Coronavirus Pandemic: Updates from Around the World

Posted on the 11 May 2020 by Thiruvenkatam Chinnagounder @tipsclear

It's a sunny day on Bangkok's most famous tourist street, and the shopping Cletana Thangworachai is open for business.

Her shop in Khao San Road is filled with shiny magnets, brightly colored elephant key chains and patterned cotton pants that have become an unofficial uniform for backpackers in Southeast Asia.

But for now, there is no one to buy them.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on travel, with the United Nations World Tourism Organization estimating that international tourism could decrease by up to 80% this year compared to 2019, endangering at least 100 million people. jobs.

In Thailand, where tourism accounts for 18% of the country's GDP, the Tourism Authority predicts that the number of visitors could drop by 65% ​​this year.

Many, like Cletana, are struggling to make ends meet. Before Covid-19, she could earn $ 300 a day. In April, Thailand banned all international flights to the country, and now its daily revenues have dropped to $ 2 - sometimes even zero.

But the 45-year-old woman, who has been selling souvenirs on the street for more than a decade, still opens her shop every day, hoping that she will be lucky with a rare tourist.

With so much at stake for livelihoods and economies, countries around the world are looking for ways to keep tourism businesses afloat.

New Zealand and Australia are committed to creating a "travel bubble" allow visits between the two countries - once it's safe to do so. China started licensing inner journey, although its borders are still closed to most foreigners. Thailand plans special tourist resorts which also act as quarantine zones.

But experts warn that even with new initiatives, travel could take years to reach pre-Covid-19 levels. And even when that happens, we may never travel the same way again.

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