Yok : Benefits of reopening tourist spots in Thailand

 

In April 2021, Thailand encountered the second outbreak of coronavirus. The highest number of confirmed cases was rising to 1.3 million, ranked twentyninth in the world ranking of highest cases (Covid-19 situation center of thailand, 2021). Since then, The government began to use pandemic-related restrictions in order to keep infections to a level that does not overwhelm healthcare systems. As a result, there were massive financial losses and an economic crisis in Thailand. From the latest conference this September, Thailand was set to reopen more of its popular tourist destinations starting from next January, betting that a higher inoculation rate could help draw foreign visitors and revive an economy battered by the pandemic. While many local residents are concerned that their country is still not ready and this surge response will introduce the third outbreak again. This essay will therefore argue that our country could derive many benefits from reopening the tourist spots.

The biggest benefit of reopening tourist destinations is to solve the economic crisis. In 2019, a year before the pandemic, Thailand had the eighth highest numbers of  tourists visiting annually, with about 39.8 million tourists (UNWTO, 2020). Tourism contributed about 20% of the nation’s revenue, which means that one fifth of Thailand's total income alone comes from tourism (Worrachaddejchai,2021). The travel restrictions and quarantine have affected the country’s economy a lot. The tourism industry accounted for more than a million jobs in Thailand. A large proportion of the population has been unemployed and many companies have had to close due to the effects of the pandemic on tourism. In fact, Thailand has already opened one of their most popular travel destinations, Phuket, this July. The project is called the Phuket sandbox, which allows visitors who have already received full vaccination to stay in Phuket for up to 14 days before moving to other provinces in Thailand or returning to their countries. The government has stated that Phuket is a success. More than 26 thousand travellers visited Phuket in the first two months, providing 1.6 billion baht in tourism revenue (Worrachaddejchai, 2021). If this happens to other popular destinations, our economics would be sustainable for the needs during this pandemic. Surprisingly, less than 1% of the local infections are involved with these visitors  (Covid-19 situation center of thailand, 2021). Why don’t we carry on this success to start with other tourist spots?

Another benefit of ending this restriction is surprisingly related to relief of depression and anxiety. Everyone has agreed that the covid-19 pandemic is extremely stressful. There are many factors that have impacted a large proportion of the population such as Fear of getting infected, grief for friends and relatives who have been affected, and financial insecurity. Stopping this restriction could be one of the interventions that help us deal with stress. If something helped in the past, it would probably work again. People could come back to travel within the country again. They can go on vacation anywhere based on their leisure preferences and also go visit their friends and relatives in different provinces. Beside travelling, local residents will have more confidence, after waiving the restriction, that the scientific community is successful in developing interventions to help them deal with the pandemic. Imagine if they can do their normal daily routines such as working in the office or shopping at the grocery again without worrying; their mental health would improve a lot.

Lastly, the key criteria for Thai tourist spots to end this restriction for fully inoculated visitors is a 70% local vaccination rate. The herd immunity is believed to rise as more standardized vaccines are imported. Although Thailand already has 12.7 million fully vaccinated people, which only covers 17.2% of the  entire population, most of the tourist destinations chosen for reopening currently have higher vaccination rates than 70% of its local population (Covid-19 situation center of thailand,2021). The aim of the schedule for reopening  next January is to enable the adjacent provinces, whose vaccination rates are still lagging,  to reach more than 70% inoculation levels before reopening. In addition to vaccination, this September, the daily infections have decreased from 20000 to 140000 and are still decreasing (Covid-19 situation center of thailand,2021). These statistics ensure that our country has an extremely low risk of introducing the next outbreak again, after reopening tourist spots.

To conclude, while reopening popular tourist spots in the next three months may bring challenges, it provides significant opportunities not only for the economy but also for the population's mental health. The health ministry has already carefully thought about the risk of reinfections following this protocol based on the latest statistics. I hope this move will be able to start very soon. 

References

Bloomberg News And Online Reporters. (2021, September  6). Bangkok set for November reopening. Bangkok Post. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2177351/bangkok-set-for-november-reopening   

Brietzke, E. (2021, May 27). 6 evidence-based methods to head off COVID-19-related depression and anxiety. Elsevier Connect. https://www.elsevier.com/connect/6-evidence-based-methods-to-head-off-covid-19-related-depression-and-anxiety 

Soon Kormoon Covid-19 (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved January 13, 2020 from https://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiQq8nYqPzyAhUlyzgGHdPCAFAQFnoECAYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Finformationcovid19%2F&usg=AOvVaw3leUYg_eSyENUKUqQgl7MZ 

World tourism organization. (2020, August 5). World Tourism Barometer. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.5 

Worrachaddejchai, D. (2021, Sep 6). Tourism ministry sets January date to reopen. Bangkok Post. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2176951/tourism-ministry-sets-january-date-to-reopen