The newly formed Center for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) has announced plans to reinforce previous stimulus measures while failing to move forward with the Phuket Model on Wednesday.
With the absence of the former finance minister, Predee Daochai, who abruptly resigned on Tuesday, the CESA failed to announce any new significant measures, including the much-anticipated Phuket Model.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said last week that the Phuket Model is plausible as the country cannot remain shut forever yet they have not mentioned anything about it on Wednesday.
Instead, Prayut talked about his hope for more stimulation from domestic tourism, while the entry ban for foreign tourists has been in effect since late March.
The Tourism Ministry’s Phuket Model aims to allow 200 visitors from Australia and New Zealand to visit Thailand at the resort island. The pilot project could lead to reopening Thailand to international tourism.
But the measures that were brought forth nstead were for funding previous cash handout measures and the Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) campaign to stimulate domestic tourism.
The new round of cash handout policies is estimated to cost 45 billion baht and provide 3,000 baht per month for three months to 15 million Thai citizens to buy goods at registered stores, including CP All’s 7-Eleven.
The measure is expected to add at least 90 billion baht back into the economic system from increasing domestic consumption.
More than 3.5 million people have registered for Rao Tiew Duay Kan campaign but it only resulted in 664,000 nights of hotel stays compared to the expected 5 million nights.
This prompted the government to further support the campaign by providing three new benefits for registered participants including increasing the number of 40 per cent discounted hotel stays from five nights to ten nights.
Other measures include more daily spending budgets of up to 900 baht per day with a cashback of up to 2,000 baht per plane seat as well.
The job creation project, which will be worth 23.48 billion baht, is a new measure for 260,000 university students, spearheaded by the Ministry of Labor. They aim to provide 50 per cent wage subsidies at no more than 7,500 baht per month for 260,000 newly graduates over a period of 12 months.
The Employers’ Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry said that about 500,000 out of 524,893 new graduates are expected to be out of a job in 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak and the consequential lockdown.
However, Suchart Chomklin, the Minister of Labor, said that they only estimate 400,000 new gradates in 2020; therefore, the new measure should suffice.
Many university students are now out on the streets in protest of Prayut’s administration. They do not believe that his government is legitimate nor do they know what to do with the prolonging lockdown while the country is heading into a recession.
