Phuket SMEs urge support to reopen to serve tourists

[webfact]

Phuket SME operators called for better support from the government at a meeting held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town Oct 15. Photo: PR Phuket

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: Representatives from small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Phuket have called on the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion board (OSMEP) to provide support by providing access to low-interest loans without the onerous requirements currently required by government agencies and to set up a fund so they can reopen to serve tourists.

 

The call came at a meeting at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town yesterday (Oct 15), chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong.

 

Present to hear the plea in person was Mongkol Leelatham, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion board (OSMEP).

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-smes-urge-support-to-reopen-to-serve-tourists-81721.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-10-18

 

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[RichardColeman]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

to provide support by providing access to low-interest loans without the onerous requirements currently required by government agencies and to set up a fund so they can reopen to serve tourists.

The reality is that is they need mass tourism as soon as possible to pay back those loans that will enable them to open. With the current outlook on the 'health pass' the PM and his lot are proposing  they may well do better to stay closed until a REAL 'unhoopy' opening if they can 

[Karma80]

That's the cart before the horse. The service and tourism  industries works on demand and real arrivals.

 

You can fanfare "re-opening" and talk all you like, but in reality what is changing? A COE rebadged into an app and the sandbox re-entry rules extended to some other places.

 

The same sandbox which was heralded as such as success. Actually rerouting the ASQ business from BKK, into Phuket hotels, a handful of real short term visitors and some motivated travellers trying their luck with dodgy visas or gaming covid extensions.

 

We do have to start somewhere, but much of this is just smoke, mirrors and TAT's usual stunts.

 

Remember the push to attract 1 million digital nomads, wealthy retirees with long term visas? Nothing more. Exactly the real program that would bring in cash and long term investment to the local economies. All Thailand wants is a magic time machine to 2018.

[LivinLOS]

Phuket.. 

Give us the vaccines first.. 
Give us 3rd booster shots while others wait for first shots..
Give us the right to sell alcohol in restaurants.. 
Give us the right to open nightlife and bars and call them restaurants.. 
Give us a green / yellow status while we have far more per population cases, hospitalizations, and deaths than red provinces. 
Give us a captive Sandbox market that no one else can access.. 

Also Phuket.. multiple deaths many days.. September was 3x the death rate of May to August... 

Phuket seems to want an awful lot, at the expense of other provinces.. 

[madmitch]

“There are approximately 43,000 entrepreneurs throughout the country, and the number of SME operators in Phuket comprises 1.35% of the total number of SMEs in the country,” he said.

 

Where do they get their figures from? Phuket alone must have at least 43,000 small businesses. Have they borrowed the TAT calculator? Is there an SME definition that I'm unaware of? Is something lost in translation or is the gentleman spurting complete and utter tosh?