Nearly one-third of tourism-related businesses 'may shut down permanently'

[rooster59]

Nearly one-third of tourism-related businesses 'may shut down permanently'

By THE NATION

 

Chairat Trirattanajarasporn

 

About one-third of tourism business operators in Thailand will run out of liquidity to keep their businesses afloat in the second half of 2020, Tourism Council of Thailand president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn has warned.

 

 

“The impact of Covid-19 will become most serious in the third quarter this year after many operators had tried to cut costs by letting some of their employees go, but after more than a million positions cut the situation still hasn’t improved, as no foreign tourists are allowed into the country yet,” he said.

 

“The council estimates that in the next three months up to 30 per cent of tourism-related businesses in Thailand are at risk of shutting down permanently.”

 

Chairat added that some operators are starting to sell their establishments, such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and gift shops to investors who wish to turn them into other business. “However, since the real estate business is also affected by the economic crisis, the hope of selling their properties is still bleak for these owners,” he added.

 

“The council had a meeting with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday (July 10) and proposed five measures to help tourism business operators,” said Chairat. “These measures are: providing soft loans to tourism entrepreneurs; considering moving the schedule up to open the country to foreign tourists under a practice similar to the travel bubble scheme; offering discount on electricity bills, one of the main costs of hotel operators; having the Social Security Office extend the compensation payment to temporarily unemployed staff from June to December, and reducing the employer’s contribution to Social Security Fund from 4 per cent to 1 per cent.”

Chairat also added that the Tourism Council of Thailand has predicted the income from foreign tourists in 2020 will drop significantly from Bt2.2 trillion last year to only around Bt600 billion.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30391136

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-07-12

 

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[ezzra]

I hope that the tourism related business that uses the ugly and racist double pricing policies will fall and shut down first for good...

[Fex Bluse]

No worries. Tourism is only 9% of the Thai economy. Right? Right? 

[sezze]

6 minutes ago, Grumpy John said:

That's a strong possibility.  Maybe even half, but new operators will start new businesses as the situation improves so eventually the serfs will gain employment and all the tubby little Issan girls will be back serving beer...and other things.   

I agree . No tourists , sure many will stop not to reopen ... no costumers , only bills . Once tourism is going again , and it will get going again , even if it takes a few years , business will start again . Might be a different one , but demand creates opportunities , and some people will take that opportunity ( and lots of others will try to jump in also , grabbing a bit ) .

This off course is very painful for the people who are in it now , no doubt about it , but there will be light on the horizon . Might be 3 months , might be 1y , might be 5 years , but it will shine , and the longer it takes the more it will shine ( because less competition ). And yes , that also means the girls and boys serving beers among other things will be back also . Basic rule --- demand - supply

[ThailandRyan]

15 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The impact of Covid-19 will become most serious in the third quarter this year after many operators had tried to cut costs by letting some of their employees go, but after more than a million positions cut the situation still hasn’t improved, as no foreign tourists are allowed into the country yet,”

How is this not already occurring. Tourism is dead and will be for a long time. Is he really that blind.  Domestic tourism will be the only source of redistributing money around the country and will not increase the tourism industry.  It will not be easy for many to hear, but a new type of industry is needed and has been needed for quite awhile. Thailand killed off tourism for many international travelers years ago when they put all of there eggs in one basket and wooed the Chinese extensively and designed a tourism based industry just for them.  Greed and corruption go hand in hand. Time to come up with new Ideas Thailand.....

[CLS]

“considering moving the schedule up to open the country to foreign tourists under a practice similar to the travel bubble scheme”

 

Only the urge to make money brings them to reason.

[mr mr]

add another third and you will be closer to reality. 

[Matzzon]

To judge out of the picture, Mr Chairat looks to be very happy over that result.

Edited July 11, 2020 by Matzzon

[CLS]

“Chairat also added that the Tourism Council of Thailand has predicted the income from foreign tourists in 2020 will drop significantly from Bt2.2 trillion last year to only around Bt600 billion.”

Visa amnesty tourists must be high spenders then.

[ThailandRyan]

18 minutes ago, CLS said:

“Chairat also added that the Tourism Council of Thailand has predicted the income from foreign tourists in 2020 will drop significantly from Bt2.2 trillion last year to only around Bt600 billion.”

Visa amnesty tourists must be high spenders then.

If the money is not already here, then it is not going to grow magically. So unless they already have accumulated 600 billion from the years tourism so far, which is highly unlikely, then the domestic tourism money is already here and will just be redistributed wealth.  How can he be so blind.  Oh yeah, Thailands new tourism scheme.  Pay 1 price and get free VR tours on your phone for the remainder of 2020, see the beaches from our drone copters, see the pristine beaches, and view the museums.  We will even show you street vendors cooking and pipe the smells directly to your nose.  Hahahaha....

[Tounge Thaied]

Thai oligarchs are eagerly waiting. The purge of the small business owner is happening in many countries. 

[baansgr]

56 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

No worries. Tourism is only 9% of the Thai economy. Right? Right? 

It's ways been obvious that the true figure is way higher.....maybe the tax paying registered businesses account for 10% but the rest with the whole cottage industry and support for rural areas is closer to 40%.

[Hayduke]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Chairat added that some operators are starting to sell their establishments, such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and gift shops to investors

 

All of these plague-driven economic problems could easily be solved…if only the government could think of some giant, friendly, nearby country full of kind, benevolent, generous, well-intentioned, and honest 'investors'....willing to buy save Thailand’s generals people. 

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Hayduke

[spiekerjozef]

 

Smug....

[bwpage3]

Tourists around the globe have lost their jobs and many are on reduced income.

 

Thai officials forget this important fact.

 

Most people around the world won't have the money to travel for at least a year or more even if Thailand is open.

