It has taken a while, but nearly all of Walking Street is open again.
Damrongkiat Pinitkarn, secretary for the Pattaya Entertainment Operators Association, reported Jan. 25 that only a few businesses remain shut and only a handful of buildings remain vacant and boarded up. It’s a stark contrast from even six months ago.
Foreign tourism from India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and, to a lesser degree, Europe continues to surge and most Pattaya nightlife businesses reported recovering to 80-90% of 2019 level, Damrongkiat said.
Pattaya will see another surge in tourism next month as Chinese tour groups begin to return. With them will come a surge in Covid-19 cases, nearly everyone predicts, as the coronavirus is running rampant and unchecked on the mainland with up to 35,000 deaths a day predicted in the coming weeks.
Damrongkiat said his organization has urged Pattaya City Hall to work with it and to prepare places to be ready for serious disease prevention.
