Economy

Panel announces plans to boost tourism, create 1 million jobs

Published

Thursday, August 20, 2020 16:07

FILE PHOTO

The new panel established by PM Prayut Chan-ocha to steer the economy through the Covid-19 crisis got off to a blazing start yesterday, announcing measures to boost tourism and create a million jobs. Created after the Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, the panel’s first meeting was chaired by the PM and attended by economics ministers and experts. After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said they had agreed to increase subsidies for local tourists and make jobs available for 400,000 recent graduates.

The committee plans to boost local tourism by expanding its 40% subsidy for accommodation costs from 5 nights to 10. The government launched the tourism subsidies in mid-July with its “We Travel Together” scheme, but so far only around 660,000 of the available 5 million subsidised nights have been booked. Travellers will also see their 1,000 baht discount on air tickets increased to 2,000 baht. Corporations will be invited to use the subsidies to organise seminars or training in other parts of the country. The measures will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval on Tuesday.

The Labour Ministry will also propose measures to create 1 million jobs in the near future to combat burgeoning unemployment. The government has prioritised finding another 400,000 jobs for graduates by funding companies to hire and retain workers. The jobs will be available at private companies and government agencies, according to the minister. The government will also launch other job creation projects funded by the 400 billion baht economic stimulus package.

The unemployment rate in the second quarter rose 1.9 per cent to 745,000 people, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council. The NESDC is also worried about further job losses as 1.7 million workers are currently “furloughed”. The state think-tank predicts the economy will shrink 7.5 per cent this year following a plunge of 12.2 per cent in the second quarter.

Supattanapong said the government aims to bolster the economy and keep the contraction lower than projections.

The new governor of the Bank of Thailand says more small and medium-sized enterprises will apply for loans under the government’s 500 billion baht soft loans scheme. Launched by the central bank in April, the scheme has attracted fewer than expected borrowers due to strict loan conditions. On Tuesday the government relaxed the conditions, instructing bythe state run Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation to guarantee loans, which will encourage commercial banks to lend more.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

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10 Comments

TS

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 4:37 pm

“off to a blazing start, blah, blah, so far only around 660,000 of the available 5 million subsidised nights have been booked, blah, blah, labour ministry to propose plan to create one million-ONE MILLION! jobs in near future.” Thai tourists will be queuing up as fast as those lucky foreign tourists from “safe” cities for the chance of a lifetime to get to fabulous destinations such as Phuket. Plan is a game changer?

Reply
Perceville Smithers

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 5:04 pm

This is the answer to the lukewarm reception.

Money will be spent on neccesities, helping family and saved for emergencies. Not many will want to vacay/holiday in a ghost town.

Reply
Bobby m

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 5:43 pm

I repeat from an earlier post.

Not rocket science is it.
It doesn’t matter how cheap you make something if the majority of your people HAVE NO MONEY and don’t know when they will get any.

Now you are expecting companies that cannot afford to pay their staff and are laying people off, to take up the offer.

Oh wake up and smell the coffee

Reply
TS

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 6:28 pm

Name of the game for unemployed/displaced Thai people is survival day to day- for themselves, family, friends, neighbors; they’re trying to stay afloat, not thinking about running off to some supposedly gov. subsidised holiday with smiley faces pretending to enjoy. Get real ministries of whatever, stop with the empty promises of millions of jobs and bright future just around the corner. You’ve got extra monies- find a way to get it to the millions of Thais in need. And I feel blessed to live amongst them as a guest. Ever cheerful, helpful, tolerant

Reply
David

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 8:08 pm

If the panel’s been established and chaired by PM Prayut, how could it possibly not achieve what it claims to be confident in achieving? Why, that would almost be like telling lies . . . lies like not improving education, not improving road-safety, not improving wealth & social inequality, not improving the work-ethic of the RTP . . . or even to get them working at all. Just more hot air which his lordship craves will give him more kudos.

Reply
- Mike Frenchie
  
  Friday, August 21, 2020 at 4:53 am
  
  It is diving fast… very fast.
  
  Thailand is not injecting money in its economy (or so little) as the West is doing while keeping the country shut! With its tourism (min. 15%), real estate (5%) and retail (10%) being hammered, yoy GDP will sink >20%…
  
  No, not everything will be all right, many people will die of the consequences of these erratic decisions. COVID is not lethal for most, starving will be…
  
  Reply
Rinky Stingpiece

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 8:26 pm

Those don’t sound like loans, they sound like welfare – bad debts that may have to be written off.

Reply
Ray W.

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 8:56 pm

Ummm… what?! There is effectively no one with real expendable income. This is like saying we are going to increase ‘0’ by 40%… so still ‘0’, nada, nothing. OPEN the boarder, deal with the risk, stop destroying the economy, we are loosing more people to that then we ever would have to COVID.

Reply
Roger Elliot

Friday, August 21, 2020 at 2:50 am

This “we travel together” scheme is clearly a perk for the privileged minority in Thailand. The vast majority of people in Thailand is more concerned about putting food on there table.

Reply
Mike

Monday, August 24, 2020 at 8:42 am

Travel subsidies only benefit the wealthy of Thailand andiIncluding expats means little as they make up such a small percentage of the population. Including incoming tourist would come at a cost and require a balancing act that can not be achieved with desired results.
Phuket wants to let in tourist but confine them to a small section of beach. Nobody wants to spend money to fly across countries only to be in a lockdown scenario. It sounds great on paper (make the locals feel safe and show that it will help the economy) but with very few takers it won’t help anybody and certainly won’t help a devastated economy. In the end opening up Thailand, and thus the economy, is the only way to recover. Unfortunately this will pose a high risk of COVID. Pick your bad – COVID or bad economy.

Reply

Jack Burton

Jack Burton is an American writer, broadcaster, linguist and journalist who has lived in Asia since 1987. A native of the state of Georgia, he attended the The University of Georgia's Henry Grady School of Journalism, which hands out journalism's prestigious Peabody Awards. His works have appeared in The China Post, The South China Morning Post, The International Herald Tribune and many magazines throughout Asia and the world. He is fluent in Mandarin and has appeared on television and radio for decades in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

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