Thailand tour bus industry driven off cliff by pandemic

There has perhaps been no worse business to be in during the coronavirus pandemic as the tour bus business.

With no foreign tour groups arriving in Thailand since last March and Thai tours dramatically curtailed, bus operators have lost nearly all of their income, first idling and then selling off their rolling stock.

Wasuchet Sophonsatien, president of the Thai Transportation Operators Association, called the industry dead. He said 30 percent of operators have gone bankrupt and a quarter of the 40,000 coaches owned by members sold off. He predicted another 10,000 buses will be sold by year-end.