“We’re all waiting to see after Songkran what the government is going to do to stem the tide and the spread right now. The Prime Minister has made some comments recently, alluding there could be some delays, so that’s a bit of a concern.”
Thailand’s tourism-driven economy contracted by 6 per cent in 2020 as the number of international visitors plummeted from 39.9 million in 2019 to 6.7 million last year. According to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 800,000 Australians visited Thailand each year in pre-virus days.
Phuket Hotels Association president Anthony Lark, whose organisation represents 80 hotels employing 20,000 staff, described the new outbreak as a “road bump” but said discussions were continuing about the establishment of Thailand’s biggest island as a bubble.
The Big Buddha Statue in Phuket hasn’t seen nearly as many visitors as usual…
