Southeast Asia feels the burn as COVID-19 keeps Chinese tourists in the home
16 February, 2020
Elephant parks unvisited, curios at markets unsold as tuk-tuks sit idle: Southeast Asia is facing vast amounts of dollars in losses from a collapse in Chinese tourism because the outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus.
From Luang Prabang in northern Laos to Pattaya in Thailand, Hoi An in Vietnam and the Cambodian casino town of Sihanoukville, takings have plummeted as Chinese travellers find themselves subject to a bunch of restrictions at home and abroad.
"We haven't had any Chinese for 10 days given that they closed the road from Yunnan," says Ong Tau, 47, from behind her stall of fruit shakes in the temple-studded Laotian colonial town of Luang Prabang.
"Business is down 20-30 % ... it will worsen."
Tour guides, mall personnel and restaurant staff are feeling the burn as Chinese - the world's biggest travellers - stay in the home in the center of a worldwide health crisis.
"My pal has lost 4 or 5 big tour groups ... they would have payed for his low season," said Tee, helpful information in Luang Prabang, giving only 1 name in the tightly-controlled communist country, scores of tuk-tuks standing idle behind him.
But in among Southeast Asia's least well-resourced countries, there may be one bright side to the sudden monetary pain.
"We don't know how exactly to protect ourselves," he added. "The federal government doesn't tell persons anything ... so maybe less Chinese is a wonderful thing for the present time."
LOANS AND JOB LOSSES
The slump has been felt sharply in Thailand, where tourism authorities say arrivals from China - usually near one million a month - have plunged by 90 % up to now this February.
At the Chang Siam Elephant Park in Pattaya, a few hours south of Bangkok, owner Nantakorn Phatnamrob fears he will soon be pressed into debt to float a business which includes lost almost US$65,000 since the outbreak.
"People are afraid to visit," he told AFP. "If it stays like this, I will have to get a loan from the lender."
Crocodile farms and tiger sanctuaries - controversial tourist beacons where visitors can pet the animals - are also deserted, leaving owners to feed expensive star attractions.
The outbreak in addition has spooked western tourists at the height of peak season in what has already been a hardcore period for Thai tourism because of a strong baht.
Thailand anticipates shedding five million tourists this season, taking with them "250 billion baht (over US$8 billion) in revenue", according to Don Nakornthab, director of economic policy at Bank of Thailand.
"Our hopes that the economy can do better than this past year are very low ... it is possible it could grow below 2 %," he added.
Which will spell bad news for the untold number of Thais employed in the tourism sector.
Ma Mya, 22, who sells trinkets in Pattaya, says she may soon need to return to her home in northern Thailand.
"There is no more profit - everything has gone bad."
THINGS CAN ONLY JUST GET BETTER
With so much riding on the seasonal influx, some Mekong countries are desperate never to deter those Chinese still travelling.
Thailand offers visa on arrival for Chinese tourists despite having among the highest amounts of confirmed infections - 34 - beyond the mainland.
At least two of these cases were Thais who contracted the virus after driving infected Chinese passengers, raising fears that the economy was taking priority over tackling the health crisis.
For staunch Beijing ally Cambodia, where only 1 case of the virus has been confirmed so far despite a large Chinese presence, strongman leader Hun Sen has repeatedly played down the chance to his country.
Still, Cambodian tourism is going for a hammering.
Ticket sales at the famed Angkor temple complex in Siem Reap have fallen between 30 and 40 % this year, while in Sihanoukville, a southern beach resort notorious because of its casinos, the tourist take has shrivelled.
"I used to make US$100 a day," said Chantha Reak, a ride-hailing driver. "Now it's US$10."
Companies are praying for a bounce back if so when the virus is controlled.
With 10 million Chinese visitors each year, Thailand hopes the pain will ease in a few months.
Regular visitor Yen Ran, 25, from Chengdu, found Pattaya regardless of the health warnings.
"I am a little concerned how other countries perceive us," she told AFP. "But when there's a remedy, things are certain to get better."
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