After being ravaged by Covid-19, Thailand Krabi’s tourism sector sees mild on the finish of Covid tunnel

BANGKOK, Feb.7 (The Nation Thailand / ANN): To see the catastrophic effects Covid-19 has had on the Thai tourism industry, you’ve come to the right place at Krabi.

The number of tourists arriving in the southern holiday province fell from an average of 6 million per year to just 1.5 million in 2020. In the meantime, tourism income has fallen from around 120 billion Bt to only 29 billion Bt.

Towards the end of last year the worst seemed to be over, but then another calamity came.

“There was hope when we saw some tourists return to Krabi after the first Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand. But my businesses have suffered again from this second outbreak, ”local restaurant owner Amarit Siripornjutagun told The Nation last week.

There were now 80 percent fewer customers in his restaurant in Ruen Mai, Amarit said. Before the pandemic, the place was regularly full.

Nowadays, “they even have to line up to eat,” he complained.

Despite the decline in business, none of his employees have yet been laid off. However, their hours would have to be cut if the virus situation didn’t improve in February, he said.

Amarit said he wanted low-interest loans to be made more accessible during this new outbreak, along with practical support from Social Security.

In the meantime, Krabi Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan is confident that the crisis will soon be resolved. He said the province plans to double the number of tourist arrivals in the future.

He cited the ongoing expansion of Krabi Airport to accommodate 30 jetliners. This will strengthen Krabi’s status as a tourist center thanks to its own attractions as well as the surrounding tourist provinces such as Phuket and Phang Nga.

Traffic in Krabi is also less congested than in Phuket, he added.

In another piece of good news for the province, Absolute Clean Energy partnered with Krabi City Hall on January 29 to build a waste-free incinerator. This will incinerate 200 tons of daily waste in urban areas and 800,000 tons dumped in local landfills since 1996.

The new waste disposal facility would also help cope with the impact of increased tourist numbers in the future, Keeratisak said. – The Nation / ANN