I don't live in Phuket, but since it is an easy and cheap direct flight from Chiang Mai I visit my buddies down there as often as I can. When I first moved here there was no Covid and I at times would get a bit frustrated about how busy and crowded almost everywhere on the island was. It seemed that no matter where you went you were going to be swarmed by salespeople and the beaches were absolutely packed. My friends helped with this because they know the non tourist beaches that are just as good but not crowded or overpriced. So this helped a lot.
As much as I hated the crowds, there was no denying that a great many people's livelihoods depended on this tourism, even if in my opinion it was excessive.
The above image in my mind is my idea of an absolutely hellish vacation and one that I would rather not do even if it was really cheap. Things have changed a lot since then though and even though Thailand is trying as hard as they can to encourage tourism, the restrictions and requirements for entry are keeping people away for the most part.
In Phuket in 2019, the island used to see around 14,000 new arrivals every day by air and this was just the numbers counted from those arriving at Phuket International Airport. If you were to factor in the people that arrived at Bangkok and then flew to Phuket after, the number was probably much higher.
Today, the daily arrivals are estimated at less than 500 people per day.
I don't know how many hotels there are on Phuket, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me if there were close to a thousand. This island has other industry of course but it is mostly based on tourism. Tourism that simply isn't there anymore and unless more changes are made it doesn't seem like that is going to change.
While I am quite certain the above image was selectively taken and perhaps even edited a bit this is a drone image of Patong Beach in Phuket. This is without question the most popular beach area on the island and for it to be completely devoid of people, is something that is very ominous.
As you might expect on a tourist island, most of the people there depend on tourism in order to live their lives and do just simple things like pay rent and get food. The government did as much as they could in order to help as did rich landowners who reduced or even eliminated rent payments for tenants who stuck around. Unfortunately there are also stories of heartless landowners who simply disregarded the tribulations of those affected and evicted them once they couldn't pay.
At one point in time it is estimated that the average monthly income on the island dropped to 1,700 Baht, which is just over $50. Thailand is an inexpensive place, but you can not live here on $50 a month.
In order to try to ease this situation, Thailand is trying yet another approach to encouraging tourism by reducing the requirements for entry. Previously the requirements were criticized for being too difficult and subject to corruption but now anyone looking to enter Thailand only needs to be vaccinated, test negative, and have Covid insurance for $20,000. Many are still criticizing the insurance requirement since the insurance has to be Covid specific and unless this has changed it had to be purchased from a Thai insurance company. This combined with issues regarding the insurance companies not actually paying when patrons needed to "cash in" has lead many, including myself to regard the entire thing as a scam.
src
tourism growth and crash over the years...ouch
Thailand finds itself in a difficult situation at the moment because the country depends on tourism for money much more so than other countries. They are going to have to find a balance between safety and access and they are going to need to do it quickly. People are beyond restless as far as having no income for 2 years is concerned, which is understandable.
I use this as an opportunity to be thankful for what I have in life because I can't even imagine what it must be like to have your entire life upended when you worked hard to get a career in tourism, only to have it all completely shattered.