Tourism

Pattaya cleaning up its Walking Street act in time for Chinese New Year

Published

Thursday, January 21, 2021 15:12

Pattaya City is planning to clean up its Walking Street act in time for the upcoming Chinese New Year. But, as the second wave of Covid-19 mostly destroyed what was left of any foreign or domestic tourism, it might all be in vain. Thousands of businesses remain closed due to Chon Buri province being a “highly controlled” Covid-19 zone, which effectively controls the number of people moving in and out of the province, including Pattaya.

In other words, not many.

Banglamung has had 0 cases of Covid-19 for almost a week now with only 1 case being reported in Chon Buri in the past 3 days. But the new downturn in Covid infections hasn’t helped to ease restrictions that have left many local businesses shuttered. Chon Buri health officials are taking note of the recently diminishing amount of Covid cases and say they will review the strict measures probably at the end of the month, but warn that there is no promise that measures will be eased.

Even if the restrictions are lifted, Covid has had a profound and lasting effect on tourism in Pattaya, like the rest of Thailand. Last March, borders closed to foreign tourism, only allowing those who were able to physically and financially get through the mandatory 14 day quarantine and mountains of paperwork.

As a last ditch effort, it was decided in a recent meeting to clean up Walking Street and place lighting and decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Year on February 12. But Pattaya’s mayor says there will be no major city events for Chinese New Year, and such an effort was only to give the residents a sense of hope and a brighter atmosphere. In the past, Chinese tourists would have flocked to the seaside resort for the major holiday on the Chinese calendar.

Needless to say, Pattaya, which in 2019 was the 19th most visited city in the world, with almost 10 million visitors, has been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with it high reliance on passing tourist trade. City officials say they are reviewing measures to help renovate the city, and offer, what is hoped to be, a light at the end of the tunnel.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News

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10 Comments

Sebastian

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 3:50 pm

Interested to know what “clean up its Walking Street act” refers to as the article quickly flew off at a tangent and became just another Covid-19 update.

Reply
luca

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4:18 pm

sometimes it seems that the Thais have no sense of ridicule, cleaning up Wolking street for the Chinese New Year without the Chinese what’s the point? The authorities should be more honest and say that tourism will perhaps reopen in 2022, so all the people who lived on tourism now have to find more to survive

Reply
- Issan John
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4:55 pm
  
  As much point, if not more, as there was doing so for Christmas and New Year …
  
  Reply
- Robert Elliot
  
  Friday, January 22, 2021 at 12:05 am
  
  From what I understand there are many Thai Chinese in Thailand
  
  Reply
Leo Z

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 8:32 pm

Some people in Pattaya had dreams of seeing the “obligatory” Chinese bus tour groups and the young Chinese couples in groups (some/many of them awe-struck) over CNY. It turns out Beijing is battling its own outbreaks now, and will definitely require strict 14-day quarantine from anyone returning to the motherland. Given that the maximum (not average) Chinese vacation is 10-15 days….oops, the numbers don’t add up.

So are they going to clean it up for the Thai domestic tourism? We’re going to see “hi-so” girls, and their entourage, from BKK?

Reply
Laurent

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 8:51 pm

Second wave? Are you kidding me? There’s 1 person in the hospital, that’s it!

Reply
EdwardV

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 10:14 pm

Seems like a waste of money, even if it probably doesn’t cost all that much. Since there are no international tourists, is it for for domestic tourists? There doesn’t seem to be many of those anymore. With the world bank saying 1.5M Thais dropped into poverty last year (per todays BP), there has to be better ways to spend money than on decorations for tourists that are not coming.

Reply
Terry

Friday, January 22, 2021 at 6:42 am

quote: a “highly controlled” Covid-19 zone, which effectively controls the number of people moving in and out of the province, including Pattaya.
This is a lie and bullshit, I have travelled in and out off Pattaya 3 times lately and there is no so-called control or checkpoints anywhere. Just a warning in the newspapers who spread the lies…

Reply
Alexandra

Friday, January 22, 2021 at 9:08 am

Another puzzling effort. In the middle of pandemic courtesy of China, you want Chinese tourist to arrive en masse?

Reply
PranpuunPapillo

Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 4:17 pm

Clean up will require giant sheets across all the boarded up and dilapidated businesses. Scrubbing and disinfecting the in-ground massage parlor smell in the street and surrounding sois. And towing all the parked cars and motos that have planted themselves on the main drag. And if bars are going to remain closed I’m not quite sure why anyone would even walk along that road. Thais generally avoid that area like the plague. I mean like covid19.

Reply