Stories of the Phuket tourism workers hit hard by plunge in travel to Thailand amid the Covid-19 crisis
- A boat operator shut his business but can at least fish. Thousands of tourism workers in Phuket left for their home provinces with nothing, and no jobs to go to
- The pandemic has cost Thailand’s most popular holiday island US$12.8 billion, and with plans to let tourists return put on hold, 50,000 hotel jobs are on the line
Prasong Suanchai would usually be gearing up for the high season, waiting for tourists from across the globe to flock to Thailand’s most popular holiday island. This year, the Phuket boat operator has had to resort to old ways.
“For generations, the men in my family have been fishermen,” says the 34-year-old. “I was fishing since a young boy, but it was getting hard. There were less fish and less money for what we caught. It was difficult to provide for my family.” Nevertheless, he is again fishing for a living.
In 2008, Suanchai started to operate snorkelling and island- and beach-hopping cruises. His charisma and self-taught language skills earned him a good reputation and his business expanded from one boat to six, employing 24 crew.
However, as the coronavirus closed down the world and its economies, Phuket found itself in peril. Suanchai suspended operations in April. “Even when the island came out of lockdown and locals started visiting, it was not worth me starting again,” he says. “I knew I could not make enough money.”
Nevertheless, Suanchai counts himself as being among the lucky ones. He talks of many friends – cleaners, cooks, drivers, service staff, hustlers, owners of small restaurants, and other boat operators – who returned to their home provinces ahead of the island being cut off during Thailand’s strict lockdown, which ran from April 1 to July 1.
“They have no job to go home to,” says Suanchai. “They were here to make money to support the grandparents, parents and siblings [and] they went back to with nothing. It is very sad. For me, it’s hard, but I’m still here with my family, on my home island, and I can fish.”
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About 40 per cent of the usual tourism workforce on Phuket comes from elsewhere in Thailand. “The young support their families,” explains Anthony Lark, president of the Phuket Hotel Association. “When these young people lose their jobs, they go back home and have no money. The mum and dad and family suffer because in Thailand, there is no pension fund. They rely on their children.”
Phuket had entered 2020 on a high. It welcomed 9.89 million visitors in 2019 – an average of 27,095 people a day – international investors were clamouring for a slice of the development pie, and business was booming.
“In January, most hotels I know had recorded their best year in terms of occupancy in more than a decade,” says Lark, who has lived in Phuket for 33 years. “There was major elation – followed by a stunning knockout.”
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Phuket a 'ghost island' as Covid-19 pandemic keeps tourists away from Thai travel hotspot
According to Phuket governor Narong Woonciew, the pandemic has to date cost the island 400 billion baht (US$12.82 billion) in losses. The 300 daily flights seen last year have slumped to just 81 domestic landings, with passenger arrivals tumbling by 65 per cent year on year for the January to July period.
Despite Thailand’s borders remaining tightly closed to foreign tourists, the country slowly started to reopen domestically in July. Tourism Authority Thailand launched the Rao Tiew Duay Kan, or We Travel Together, programme to push holidays through subsidised schemes.
As a result, many Phuket businesses had to quickly reassess their beach-to-bar business models, says Brad Edman, general manager of Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa and multi-property vice-president, Phuket.
“We have to make sure we’re seen to be the right fit for Thai travellers and expats,” says Edman. “Make sure we’ve got the best local food, for example. It’s very different when you’re catering to European or Australian tastes than to the experts, the Thais. This has been a time for regrouping and understanding that genuine authentic experience.”
Despite the domestic drive, though, hotel occupancy rates have averaged 7 or 8 per cent. According to research from consulting group C9 Hotelworks, within the hotel industry alone, 50,000 jobs are on the line as most of the island’s 86,000 rooms remain empty.
“Realistically, it will remain a challenge to achieve half the occupancy experienced in 2019 without international borders reopening fully,” says Brett Wilson, general manager of Pullman Phuket Arcadia.
Last month, however, it seemed as though Phuket was being thrown a lifeline. Under cautious measures to open up the country, the government announced the island would soon start welcoming visitors taking advantage of the special tourist visa (STV) scheme.
My family has a small plot of land so we can grow some rice and vegetables, but it is not easy. We don’t have a proper salary. I need the work
Visitors from countries that were seen to have curbed the spread of the coronavirus would have been allowed to spend between 90 and 270 days in Thailand. An initial 14-day quarantine would have to be spent at a designated hotel in Phuket. After quarantine, visitors would be tested and, if negative, could travel elsewhere in Thailand.
A full list of approved countries had yet to be confirmed but the first batch of STV visitors, from Guangzhou, China, were slated to land in Phuket on October 8. However, the flight and scheme were postponed just days before departure amid growing concern among Thais that the arrivals could spark an outbreak. The postponement of the scheme will be reviewed on October 25.
Thailand has done well in managing the pandemic – to date, just 3,622 cases and 59 deaths have been recorded in a population of more than 69 million – and nationals are hesitant about welcoming international tourists. A recent survey by the National Institute of Development Administration revealed that 57 per cent of those quizzed oppose the STV scheme.
“We need the money but we don’t know if it’s safe,” says Sukhon Wongsutho, who has worked as a cleaner in guest houses in the popular Phuket tourism hub of Patong for five years. The 28-year-old, the main breadwinner for her parents and five siblings, returned to her home province of Udan Thani, in northeast Thailand, in late March.
“My family has a small plot of land so we can grow some rice and vegetables, but it is not easy,” she says. “We don’t have a proper salary. I need the work, but when foreigners start coming to Phuket, my family don’t want me to go back yet.”
Despite the fears, optimism remains that once borders reopen, Phuket will have the strength to recover. “Our industry has always been resilient and bounced back from many crises before,” says Wilson.
Suanchai, too, has high hopes for the return of tourists to Phuket.
“I closed my business and so have many of my friends. When we can, we will try to reopen and start rebuilding again. The big problem is we don’t know when that will be and if we can survive until then.”
