Assistance program for tourism workers suffering from the pandemic

The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) aims to establish by March the Tourism Labour Bank assistance program for tourism workers suffering from the pandemic as the fresh outbreak could result in the loss of jobs for up to 2 million workers in the industry. 

"The council will develop a tourism employment database that does not only shed light on the number of tourism workers to estimate the impact from the future crisis and come up with effective measures but also seeks ways to prevent more job losses in the tourism segment," said Chamnan Srisawat, President of TCT.

Unemployed tourism workers who are registered with the program can join training for upskilling and reskilling in useful topics such as online marketing and languages, with support for daily expenses, he said. 

They can also be hired temporarily for jobs in tourism businesses that need more workers, he said, so they won't have to switch to other jobs. 

By implementing the co-payment scheme for a monthly salary of up to 15,000 baht, with the government subsidizing half of it, the government can safeguard tourism jobs, he added. This assistance can be carried out by the labor bank.

The 2020 fourth quarter tourism confidence index, which polled 1,020 local tourism operators during November 11 and December 29, is 62, up from 60 in the third quarter, but down significantly from 88 in the same period of 2019. 
A reading of 100 indicates that the overall feeling of tourism is stable, while a reading below 100 shows a drop in confidence. 

Last year, 1.04 million tourism workers lost their jobs, according to the survey, as 3 per cent of tourism companies permanently shut down and 10 per cent were temporarily closed. 
While 85 per cent of businesses continued to operate, half of them cut their workforce by 30-40 per cent. 

With the new outbreak, the index was predicted to fall to 53 in this quarter. At just 37 and 39, respectively, operators in destinations heavily tourism-dependent such as Bangkok and the Southern Region showed the lowest confidence. 

Mr Chamnan said the government must constantly introduce more inclusive measures to stimulate tourism in the first half, in addition to subsidies granted to hotels and airlines. 
In the second half, meetings and seminars held by state agencies can help boost domestic trips, he said. 

80 per cent of hoteliers in major destinations, such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phangnga, and Bangkok, have temporarily closed, said Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association.

In addition to the co-payment scheme, financial relief could play a crucial role in supporting tourism operators in the form of a two-year debt payment holiday, reduced electricity bills, and soft loans (such as a 60 million baht loan per hotel with a 2 percent interest rate), she added.