 

 

[overherebc]

32 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Tourists around the globe have lost their jobs and many are on reduced income.

 

Thai officials forget this important fact.

 

Most people around the world won't have the money to travel for at least a year or more even if Thailand is open.

 

 

In addition how long will the 100,000 US dollar Covid insurance requirement stay 'on the books'?

[Trillian]

This is not a bad thing, the sector was over populated with poor and mediocre copycat businesses, some rationalisation of the sector will be good for everyone, there's only a finite amount of tourist dollars to be had.

[Cali farong]

Everyday another hilarious article about tourism.

Those rich Hi So tourist will be arriving soon.

And herds of Chinese can’t wait.

Everything gonna be alright 

[Trillian]

8 minutes ago, Cali farong said:

Everyday another hilarious article about tourism.

Those rich Hi So tourist will be arriving soon.

And herds of Chinese can’t wait.

Everything gonna be alright 

Not only did you not read the article you didn't even read the headline, all you did was see the word tourism and then you posted, how sad is that!

[Fex Bluse]

The Thais are in big trouble. They have been nasty to Westerners in favor of getting their Chinese cousins in to replace us. Now China's economy is going to be destroyed for decades as every country decouples with them. In 5 years, there won't be many Chinese who can afford to travel. 

 

Amen

[herfiehandbag]

1 hour ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Thai oligarchs are eagerly waiting. The purge of the small business owner is happening in many countries. 

He certainly seems to be chuckling in anticipation!

[Enzian]

6 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

The Thais are in big trouble. They have been nasty to Westerners in favor of getting their Chinese cousins in to replace us. Now China's economy is going to be destroyed for decades as every country decouples with them. In 5 years, there won't be many Chinese who can afford to travel. 

 

Amen

At least we can hope. I would like to see China pay a price for what they've done and the new levels of bullying they are attempting in many quarters, but greed is too often stronger than principle, and only time will tell. Personally I would pay much higher flight fares if I thought I wouldn't encounter the hordes at my destinations.

[calbts2]

9 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

 In 5 years, there won't be many Chinese who can afford to travel. 

 

Amen

That would be a dream come true. I am so enjoying the peace now that all of those exhaust spewing buses and annoying flag toting tour groups have vanished.

It kind of feels like 1990s again.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

That's a strong possibility.  Maybe even half, but new operators will start new businesses as the situation improves so eventually the serfs will gain employment and all the tubby little Issan girls will be back serving beer...and other things.   

You're assuming significant numbers of foreign tourists will ever be allowed in again.

You're assuming there will still be plentiful international flights ever again.

Which is a bet I wouldn't spend any money on. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by BritManToo

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

In addition how long will the 100,000 US dollar Covid insurance requirement stay 'on the books'?

Unfortunately, I believe that the insurance will stay.

[RR2020]

How is the South Korea 2nd wave ?  media was salivating over that recently wanting it to happen.........FAIL

 

How is the Beijing 2nd wave ? media was salivating over that recently wanting it to happen.........FAIL

 

The UK 2nd wave after protests and beaches full ?  media was salivating over that recently wanting it to happen.........FAIL

 

Media running out of scare stories ?  Now they are trying to hype up a Bollywood actor getting it.........its as if they want him to die to have a headline........... 

 

Thailand more people die on one weekend in road accidents than 6 months of Covid-19 ?

 

Cases of Covid rising but deaths going down rapidly ?

 

Now being realised most people have a T-cell response and are asymptomatic ?

 

Only 20% of people who get it may have an Antigen response ?  80% having a T-cell response ? Measuring for IgG or IgM is useless as most people T cell response ?

 

IFR rate projections now pointing to 0.05% to 0.1% (eg same as strong flu)

 

Projections now that 60% or more of the worlds population may already be immune from having a previous coronavirus infection (common cold).

 

Circa 2 million people dying from Tuberculosis every year and nobody cares (and there is a vaccine for it) ? Its a contagious disease - boring though isnt it just 2 million dead every year ?

 

The high early death rates seen was due to incorrect medical treatment ?  Using steroids killed people ? Using ventilators killed people ?

 

Now they know how to treat it (no steroids, no ventilators, use blood thinners etc...) death rates becoming very low ?

 

Euromono data how shows fewer people are dying in Europe than normal - gone from excess mortality weekly to now very few people dying weekly ?

 

2020 if this continues with less deaths than normal now, will see the year as a whole have exactly normal number of deaths same as every year ? EG Covid-19 in 2020 will see no additional deaths than is normal and this scenario is looking very likely now based on the Euromono data coming out.

 

 

At some point the world is going to realise that, looking back, in hindsight, this virus was nothing much, the media made it into something that it really was not and hundreds of millions of people suffered the consequences of that fear mongering.

 

Tourism in Thailand will die if this stupidity continues, the question is, who opens first wins............  If Thailand opens too late, or with too many restrictions, the losses will be more than other Asian countries and it may take 10 years to recover.............

 

 

 

 

 

[The Barmbeker]

36 minutes ago, calbts2 said:

That would be a dream come true. I am so enjoying the peace now that all of those exhaust spewing buses and annoying flag toting tour groups have vanished.

It kind of feels like 1990s again.

Yeah...so nice, with the millions of jobless from the tourist sector!

But as long as you are alright, everything is hunky dory!

[overherebc]

22 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Unfortunately, I believe that the insurance will stay.

Or some kind of statement only 'saying' it no longer applies so causing mass confusion from embassies and consulates etc.

[ChakaKhan]

Man alive! I scrolled down to see that article pic!!  Gaaah!  Looks like Yoda or the Muppets Doctor.....

 

Hans Moleman takes a bat to the face.......a face only a mother could love, a face for radio maybe.....geez

[KC 71]

More like half - two thirds