Thailand tourism sector unemployment seen rising regardless of finish of lockdowns

With no customers, bar workers sit outside staring at their phones.

Unemployment in the tourism industry is expected to rise to as high as 2 million people this quarter, despite the fact that most of the country’s coronavirus shutdowns have been reduced or ended.

Chamnan Srisawad, chairman of Thailand’s Tourism Council, estimated that around 1 million people were unemployed during the five-week lockdown on four eastern provinces and Samut Sakhon, as well as business closures in the rest of Thailand.

Today only five provinces around Bangkok are “red zones”, while business elsewhere is almost or completely back to normal.

Chamnan Srisawad, chairman of Thailand’s Tourism Council, estimated around 1 million people were unemployed during the five-week lockdown and sees unemployment rise to 1.5-2 million in the first quarter as businesses fail after the recent lockdowns.

Despite easing disease control, unemployment in Chamnan climbs to 1.5-2 million in the first quarter as businesses fail after recent lockdowns.

During the worst protracted standstill in 2020, 2.6 million tourism workers were unemployed. That situation had eased and dropped to 537,000 in the third quarter. However, all hopes for a recovery were dashed by the second wave of the coronavirus that began in mid-December.

Marisa Sukosol Nunpakdee, vice chairwoman of TCT and president of Thai Hotels Associations, predicted no recovery would begin until large numbers of overseas tourists return in the final quarter of 2021. Even then, however, full recovery will not be seen for two years, she predicted.

Marisa estimated that 80 percent of tourism businesses in Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chiang Rai and Bangkok remained closed.

Marisa Sukosol Nunpakdee, vice chairwoman of TCT and president of Thai Hotels Associations, predicted no recovery would begin until large numbers of overseas tourists return in the final quarter of 2021. Even then, however, full recovery will not be seen for two years, she predicted.

As such, she said the government needs to provide financial aid to the tourism industry, including paying half the wages of workers up to 15,000 baht, soft and soft loans, a two-year moratorium on debt repayment and a 15 percent reduction in utility bills six months.

Chamnan agreed, saying it was not enough just to provide financial incentives to travel to local tourists. The government must support workers’ salaries, which is the industry’s biggest cost.

Unemployment in the tourism industry is expected to rise to as high as 2 million people this quarter, despite the fact that most of the country’s coronavirus shutdowns have been reduced or ended.

An estimated 80 percent of tourism businesses in Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chiang Rai and Bangkok remained closed.