FOOD FIGHTERS
OFFICIALS HOST SLEW OF FOOD FESTIVALS TO HELP DRIVE TOURISM, LOCAL INCOMES
Phuket officials have turned to local food festivals to help drive grassroots tourism to the island and as a means of distributing incomes to vendors still hard hit by the lack of tourists coming to Phuket.
Last weekend saw three food festivals held across the island at the same time, including the ‘Roi Rim Lay’ seafood festival held in Karon on Mar 18-20, and another ‘Roi Rim Lay’ food festival held in Kamala on Mar 19-21.
“Holding the Roi Rim Lay events at various locations in Phuket aims to stimulate the economy in the province and [incomes in the] community, and also to let tourists taste various local food and delicacies,” Governor Narong said at the launch of the festival in Kamala.
Kamala Mayor Jutha Dumlak said the festival was much welcomed in the area as many people in Kamala had been deeply affected by the COVID-19 impact on tourism.
“It is necessary to encourage people to spend in order to boost household incomes in Kamala, and to inspire a trend for more tourists to visit Kamala,” Mr Jutha said.
“The fair is being held to help boost incomes of local food operators and tourism-related operators. More than 74 vendors will set up stalls at the fair,” he added.
Governor Narong also officially opened the ‘Roi Nat Yat Dai’ food festival at Sanam Chai in Phuket Town last Friday night (Mar 18), held in the hopes of lifting the spirits of the local residents while providing local food vendors with an opportunity to earn some much-needed income.
Present for the occasion was
Rewat Areerob, President of Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor), which organised and funded the event.
“The objective is to restore the economy of Phuket that has been affected by COVID-19. It also opens up a creative space to improve the quality of life in the local area,” Mr Rewat said.
“The event strengthens good relations between local residents and tourists. It develops and improves tourism standards by raising awareness of the identity of local food, and the dress culture of Phuket people, as...
...a medium to present to tourists, which creates a good image for tourists,” he added.
“It will also help stimulate the tourism economy, which helps to bring more tourists, create jobs and generate income from tourism,” Mr Rewat said.
The PPAO is holding three the ‘Roi Nat Yat Dai’ food fair three times: at three locations, each time for three days.
The first was held in Patong on Dec 17-19, the second at Sanam Chai located opposite the old Provincial Hall on Narisorn Rd from Mar 18-20. The third edition will be held at Laguna Grove, Cherng Talay, over three days this weekend, from Mar 25-27.
The fair at Sanam Chai featured more than 120 stalls selling freshly produced seafood.
“The PPAO also ensures that the [‘Roi Nat Yat Dai’] events are alcohol-free and the vendors do not use styrofoam packages,” Mr Rewat said.
“We also ensure each event is held safely within the COVID free guidelines and that the areas are kept clean,” he added.
All vendors must also comply with health and hygiene requirements under the ‘Clean Food, Good Taste’ standards enforced by the provincial health office, Mr Rewat said.
All the events also feature live performances by local students and other artists each night.
HOLDING ON
The push to hold events that primarily aim to distribute what income is being generated on the island comes as Phuket’s tourism industry suffers yet another blow, this time from the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Up until the invasion began on Feb 24, Russian arrivals were the top source market for Phuket tourists with more than 56,000 arriving since Nov 1.
Since then, Russian arrivals have plummeted.
Meanwhile, despite other countries around the world now removing all COVIDbased travel restrictions, the number of arrivals from other source markets have yet to show any real signs of recovery, namely due to the economic impact in their own countries.
Daily arrivals at Phuket International Airport still have yet to show any significant increase, averaging around 3,000 a day. Last Sunday (Mar 20), the number of arrivals reached only 2.930.
Many key tourism and business leaders in Thailand have blamed the Thai government for holding onto outdated COVID restrictions for the lack of tourists choosing Thailand as a holiday destination. Tourists are simply choosing to holiday somewhere else without heavy restrictions, they say.
The critics, some harsher than others, have included Thai Hotels Association President Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, Tourism Council of Thailand President Chamnan Srisawat and Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sanan Angubolkul.
Despite questions about timing, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) regards the plan to declare COVID-19 endemic later this year as the right move to better manage the public health budget and stimulate tourism.
Less fear of COVID-19 will lead to a relaxed atmosphere in the country as the disease causes mild symptoms among many people and may be categorised as similar to the flu, said Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the FTI.
“Many countries have begun to treat COVID-19 as endemic to help drive their economy,” he said.
Mr Supant said the Omicron variant, unlike its virulent Delta predecessor, does not cause severe illness in many vaccinated people.
“Thailand should follow the lead of these countries, with the government educating people on the nature of the disease to build public trust,” he said.
Once the government has a good healthcare management structure in place and adequate efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 are defined, it can save budget in that area and allocate more money to fuel an economy reeling from the two-year impact of COVID-19 and higher energy prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, said Mr Supant.