Pattaya boat operators want the government to reopen the city to foreign tourists as soon as possible, pointing to Koh Larn, where 70 percent of the island’s tiny population is vaccinated against Covid-19.
While more than 400 Koh Larn families have had their shots, however, the rest of Pattaya hasn’t, with less than 10 percent of the population having received jabs. The city wants to get that 70 percent, but with the government allocating only a trickle of vaccines to Chonburi, that appears unlikely to happen
Boat driver Narupon Ruksa, 31, complained that Pattaya is very quiet with Thais visiting only on holidays and only a small number of foreign expats coming to town. He said people in every career have been affected and he wants the government to reopen Pattaya to fully vaccinated tourists quickly as it has in Phuket.
Another boat driver, Narin Kongjaroon, 24, echoed those sentiments, claiming only 100 come to Pattaya on weekdays and 400-500 on weekends. City officials have put the estimates in the thousands.
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