I hope this doesn't sound like I am beating dead horse here but more and more information comes forward every now and then that brings more doom and gloom of economic calamity in Thailand, particularly to those in the working and middle class.
We all knew that the near elimination of tourism was going to create havok on a country that is nearly 20% dependent on it for their overall economy and the government has been trying to assure people that things are going to be ok. Of course the government is largely pissing into the wind when they say these things and I liken their approach to putting a band-aid on a great white shark bite. It becomes more clear when we start to look at some serious numbers.
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If you ever wanted the chance to have the normally crowded Phuket beaches to yourself, now is the time to go if you happen to have the good fortune of already being in the country. You almost certainly will not get in from the outside. Despite government sponsored pushes to promote domestic tourism, there simply isn't enough interest, and likely money in the hands of would-be tourists to come anywhere near the amount needed to sustain the quickly dying tourism industry in places like Phuket.
These figures are of course from this year and the fact even 70,000 people went there during July is a surprise to me. This is a really depressing figure when you consider the sheer level of tourism oriented businesses that exist in Phuket. Basically all business there is dependent on tourism to one degree or another. There are roughly 86,000 rooms in all types of accommodation on the island and that means if we were to spread it out in the month of July that we wouldn't even be able to fill all of those rooms one time out of the 31 days in July.
The other industry that exists in Phuket that at first glance appears to not be dependent upon tourism actually still is because a great portion of the island's permanent residents are employed in that industry in one form or another and therefore are not getting any wages to prop up businesses that are OT directly tourism related.
A great many of the valuable construction programs that are taking place on the island have been put on hold as the investors contemplate when, if ever, will be a suitable time to continue building. This has resulted in putting thousands in the construction industry out of work as well.
I tend to have a soft spot for small businesses in the tourism industry and while we do hear some nice stories about land owners being "cool" about no one being able to pay rent, the generosity is apparently fading and many small business owners have no choice but to close permanently.
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Streets like the above would normally be packed with foot traffic as well as taxis but now if you go just about anywhere on the island, these places are basically deserted. Even chain hotels have closed up shop entirely and this puts sometimes hundreds of people out of work all at once. The financial freefall is happening around the rest of the country as well but places like Phuket are almost entirely dependent on tourism for every sector of life there. Without jobs people aren't buying anything at all and this negatively impacts other businesses that previously felt they weren't dependent on tourism at all.
A friend of mine runs a furniture construction business and was rather expensive custom-made furniture mostly for private condos. No one is buying those right now either and her industry, which used to employ 50 people, now employs only 6. She mentioned to me the other day that cash reserves are running low and she may have to let the rest of them go as early as the end of September.
Here in Chiang Mai we are a bit more insulated from this sort of thing because there are many other industries here other than tourism. The downtown area is really the only part of this city that has been negatively affected by the completely lack of tourists.
Thailand needs to do something quick because if the government programs meant to boost domestic tourism can only produce 70,000 tourists a month, it is conceivable that Phuket could see a very high percent of all businesses close up shop for good.
The government needs to do what though? They don't have a pot to piss in either. The infrastructure projects currently being undertaken such as the new showpiece railway Bangkok GRand and the associated line upgrades, as well the never-ending BTS expansion is sucking cash like a giant vacuum. The government have no wiggle room.
Thais themselves appear to be totally against opening the borders which I fully understand. Who wants to fill the country back up with COVID riddled Americans and Europeans but I see no other way other than to selectively allow nationalities back in! The recent bollocks about reopening Phuket up to tourists and making them still quarentine in their hotels is a non-starter.
Yeah the Phuket thing was mainly an opportunity for people who see Thailand as a part time home to have a chance to get back in the country in an environment a bit more nice than a BKK hotel. I don't think anyone is going to consider a holiday at a resort they are not allowed to leave.
Yeah they are in a real pickle there but this was always going to happen. The people, from what I have read, are starting to really dislike the government and I hear from friends in Bangkok that protests are growing in attendance. It's about time for another coup in Thailand anyway. I'm pretty sure they do one of those every 12 years or so.
awww, tragic but it does seem to be the case. It's normally the military who is helping or responsible for coups though, and they are the ones in power. I don't know if there is anyone left that can pull that off.