.. Can't see airlines putting on flights with empty planes.. Msybe look to come by sea.. Yep I know virtually impossible. All depends on how long you want to come and stay for. Cargo boats take passengers. Six weeks from Europe but if you are staying for a long time msybe worth it.. Short trips as in a few weeks are msybe a long long way off. 

Good luck

Quote "Most foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Thailand for most of this year, though it is believed that Chinese tourists may be allowed into the country by July as the number of infections in the country is under control."

If you believe what the CCP is telling the world your got rocks in your head!

So it's goodbye Pattaya Beach, which will presumably remain closed and banned forever more, and tell all the tourists to go see the Chonburi Grand Canyon instead...

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Operators believe there will be a large influx of Chinese tourists because they are not able to travel anywhere else.

who, besides, Thailand, is stupid enough to let them in

Does the Thai government actually believe that the Pandemic is under control in China? Are you stupid enough to believe ANYTHING that the CCP tells you. Anyone reporting new Wuhan Coronavirus infections in China are punished by the government. If Thailand is so dependent on Chinese tourism they let the consequences fall where they may.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Businesses that have been severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those that rely mainly on tourism in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), are in dire need of support

Tell it to the boss, he's all for the EEC

6 hours ago, webfact said:

though it is believed that Chinese tourists may be allowed into the country by July as the number of infections in the country is under control.

sure and the Pope is catholic.... Thainess at its best

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/wuhan-reopened-last-month-now-191224332.html

Wuhan reopened last month. Now, new coronavirus infections spark mass testing and renewed fears

the city government ordered Monday that all Wuhan residents be tested for the coronavirus within 10 days,,,

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/wuhan-test-entire-population-11m-065318101.html

Wendy Tang

The Telegraph

Wuhan to test entire 11m population as new cases raise fears of second coronavirus wave

Health authorities ordered every district in the city of 11 million to submit a detailed testing plan by Tuesday for their respective area. The ambitious plans will require all tests to be completed within 10 days.

Wendy Tang

The Telegraph

Edited May 14, 20206 yr by Mavideol

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourism sector will only start recovering next year, say experts

Well if you make tourists do push ups for not wearing face masks, close the beaches, impose a fee for insurance for every entrant, and stop serving alcohol at restaurants I think that having it recover at all will be doubtful

 

This is my take on tourism returning. Open Thailand for tourism and it'll go back the way it was quickly just open it up and see!