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Thailand may see 1 million tourism job losses in first quarter after new outbreak


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Thailand may see 1 million tourism job losses in first quarter after new outbreak

By Kitiphong Thaichareon

 

2021-01-26T073845Z_1_LYNXMPEH0P0GJ_RTROPTP_4_THAILAND-ECONOMY-TOURISM.JPG

FILE PHOTO: Immigration officers stand in front of an empty arrivals hall at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International airport amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Thailand, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand could see a million more jobless tourism workers in the first quarter after its latest wave of coronavirus infections, while relief measures are urgently needed to support the struggling sector, a private tourism group said on Tuesday.

 

The Tourism Council of Thailand will later on Tuesday propose to the government measures including a 50% co-pay scheme to retain workers, utility bill cuts, soft loans and a two-year debt moratoria, said its president, Chamnan Srisawat.

 

The proposed co-pay scheme will help some 800,000 people keep their jobs, he told a briefing.

 

"We don't want to leave these people. When COVID-19 is over, tourists will definitely return, so please help us survive for a while, maybe for three months" Chamnan said.

 

More than one million people had already lost their jobs and the number could double to two million in the first quarter due to the new spread, he said.

 

The latest outbreak has seen its overall cases more than triple in the past six weeks, reaching 63 of the country's 77 provinces.

 

Tourism should recover in the second half of 2021 and foreign visitor numbers could reach 10 million this year if the government removes a two-week quarantine for those tourists inoculated against COVID-19, said Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents(ATTA).

 

"If tourists can return with no quarantine, we will definitely see 10 million this year. If not, even if we let them in free of charge, nobody will come," he said.

 

The group will wait two months to gauge vaccinations globally before asking the government to adjust the quarantine requirement, Vichit said.

 

The state planning agency predicts 5 million foreign arrivals this year after the number slumped 83% to 6.7 million in 2020 due to the impacts of the global pandemic and Thailand's ban on foreign tourists and international commercial flights.

 

(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Martin Petty)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-26
 
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8 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I'm totally on board with this.

 

I've spouted the opinion that at least the Western tourist trade isn't returning for a couple of years. 

 

Now let's discount the sex tourism trade, but regular families aren't going to travel for a year or two. Firstly there is the economic havoc this has caused to family finances, then there is the fact people are just scared to travel. I work for an airline and domestic travel is running about 50% of what it should be, so give me a break that folks are gonna take their kids on an 18 flight to Thailand!

 

It's pie in the sky to think anything is going to even remotely approach normality for the next 24 months

I think you will find that on forum threads from last year said basically something similar but with a slight modification. Pandemics in the past changed the way people lived so it isn't surprising that this one will too. Of course the effects of each pandemic depends on technological and travel facilities of the period but I doubt very much that we will see the previous 'norm' again. We will adapt to a 'new norm' and get used to it...until the next pandemic.

The high number of casualties and the many that have/will lose their jobs is tragic and very sad indeed.

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I think this crisis was made worse by those in charge continuously touting the easy $ would be flowing soon. 3 my nths 5 months, from nally gave up permanently on 2020 but 10 million coming 2021.  They should have set up training.  Giving out money to poor.   But for Xmas what did they  do?  Gave free tolls to encourage travel.  This 50/50 had how much corruption?  I say follow the money.  Who had contracts on fuel but with no demand they are surely meeting with their suited monkey buddies.  Perhaps a few of those cool watched.  

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3 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

Yet, few are considering the real disastrous implications if Thailand were to open up freely.

A lot of risk. 

 

It might be up to a year before "touristy" things return to normal.

Make that 2/3 years and you maybe near the mark!

 

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eeworldwide at least there are two of us sheep that see it that way, also the governments are now s---scard of what the banks are going to do when they say the problem is over, and already there is a class distention between politicians and public in the wearing of masks

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