Council hints at layoffs
published :
17 Apr 2021 at 08:50
A motorbike passes through an almost empty Khao San Road during the Songkran holidays.
The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) estimates the industry's unemployment rate in the second quarter could reach between 2-2.5 million as reopening plans might be delayed if the government cannot flatten the virus curve within a month.
Chamnan Srisawat, president of TCT, said staff had been called back to work during Songkran as most operators kept their employees to prepare for an upcoming tourism stimulus scheme in the hopes of gaining business.
The two stimulus packages scheduled for May include the extension of a hotel and airline subsidy called "We Travel Together" and a new scheme known as "Tour Teaw Thai", which will subsidise 40% not exceeding 5,000 baht of a tour package arranged by tour companies.