PHUKET(NNT) – Thai authorities in Phuket, a major tourist destination on the Andaman coast in the south of Thailand, this week declined to allow passengers and crew members of an Italian cruise ship to land in Phuket, as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Italian cruise liner, Costa Fortuna, has been at anchor in Phuket since Friday (March 6th), carrying 1,631 passengers and 984 crew members.

The original schedule showed the passengers would be allowed to enter and visit tourist attractions on the island. However, relevant state agencies conducted a risk assessment, and decided not to grant them permission to land, as some of the passengers may pose a risk of spreading the virus.

The cruise ship was permitted to anchor two miles offshore, and to leave Thai waters on Saturday (March 7th) as previously scheduled.

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BANGKOK (NNT) – The global COVID-19 epidemic is bringing significant disruption to both the Thai and global economies, perceived as one of the most serious economic setbacks by the private sector. The Ministry of Finance is working with the private sector to develop some 100 billion baht in support measures for affected persons and business operators.

These measures will include financial a liquidity enhancement campaign for low-income earners, freelance workers and farmers. With this campaign, the government will transfer support benefits, via the country’s PromptPay platform, to some 14 million beneficiaries, who will be able to for spending on necessities.

Soft loans will be offered to SMEs and tourism businesses to help secure sufficient funding for their business operations, as well as special tax measures to help encourage companies to retain their employees. The Revenue Department will issue a special guideline reducing withholding tax payments to increase liquidity.

A fund will be set up to support employers who continue to pay their employees during temporary work stoppages forced.

These, plus aid measures for the stock market, will be proposed in the economic ministers’ meeting on 6 March.

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Southern Chambers of Commerce have proposed that the government promote tourism in the southern region after suffering from COVID-19 fears and air pollution; they also asked airlines to increase domestic capacity following the decline in international demand for flights.

Mr Salin Tohtubthieng, President of the Chambers of Commerce group from southern Andaman provinces, said the Thai economy and the tourism sector are now suffering from the development of the COVID-19 epidemic, air pollution concerns, and low farm product pricing.

He said the government must now boost the country’s positive image regarding COVID-19, as there has so far been no case of mortality in the country, with more and more confirmed patients now recovered, and no significant rise of patient numbers.

Mr Salin said the southern region is now entering summer, when the hot weather might help slowdown the spread of the virus, so the government can encourage more Thai people to travel domestically, such as to Trang province rated in the top 5 Asian tourism destinations with the best weather.

He also asked the government to encourage local authorities to make field trips to other communities in different regions to study one another’s work, which will help fortify the tourism sector, while airlines affected by the capacity cut to international services, should sell those empty seats on domestic services instead.

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