Thailand is facing a labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry

[webfact]

 

By Online Reporter

 

By Richard Mehr

 

Labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry is not a new problem, this situation has been ongoing for several years but the pandemic has made it far worse.

 

Following weak operations in 2020 and 2021, the hospitality and tourism industry will continue to see depressed conditions through 2022.

 

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The first shoots of recovery may start to break through from the end of this year and throughout 2023 and 2024, but it could take at least 2-3 years for foreign tourist arrivals to return to pre-COVID level, according to Krungsri Bank Outlook Report 2021-2023.

 

With global travel crashing by a record-breaking rate of 74% from 2019 level. The hardest-hit were the Asia-Pacific region (-84%), with severe drops in arrivals in Singapore (-85.1%), Thailand (-83.2%), South Korea (-85.6%) and Japan (almost -90%).

 

Full story: https://www.huahintoday.com/thailand-news/thailand-is-facing-a-labor-shortage-in-the-hospitality-and-tourism-industry/

 

-- © Copyright Hua Hin Today 2022-03-09

 

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[mtls2005]

Someone's gotta catch the shrimp. Someone's gotta cook the shrimp. Someone's gotta refill the shrimp buffet.

 

Who ya gonna call? Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

 

 

 

 

[RandiRona]

Yes....if there is no tourist industry ....there is no hospitality labor..... Increase Tourism and you will see labor coming back.

[JoePai]

Good to know Thailand has zero unemployment 

[Hayduke]

31 minutes ago, webfact said:

Labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry

 

What hospitality and tourism industry?

 

 

[mikebell]

There's a tourist shortage in the tourism industry.  Only teetotal dog-lovers are coming here.

[Will B Good]

Thailand is facing a labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry....seriously?

 

How can you have a labour shortage in an industry that barely even exists?

[Geoffggi]

Cancel  all visas to the Middle East, problem solved.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry is not a new problem, this situation has been ongoing for several years but the pandemic has made it far worse.

I find that rather hard to believe.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, RandiRona said:

Yes....if there is no tourist industry ....there is no hospitality labor..... Increase Tourism and you will see labor coming back.

The industry is a fraction of what it was, the labour is out there somewhere trying to scrape by.

[Road Warrior]

what tourist industry /?????

[madmitch]

Although there were some glimpses of recovery for end of 2021 and 2022, the latest cancellation of the Test&Go, will slow down drastically foreign arrivals to the Kingdom affecting the tourism industry and ancillary services.

 

How long ago was this article written?

 

 

[ed strong]

6 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Thailand is facing a labor shortage in the hospitality and tourism industry....seriously?

 

How can you have a labour shortage in an industry that barely even exists?

They sacked all the staff that were employed prior to 2020 and now a few more tourists are arriving they are now short staffed......it makes sense, you dont want a load of employees if there are no customers.

 

better headline would be. ''Hotels looking for more staff as they get busier''

[digger70]

How in the name of Satan are they short of workers , 

There's no tourism to speak of No Tourism No workers Are they that stupid? 

There are Plenty of people unimployed /Don't want to work That's the problem

Edited March 9, 2022 by digger70

[bkk6060]

They pay them almost nothing to kiss up to tourists it is a lousy job not many want.

[Dart12]

Job insecurity.  How many times we reopened and then they close it all down again.

Why move back just to make no money and have no job?

[grego49]

Get rid of the test and go scam and tourist will come back,then they can start to find workers,,

[spidermike007]

More nonsense. Unemployment is likely around 14%. There are plenty of people out of work. 

 

There is no labor shortage here. They wish! There is a tourist shortage. 

[Stargeezr]

It is also the time of year. March and April are the hottest months, and it seems to be rainy in some places as well.

  I thought this time of year used to be called the low tourist season. Did the intelligent Government and TAT forget

about these things.  As it was said, get rid of the present rules.  the Thai government has until October to get rid of all their restrictions and COVID

rules, like test and go, and the sand box schemes,  then maybe they will have better luck with the next Winter months high tourist season.

 that is only 6 months from now, TAT and Prayut, get a move on.

[Sydebolle]

Only once you get the racist officers in their cubicles of the Labour Department to move their big fat backside, change those ridiculous and bureaucratic rules and open up on Thailand in the context of AEC 2015 ..... you might see improvement. 

I sold my restaurant, long before the coronaphobia, due to my inability to run my business with a more or less stable work force (full head count was 14 staff). I had waiters/waitresses starting at 15,000 Baht; in the kitchen nobody had less than 18,000 Baht, plus one month paid holidays (albeit working New Year's Eve, Songkran etc.), health insurance and provident fund - in short - far above the governmental minimum, which was and still is a big joke. Six working days a week, open only evenings and nice guests leaving nice and juicy tips behind. 

Within 15 years of operation my running staff number had reached 400+, i.e. 400+ different staff had covered 14 staff positions. Precisely one resigned according to contract, the rest had sick buffaloes, the third funeral of a parent, floods in dry season etc. etc. etc. 

My attempt to get a "quota" for alien workers from Burma, Cambodia or eventually Laos took two months and I was granted ONE position which had to be below the lowest job executed by a Thai national. AEC2015 stipulates that ASEAN citizen have the freedom of travel and work among member states - well - not in Thailand. Unless your business is in Bangkok or in a province at the country's borders, it became impossible to hire "alien" staff legally. 

Hence I decided to sell the business and my successor, a Thai national, could not be asred with regulations; a year later his entire work force was non-Thai, illegal, uninsured and he confirmed the impossibility to hire staff. 

In short, if Thailand wants to recoup some of the tourism cake then get staff, irrespective from which walks of life and nationality, to get the job done! 

[internationalism]

before pandemic all shortage was covered by migrant workers.

At the beginning all employed went back to their villages for subsistence farming, agriculture and industry. 

Most of them are ready to come back, as soon as thailand opens.