Tour bus companies in Thailand plan to lay off employees as tourist arrivals have severely dropped due to the Coronavirus outbreak. More than 10,000 drivers and staffers will suffer job losses due to no tourists.
Thai Transportation Operators Association president Wasuchet Sophonsathien says that in the past two months thousands of Chinese tourists had cancelled their trips to Thailand.
Tour bus companies have lost huge amounts of income and have had to park nearly 7,000 tour buses. While more than 10,000 drivers and staffers suffer job losses,” he said.
If the situation is not improved within a month, the operators would have to consider laying off their employees, Wasuchet said.
Tour cancellations had led to hundreds of millions of baht in outstanding debts. The operators would be burdened with over THB2 billion of operation costs, he added. Wasuchet called on the government to offer soft loan for tour operators to help with their short-term liquidity.
MORE Thai Tour Bus Operators to Layoff Thousands Due to Coronavirus