Sellers and service providers in the Asok-Ratchada area of Bangkok are pleased with government’s plan to reopen the country to international tourists, expressing hopes that tourism would help to stimulate the economy and return their income to a level that more closely resembled figures before the pandemic struck.
The atmosphere in the Asok-Ratchada business district has become livelier after companies in the area resumed operations at their offices, after months of employees working from home. Amid the gradual return of office workers, sellers in the area were expressing further hopes for their income to rise to a level that more closely resembled pre-pandemic figures.
Vendors said they previously derive 20 percent of their income from foreign shoppers and hope that the reopening of the country to international tourists would gradually bring back this lost portion of income. But the vendors also expressed concerns over the COVID-19 situation in Thailand, which has yet to resolve.
Motorcycle taxi drivers in the area said they used to make about 1,000 baht per day, but the COVID-19 situation has made their daily income plummet by 80%. They expressed the view that reopening the country to foreign tourists would increase earnings, although they were unsure whether the foreign arrivals will contribute to new outbreaks of Covid in Thailand. (NNT)
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