Southeast Asian countries vying for attention with tourism gradually picking up speed

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Southeast Asian countries are vying for attention with tourism gradually picking up speed again. With more and more nations simplifying pandemic entry constraints and rules, hopes are high that the slow-moving tourism-reliant economies can be invigorated by re-attracting tourists.

The Jodd Fairs night-time market in central Bangkok was heavily crowded on May 31, and people found it problematic to come and go. There were a lot of foreign tourists among the crowd.

This market finds its placeamong Thailand’s most popular tourist attractions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism comprised around 20 percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product. However, foreign visitors almostvanished after the Thai government launched a14-day quarantine period in April 2020 for all new influxes. Consequently, many tourism amenities closed for the time being or, in few cases, forever. The Jodd Fairs market reopened in November and became popular with Thai tourists initially. However, some store owners said that the number of foreign visitorssoared after a pre-entry PCR test obligation was taken away in April.

Majority of the entry regulations have now been dismissed and the tourism authority of Thailand estimates that between 7 million and 10 million visitors will come to the country this year, which is about 25% of the pre-pandemic level of 2019. A happy 25-year-old baked snacks vendor said that looking forward, they are hoping to have more and more customers.

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