There are signs of life on Pattaya Beach, but not many.
Open again for the past two weeks, Pattaya and Jomtien beaches are drawing some people on weekends, mostly tourists from Bangkok. But weekdays, there’s virtually no one.
Pipop Wanson said he opens his beach chair and umbrella business only on weekends, earning a couple of thousand baht.
He had hoped the beach reopening would bring more people, but he said people are still afraid of Covid-19, it’s rainy season and the economy is bad. So business remains bad.
He also has little hope for foreign tourists returning anytime soon.
Pipop noted how Bang Saen Beach looks busy. Perhaps it’s just an optical illusion – Bang Saen is much smaller than Pattaya and Jomtien, so fewer people can make it look crowded – but local beaches still have disadvantages he said.
The vendor bemoaned the current lack of parking on Pattaya Beach, with the works near the Dusit Thani Hotel, and the fact the shoreline now looks shabby with many trees removed.
He wants the city to speed up its beachfront facelift to add more parking and replace the trees.
Work, however, isn’t slated to complete until 2023.
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