Billions lost as tourism industry reels from virus
Credit to Author: Agence France-Presse| Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2020 16:15:28 +0000
Laos: Elephant parks unvisited, curios at markets unsold as tuk-tuks (rickshaws) sit idle: Southeast Asia is facing billions of dollars in losses from a collapse in Chinese tourism since the outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus.
From Luang Prabang in northern Laos to Pattaya in Thailand, Hoi An in Vietnam and the Cambodian casino town of Sihanoukville, takings have plummeted as Chinese travelers find themselves subject to a host of restrictions at home and abroad.
“We haven’t had any Chinese for 10 days since they closed the road from Yunnan,” says Ong Tau, 47, from behind her stall of fruit shakes in the temple-studded Laotian colonial town of Luang Prabang.
“Business is down 20 to 30 percent… It will get worse.”
Tour guides, mall workers and restaurant staff are all feeling the burn as Chinese — the world’s biggest travelers — stay at home in the middle of a global health crisis.
“My friend has lost four or five big tour groups… they would have paid for his low season,” said Tee, a guide in Luang Prabang, a mass of tuk-tuks standing idle behind him.
But in one of Southeast Asia’s least well-resourced countries, there may be one bright side to the sudden economic pain.
“We don’t know how to protect ourselves,” he added. “The government doesn’t tell people anything… so maybe less Chinese is a good thing for now.”
Loans and job losses
The slump is being felt sharply in Thailand, where tourism authorities say arrivals from China — usually close to 1 million a month — have plunged by 90 percent so far this February.
At the Chang Siam Elephant Park in Pattaya, a few hours south of Bangkok, owner Nantakorn Phatnamrob fears he will soon be pressed into debt to float a business, which has lost nearly $65,000 since the outbreak.
“People are afraid to visit,” he said. “If it stays like this, I will have to get a loan from the bank.”
Crocodile farms and tiger sanctuaries — controversial tourist beacons where visitors can pet the animals — are also deserted, leaving owners to feed expensive star attractions.
The outbreak has also spooked western tourists at the height of peak season in what has already been a tough period for Thai tourism thanks to a strong baht.
Thailand anticipates shedding 5 million tourists this year, taking with them “250 billion baht (over $8 billion) in revenue,” according to Don Nakornthab, director of economic policy at Bank of Thailand.
Things can only get better
With so much riding on the seasonal influx, some Mekong countries are desperate not to deter those Chinese still traveling.
Thailand offers visa on arrival for Chinese tourists despite having one of the highest numbers of confirmed infections — 34 — outside of the mainland.
In Cambodia, where only one case of the virus has been confirmed so far, strongman leader Hun Sen has repeatedly played down the risk to his country.
Still, Cambodian tourism is taking a hammering.
Ticket sales at the famed Angkor temple complex in Siem Reap have fallen between 30 and 40 percent this year, while in Sihanoukville, a southern beach resort notorious for its casinos, the tourist take has shriveled.
“I used to make $100 a day,” said Chantha Reak, a ride-hailing driver. “Now it’s $10.”
AFP