Pattaya is bracing for a wave of returning Chinese tourists, and the risk of Covid-19 infections that will come with it.
China is recording more than 35 million new coronavirus cases and 900 deaths a day, but the government has unlocked the airports to allow tour groups and independent travelers to take the virus abroad.
Pattaya, according to a very unofficial poll, is the No. 2 beach destination on that list.
A report by American cable news channel CNBC reported that a Tik-Tok poll in China that got nearly 1.8 million views ranked Pattaya Beach second only to Australia’s Bondi Beach. Votes were cast through comments with hashtags.
Sanphet Suphabuansathien, president of the Thai Hotels Association Eastern Chapter, said that’s one indication of the pent-up demand for travel to Thailand and Pattaya among the mainland Chinese.
He said many tour agencies have restarted operations and he expects group tours to hit Pattaya in large numbers in March.
Pattaya Business & Tourism President Boonanan Pattanasin said he believes Pattaya’s populace is still adequately protected against Covid-19 through vaccinations, even though the vaccine still being administered in 2020 provides much less protection against 2022 variants, including new ones exploding in China right now.
Thailand is not expected to receive doses of newly reformulated vaccines designed to target the omicron and delta variants until next year.
Boonanan admitted Pattaya will see an uptick in Covid-19 cases, but he said only those in elderly or vulnerable groups are at significant risk.
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