With the ongoing ban on international travel, our city fathers are in a dilemma as to how to help alleviate the plight of the businesses and working people of Pattaya.
Though some hotels and entertainment venues have opened to domestic tourism, giving them the best deals ever, the income is still insignificant compared to the revenue earned when the country was open to international tourists.
The city administration holds regular brainstorming sessions to come up with new ideas of how best to bring more domestic tourists to Pattaya and the east just to get whatever income it brings.
For decades Pattaya has attracted tourists both domestic and international during the year-end period when Thai festivals and international events are held.
Last week, the 2020 edition of the Colors of the East festival brought vibrancy and life to Pattaya again, at least for a weekend. The 11th annual festival showcased food, music and attractions of the eastern provinces. Plentiful food booths offered tourists a wide variety of meals and snacks while they could shop for tours and accommodation deals in the Tour Color Zone. Locally made products from across the region were on sale and many popular local bands entertained the visitors.
Hotels and other types of accommodations enjoyed a very high rate of occupancy, much to the relief of the owners.
These influxes, though sparse, are good for Pattaya’s economy. The financial benefits of the inflow of tourists not only went to the hotels, but also to shops, restaurants, bars, spas and other entertainment venues.
It is a well-known tradition that when visitors, both new and old, come to Pattaya, they never miss a chance to visit Pattaya’s iconic Walking Street. A walk through admiring the uniqueness of this street is a must. Nowadays, the street is dark and dreary during weekdays, but on long weekends and holidays parts of the street miraculously light up. Entertainment establishments figure that it’s better to open and get some business during the weekends than to stay shut and get nothing at all.
Last weekend, Pattaya enjoyed a bumper crop of tourists who swarmed into the resort for three major festivals and events, Halloween, Loy Krathong and the extremely popular Bikini Run on the beach.
As luck may have it, this was the end-of-the-month salary weekend which meant that for many, their pockets were loaded.
Besides the sporadic splurge in Pattaya, there is still some light at the end of the tunnel. Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Yuthasak Supasorn said that in October, limited Chinese groups carrying qualified health check certifications from their points of origin, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, and who possessed the required insurance coverage, had arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport. They underwent strict health and safety checks and were put in the compulsory 14-day quarantine.
He also said that requests were submitted to permit tourists to come into Thailand through Chiang Mai, Phuket and U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya airports. Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) facilities would expand to more locations in other provinces such as Chonburi, Prachinburi, Phuket, Samui and Buriram. Yachts are also allowed to travel in, whereas a 14-day on-board quarantine is still compulsory.
The governor said Chinese tourists are fond of beaches and Pattaya is one of their most favourite resort towns. He estimated that about 1 million people would travel and spend their money at different tourist destinations in many provinces during the Loy Krathong weekend.
On Oct 29, Health Minister Anutin Chanvirakul said the National Quarantine Policy board has agreed to initialize a new program for inbound tourists, which would combine shortening the quarantine period in ASQ from 14 days to only 10 with using a mobile phone application tracing system and regular health checks.
The outlook for November is good and we look forward to welcoming more international tourists to Pattaya.
Pattaya and our people have shown resilience during this crisis and have held on, working together to make the best under the circumstances. I am confident that the situation will improve in the next couple of months and workers in the tourism and hospitality sector will come back to Pattaya and start earning a living again.
 |
 |
 |
