As Thai tourist island reopens, small businesses say left behind

[snoop1130]

Dimitry and Alona from Ukraine swim at Patong beach as Phuket prepares to open to overseas tourists from July 1, allowing foreigners fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to visit the resort island without quarantine, in Phuket, Thailand June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) - As Thailand's government prepares to celebrate its reopening to foreign tourists this week, many businesses on the holiday island of Phuket aren't so enthusiastic about the return of visitors.

 

Phuket is a pilot programme for Thailand's reboot of a tourism industry gutted by the pandemic, allowing fully vaccinated visitors with negative coronavirus tests to fly directly to the southern island, bypassing 14-day quarantine requirements.

 

But local firms say they've been left behind and aren't expecting much from the trickles of tourists due to arrive starting Thursday. Visitors will see a different Phuket from the one visited annually by millions before the pandemic struck.

 

"They will see buildings on sale, buildings for rent, shop closed, convenience store closed. Do you think it's a good environment for the tourist? No," said Srangsan Thongtan of the Phuket Tourism Entrepreneur Development Association, adding that businesses are urgently in need of soft loans to rebuild. "It's very hard to open ... we don't have budget, we don't have money to repair, repaint everything to bring our business back."

 

More than 2 million Thai tourism workers have lost their jobs since last year, including 400,000 in the first quarter of 2021, an industry group said this week, while the central bank governor said tourism could take "five years plus" to normalise.

 

Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism revenue last year when foreign arrivals plunged 83% from the nearly 40 million visitors in 2019.

 

Natchakanya Sanguanwong, manager of Anchan spa, which once served hundreds of tourists each day, said many businesses won't see the revenues from the first batches of visitors, who will stay in government-accredited hotels.

 

"Our spa couldn't reopen because it requires the cost of utilities, staff, and rent," she added.

 

Manish Prathap, manager of the Centara Grand hotel, said his resort is expecting about 20% occupancy initially and for that to double when the plan catches on.

 

"Agents and as well as guests will start having trust and faith in Phuket Sandbox programme," he said.

 

The hotel's duty manager, Kamonrat Thudphimai, said she was excited.

 

"I've been missing the moments during holidays like during Christmas," she said. "We're hoping those moments return."

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-06-30

 

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[LivinginKata]

Exactly correct the rich and connected get more rich. The modest and poor get nothing but the crumbs. Disgraceful ...

[MadMac]

Who says it opens, there are still 6 hours to go to create some more silly rules and confusion.

[xylophone]

I was speaking to the owner of my favourite Italian restaurant in Patong, Salute, and asked him what he thought about the situation especially now that July 1 was almost upon us, and he said that he would wait a few days and see what was happening, before he decided whether it was worth opening or not.

 

The problem being that he is in a small Soi off Bangla Road and as there will be nothing to attract people to Bangla, I do believe that his restaurant will be overlooked, except for the few people living here who frequent it because of the food, and because the owners are good folk.

 

I would love to go there for a meal as I'm tired of my own cooking which seems to be getting worse (don't ask) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next two or three days to prove fruitful for the restaurant and me!

[RotBenz8888]

35 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

"Agents and as well as guests will start having trust and faith in Phuket Sandbox programme," he said.

You need faith in some higher power to belive this spectacle will work. 

[poskat]

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

Exactly correct the rich and connected get more rich. The modest and poor get nothing but the crumbs. Disgraceful ...

in other words,  everything is going exactly as planned....

[Elkski]

I think some of the only visitors we go will come are the ones who fly to Phuket and usually spend 90% of their stay at one of the well heeled resorts.   It is a start but also a very big risk.   As workers return, supply chain workers make deliveries, etc the virus will have more chance to spread in the local unvaccinated population.  I will be generous and count 2 sinovac jabs as vaccinated until we see how it fares with the Delta variant

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Natchakanya Sanguanwong, manager of Anchan spa, which once served hundreds of tourists each day, said many businesses won't see the revenues from the first batches of visitors, who will stay in government-accredited hotels.

Exactly.... 

[Darksidedude]

I think a lot of people going to Phuket are people that were going to Thailand regardless, so they have the option not to be locked in a room for 2 weeks.

 

I will be doing the same and i dont care if nothing is open, beats being in isolation in a hotel for 2 weeks

 

[toolpush]

33 minutes ago, Darksidedude said:

I think a lot of people going to Phuket are people that were going to Thailand regardless, so they have the option not to be locked in a room for 2 weeks.

 

I will be doing the same and i dont care if nothing is open, beats being in isolation in a hotel for 2 weeks

 

Agreed. I don't think there will be very many genuine tourists. Just returnees not wanting to be trapped in a hotel room for 14 days

[madmitch]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Manish Prathap, manager of the Centara Grand hotel, said his resort is expecting about 20% occupancy initially and for that to double when the plan catches on.

 

"Agents and as well as guests will start having trust and faith in Phuket Sandbox programme," he said.

The Centara Grand is a very good hotel with top notch facilities and I hope the manager is right. But step out of the hotel and Karon is still practically a ghost town. With hardly anywhere to eat open and bars, of course, closed, there's little to attract genuine tourists, even if they are prepared to jump through all the hoops to get admission to the famous sandbox, and this applies to most of the main west coast resort areas.

[MadMac]

9 minutes ago, madmitch said:

The Centara Grand is a very good hotel with top notch facilities and I hope the manager is right. But step out of the hotel and Karon is still practically a ghost town. With hardly anywhere to eat open and bars, of course, closed, there's little to attract genuine tourists, even if they are prepared to jump through all the hoops to get admission to the famous sandbox, and this applies to most of the main west coast resort areas.

 

The Centara is just one of thousands of 4...5 star properties in the world that are exchangeable without noticing a difference. So why would people even consider coming to Phuket if they can have an easy ride in for instance Mexico.

[PETERTHEEATER]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

But local firms say they've been left behind and aren't expecting much from the trickles of tourists due to arrive starting Thursday

Trickles? Trickles? According to TAT there will be a deluge.....