Cheap holidays target locals across tourism-reliant Southeast Asia

With cash flow drying up at Thailand’s popular beach resort of Phuket, hotels are racing to restart tourism — starting with local travelers.

“If nothing changes in the next three months, we won’t be able to afford paying for staff,” said Angkana Tanetvisetkul, president of the Kata Karon Business Association, which represents more than 40 locally owned hotels in Phuket.

Across Southeast Asia — one of the most tourism-reliant regions in the world — hotels and travel businesses are slowly kicking into gear after countries like Thailand and Vietnam successfully flattened their virus infection curves and began easing lockdown restrictions.

As many as 8 million foreign tourists could still come this year if the government opens borders early in the third quarter, but for now Vietnam is counting on an estimated 65 million domestic tourists to carry the industry this year. The virus, and the restrictions imposed to contain it, have been destabilizing for Southeast Asia, whose rosy economic outlook before COVID-19 was premised in large part on booming international travel.

The situation is perhaps most dire in Thailand, where travel and tourism makes up about one-fifth of the economy in more normal times and employs about 8 million people. For 2020, the government expects the number of international visitors to plummet 68 percent from last year to 12.7 million. The industry will probably contract about 70 percent, according to Somprawin Manprasert, chief economist at Bank of Ayudhya PCL.

With international arrivals suspended until at least July 1, Thai tourism authorities are helping resorts throw open their doors to domestic visitors. There’s a sense of optimism in the industry that there’s enough pent-up demand to help start them on the path to recovery until international leisure travel resumes.

Domestic travelers will serve as a test case for how post-pandemic travel will look once international tourists can return. Digital transactions and temperature checks are likely to proliferate. Hotel grounds could be arranged differently, with socially distanced fitness equipment and buffet lines. Large sporting events, concerts and big conventions remain far off on the horizon.

Even so, businesses face a long road to recovery — setting up a test of resilience, especially for the region’s small and midsized enterprises.

Source: Japan Times