The bumpy recovery road of Southeast Asia's tourism industry
The bumpy recovery road of Southeast Asia's tourism industry Hotel and restaurant owners in the area are fed up with the lack of Chinese visitors, the frequently changing entry rules and the shortage of workers. Previously, the famous tourist island of Koh Samui of Thailand had a lot of foreign tourists. But this year, it's "like a graveyard," as Virach Pongchababnapa, a local hotelier, describes it. Tourists have disappeared. Hotels and restaurants are closed. "No life, no movement," sighed Mr. Virach. 2022 is said to be the year that Southeast Asia's tourism industry begins to recover. However, the Omicron variant delayed this process. Late last year, several countries began accepting tourists for the first time in nearly two years, but closed when Omicron appeared. This month, the borders begin to open up again. Visitors who have completed all the injections will not need to be isolated when entering Thailand from February 1 and the Philippines from ...