Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests unfortunately, we are discussing the prospect of tourism in Thailand recovering not until 2026. I came upon a recent article in the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Government says Tourism Industry May not Recover until 2026. Quoting directly: "It can take another 5 years before tourism revives fully in Thailand -- an ominous sign for one of the most tourism dependent economies in the world." Boy, you can say that again. Quoting further: "The sector, which contributed about one-fifth of the economy before the pandemic isn't expected to return to normal until 2026 the National Economic and Social Development Council said Monday, citing the Tourism Authority of Thailand."  

Yeah, we have discussed this at length in many other posts on this channel. The video we did that sticks out most in my mind is when we quoted the Tourism Council of Thailand. They are a representative, a trade group for tourism service providers and they noted that there are between two and three million people displaced from work as a result of the shutdown which was instigated on the basis of the COVID-19 situation. That is just a remarkable number of people and I think anybody watching this video is going to say yeah, say nothing of the near 20% GDP hit that Thailand has sustained, but to have that many people who were regularly employed to be instantly out of work is a true body blow, I mean by anybody's estimate. I have dealt with things over in Thailand since this began and just living here and being here; it is really hard to see. To see hotels that are shuttered and to wonder if or when they are going to reopen, it is very difficult to watch.

We certainly hope that in the days and weeks ahead things are going to turn around on this front. We have done a lot of videos where I believe that they will ultimately and Thailand is definitely going to become a destination that is going to be encouraging foreign travelers hopefully sooner rather than later. I am truly hoping that as we get into the summer here, we start seeing things turn around again hopefully faster rather than slower.