Thailand battles worker shortage as it gears up for influx of Chinese tourists

While next year’s estimates on Chinese visitor numbers are set to be much lower, it will still be difficult for hotels, travel firms and entertainment venues to cope

Top-end hotels are giving bonuses to entice back former workers, while the government has rolled out measures to develop skills for the unemployed to address shortage

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Tourists visit the Wat Arun Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:39pm, 30 Dec 2022

Chinese tourists accounted for nearly a third of Thailand’s visitors before Covid, so their pending return has local businesses hoping for a much-needed boost. But a full recovery from the crisis remains a way off.

Thai government and industry estimates on Chinese visitor numbers for next year range from 3 million to 5 million – a wide spread that reflects some uncertainty over the eagerness and ability of people to travel after Beijing scraps quarantine on January 8. Some places are also tightening rules on travellers from China as infections surge there, though Thailand has yet to do so.

Some 11.5 million Chinese visitors went to places like Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai in 2019. While next year’s numbers are set to be much lower, it will still be difficult for Thailand’s hotels, travel firms and entertainment venues to cope.

Most businesses aren’t financially able to hire or upgrade facilities quickly after a dry spell of more than two years, during which millions of people changed jobs or headed back to family-run farms.

A labour shortage will be a major issue in seaside provinces like Phuket because of a mismatch between rising demand and inadequate personnel, said Suksit Suvunditkul, president of the Thai Hotels Association Southern Chapter.