Thai businesses call for travel bubbles even as local tourism surges
Thais are not known to be avid surfers despite the country's many scenic beaches, but in recent months, one surfing school in Thailand's south has seen a huge wave of local students.
Since June, when the country started to partially ease the coronavirus lockdown, Better Surf Thailand has seen more than 7,000 new local students compared with less than 2,000 about a year ago.
Owner Taweeroj Eawpanich, 34, said his school in Khao Lak, Phangnga province, had focused on recruiting local students to stay afloat amid the tourism shutdown.
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"Phuket has always positioned itself as a destination for foreigners, which is why the situation there is very bad now when it is supposed to be the high season," he said, referring to the neighbouring tourist hotspot. "We should have had a better tourism campaign all these years [to sustain business all year round]."
A tourist takes pictures at an empty beach in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: AFP alt=A tourist takes pictures at an empty beach in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: AFP
As tourism revenues from domestic travellers are projected to surpass that of foreigners for the first time amid the pandemic, businesses across the kingdom are having to rethink their approach in an industry that normally contributes to 12 per cent of Thailand's GDP.
Thais will spend about 500 billion baht (US$16.5 billion) on travel this year, or about half of what they spent in 2019, the Kasikorn Research Centre said in October.
Thais will spend some 500 billion baht (HK$127 billion) on travel this year, the Kasikorn Research Centre said in October.
While that figure is about half of what domestic travellers spent last year, it is bigger than the 300 billion baht that foreign tourists are projected to spend this year, according to figures by Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority. Last year, international arrivals spent 1.93 trillion baht (US$63.8 billion).
Yuthasak said by the end of this year, some 6.7 million foreigners would have visited Thailand, or just 17 per cent of a record 39.8 million last year.
Chinese tourists from Shanghai arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on special tourist visas on October 20, 2020. Photo: AP alt=Chinese tourists from Shanghai arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on special tourist visas on October 20, 2020. Photo: AP
The Thai government has faced growing calls from its tourism sector to waive the quarantine requirement for some tourists to help offset the damage.
Thailand's Covid-19 panel recently discussed relaxing a mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors from select low-risk countries, but a decision was deferred following concerns raised by some officials.
Thailand has recorded more than 3,800 coronavirus cases, with its nationwide state of emergency extended through January 15 to prevent a resurgence in infections during the peak New Year's travel period. The government on Tuesday approved an advanced procurement of 26 million anti-coronavirus vaccine doses from AstraZeneca.
Wichit Prakobkosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said he hoped Thailand would consider launching tourist exchange programmes or travel bubbles with low-risk nations.
The two-week quarantine, which applies both ways, means most tourists will be losing 28 days on holiday, he said.
"If we intend to launch a travel bubble, then we can focus on areas with no reports of coronavirus cases in the last 150 days, [including] China, Vietnam, Taiwan and New Zealand," said Wichit, adding that some 20 Chinese provinces had not recorded any infections in the past few months.
"Without doing this, 2 million people - half of all human resources in Thailand's tourism sector - will be out of jobs within the first quarter of next year," he said.
An unusually-quiet Karon beach in Phuket, which has seen a lack of tourists due the pandemic. Photo: AFP alt=An unusually-quiet Karon beach in Phuket, which has seen a lack of tourists due the pandemic. Photo: AFP
Yuthasak from the Tourism Authority said the government was eyeing European travellers as part of the Thailand Special Tourist Visa (STV) scheme, launched in October, that prioritises long-stay visitors.
"We focus on the Europe market because Europeans tend to have a longer holiday," Yuthasak said. "Chinese tourists' behaviour of vacationing between seven and 10 days at a time would not work with the quarantine requirement."
But his mission has been complicated by a second wave of infections that has swept across Europe in recent weeks. And despite the STV's quota of 1,200 tourists a month, Thailand has welcomed fewer than 500 in the past month. Over 300 of them were Chinese visitors who arrived in October, he said.
Meanwhile, travel providers are also concerned that the authorities are opting to draw tourists to the capital.
In September, Thailand announced the gradual reopening of borders with the "Phuket Model", a plan aimed "long-stay winter season tourists".
"It required a 14-day Alternative Local State Quarantine (ALSQ) at approved hotels on the island and a long-term tourist visa," said Bill Barnett, managing director of Phuket-based hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks.
A total of 17 Phuket hotels were approved as ALSQ providers, with 21 more applying for the status, but "the government later backtracked and decided to make all international travellers arrive only in Bangkok and use ALSQ hotels there".
This was a loss of opportunity for the southern region, Barnett said.
"There has lately been more talk about golf visas and other programmes, but these seem to rapidly appear and disappear before any implementation is made," he said. "In essence, it seems what happens in Bangkok, stays in Bangkok."
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
