Is this the beginning of certain parts of the country that have been hit particularly bad by Covid refusing to do what the federal government orders them to? Despite the fact that Chonburi is considered a "dark red" area as far as Covid cases are concerned, the leaders of this province have stated that they are not pushing back their September 1st plan to reopen the area to tourism.
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Pattaya is a major tourist destination in Thailand for both local and foreign visitors. It has a very well-deserved reputation of being a sex-tourism location and you only need to be there for a little while to understand that this is definitely the case. The beach is nothing particularly special when compared to other, better beaches in the country but the proximity to Bangkok probably has a lot to do with why it is so popular.
While I personally do not care for Pattaya, a lot of other people do and this area is almost completely dependent on tourism for its survival. In the past 18 months, 80% of the businesses have closed and 40% of the small and medium-sized businesses have closed permanently.
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I only spent a few days here a couple of years ago and you don't need to be a world-class detective to figure out what this place is all about. The "Walking Street" is probably a "kid in a candy store" type situation for a wealthy male who doesn't care that the girls don't really like you, but they really like your wallet but for me, someone on a budget, it was just a massive hassle being shouted at and even pulled into bars by a mob of petite 20 year old women.
As much as they try to pretend that Pattaya is a "family destination" you can easily tell that the entire area is a "red-light district." I think if you were willing to spend a ton of money here and are into the prostitution scene, that this would be a lot of fun but honestly, it wasn't for me.
Anyway, the fact that the local President of the Chon Buri Tourism Council would do basically the opposite of what the country is suggesting with his stance on reopening regardless of the cost is kind of impressive to me because even though I am not directly involved in politics in this country, for the most part you tend to see compliance from the provinces. When the feds say jump, the provincial leaders ask how high.
He must have some influence because his plan was actually endorsed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and as of now it is still slated for reopening on the 1st of September even as cases surge.
There has been a plan put in place to have 70% of the 450,000 residents vaccinated before they can "Move On." I don't know how to feel about that and am on the fence about vaccinations in a general sense but I'll leave that argument for people who have read a lot more into it than I have.
I do know that the people of these tourism places have suffered even more than your average location since unlike other industries they can manage to scrape by even with lockdowns. This is not the case with a place like Pattaya.
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For much of the past year and a half the famous walking street has been forcibly closed
There is no doubt in my mind that the people will stand by their elected officials who are talking about reopening but is it a good idea? If you think about an environment where social distancing simply isn't possible, it would certainly be the girly-bar scene. A year is a really long time to go without any income though and it is kind of understandable that the people of this area would feel as though it is worth the risk.
I don't know how to feel about this but I do know that the people of Thailand are definitely ready to "Move On." I suppose we'll have to wait for September first to see what the repercussions of this are.