Reports that the Cabinet has given a green light to allowing high-end tourist arrivals in Thailand will likely run into logistic problems until and unless changes are made to the overall structure that helps facilitate the entry and exit of these high-end tourists and business travelers.
“Yes, I have read the news about the possibility of allowing private jets to be given priority as they will be the high spender and also those who can create economic activities with their investments,” said a very senior executive of a private jet operator in Thailand.
“But the problem here is that these high spenders and investors are subject to the same rules as all others who land in Thailand and that means that they would have to be quarantined for a period of 14-days, now you tell me how many of these businessmen would want to be quarantined for 14-days?”
The executive said that reports suggesting that these high-end business and tourist visitors would be given a priority is nothing more than a marketing gimmick and there are no bookings throughout Thailand for any such visit so far.
“We are operating on a basis that nothing will change for a while because there seems to be little coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA),” the executive said.
He added that the potential visitor has to currently go to the embassy in their respective country, then seek permission from the embassy before heading to Thailand and once they come to Thailand they have to be quarantined for 14-days before they can conduct any meetings.
“Now you tell me, which businessman would want to spend 14-days in quarantine before heading for his/her meeting for a few hours and then head back to their home country?”
Mixed Messaging
CAAT had originally announced that the cabinet had approved the moves to allow high-end tourist/business travelers some ‘special arrangements’ that might see them avoid such quarantining measures. It would seem those rumors were unfounded.
Like every other category of travelers entering the kingdom in 2020, the business traveler numbers have seen a sharp decline over the past quarter with numbers falling as much as 70% year-on-year.
The only private jet operations during the 2nd quarter were for medical emergencies or state-guests, which was next to nothing.
The move was part of the relaxation of the total lockdown on the airports for all kinds of travelers that was put in place in April until June 30th to restrict the number of international travelers and the possible spread of the coronavirus in Thailand.
Tourism accounts for almost 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP), a number that has meant little as Thailand’s international tourism arrivals were next to nothing during the 2nd quarter of the year and expectations are that this year’s tourist numbers will be less than 25% of the 40 million visitors that Thailand saw in 2019.
The fall in tourism numbers will also mean that the country’s tourism revenues are expected to decline by as much as 60% to 1.23 billion baht from 3.2 trillion baht seen in 2019.
The sharp decline in the tourism numbers and revenues, coupled with the impact from the virus has prompted the Bank of Thailand to lower the GDP projections for 2020 to be -8.1% from the -5.3% it had projected in March this year.
According to data available, there were only about 2,500 private jet arrivals in Thailand during the year 2019.
Each aircraft can accommodate between 3-12 passengers excluding the crew. Yet the CAAT and the government has chosen to focus on this select sector under the guise that the high-end arrivals would spend more even though that spending is unlikely to help hotels and businesses suffering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
But if Thailand does intend to push through with its plans for the high-end industry, operators say that the country needs to have rules in place that make it convenient for these travelers to be able to fly in and out.
“Why can we not have a COVID-19 test before they take off and after they land, and then tests can be done every 2-days to monitor these tourists, which these tourists and businessmen would be more than willing to pay for,” the executive of the private jet operator said.
(Photo Courtesy of MJets)
