What kind of blow has the popular island encountered？How to carry out relief measures？

Travel，Is the pillar industry in most island areas、Economic Lifeline。In Thailand，The total consumption of foreign tourists in Thailand in 2019 accounted for 11% of the country’s GDP；In Maldives，Tourism is almost the only hope for the entire country’s economy，Past year，70% of GDP comes from tourism；In Jeju Island, South Korea，Nearly 70% of the service industry constitutes the economic backbone of the entire island，And receiving foreign tourists is the main source of income。

The COVID-19 epidemic has suddenly pressed the pause button on island tourism, which has become increasingly popular in recent years，The rapidly rotating island economy was forced to brake suddenly。Past six months，What kind of blow has the popular island encountered？How to carry out relief measures？Today’s article，We choose Thailand、Maldives、South Korea and other popular island destinations frequented by Chinese tourists，Do some sorting and analysis。

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The number of foreign tourists fell by 38%，The number of Chinese tourists dropped by 60%。

Thailand entered a state of emergency at the end of March，Business activities stopped、Border closed。Thailand’s tourism industry is completely frozen。The Tourism Authority of Thailand released a report in May，Shows January to March this year，The number of foreign tourists fell by 38%，The number of Chinese tourists dropped by 60%。The Tourism Authority of Thailand predicts that the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand this year will decrease 188bet online sports betting by more than 60% year-on-year，The lowest level in 14 years。

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand，It is also the largest source of tourism revenue in Thailand，Since the declaration of emergency，On April 4, Phuket announced the closure of all hotels on the island except those used for epidemic prevention work，All beaches temporarily closed at the same time、Animal performances and other entertainment venues and facilities。This has brought disastrous chain reactions to Phuket, where more than half of the population is engaged in tourism。

First 5 months of this year，Thailand’s inbound tourism revenue fell by 59% year-on-year.57%。Inbound passengers are delayed in arriving，Making it difficult for local tourism operators to continue，Reportedly，More than 50 hotels in the Patong Beach area alone have been listed for sale and transferred through real estate agencies，Including medium and high star hotels。

The "holiday paradise" Maldives is having an even tougher time，Border closure results in "zero tourists" entering the country for the first time in 47 years。Described by Maldives Tourism Minister Ali，“The impact of the epidemic，More serious than the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 global financial crisis。”

In South Korea，A large number of small business owners are unemployed，The number of people receiving unemployment benefits in Jeju Island in April was more than 8,000，The largest increase in South Korea。Starting from June 1st，New World、Rakuten，These two are two of the three largest duty-free shops in South Korea，Announcement of temporary closure of stores in Jeju Island。Jeju Island duty-free shop sales during this period，Already dropped by more than 90% year-on-year，Enterprises must close stores to stop losses as a last resort。Other stores in operation，We also take measures to shorten business hours and try to reduce costs。

Open the way: travel bubble plan, VIP first

In response to the impact of the epidemic on pillar industries，Government、Companies are taking some relief measures。

Earlier，The Thai government 188bet online sports betting said it plans to promote local tourism，Convert 12 million potential local outbound travelers into local tourists，At the same time, it is planned to issue travel coupons in July，Reduce accommodation costs by up to half for local guests。Various companies have also launched preferential measures to try to stimulate local tourism consumption。

However，July has not yet arrived，Thailand is eager to bring back inbound tourists。June 29，The Thai government announced that it would be earlier than originally expected，Opening entry for foreign tourists in August，Phuket、Samui is naturally among the first islands to be opened。

As the epidemic situation around the world slows down，Some regions have launched a plan called Travel Bubble，That is, areas with low or similar epidemic risk，Open borders to each other，Passengers entering the country do not need to be quarantined again。The Thai government revealed that it is negotiating relevant policies，It may be implemented in the second half of the year。

There is news，The Thai government will first welcome “VIP” tourists who seek privacy and social distancing，For example, business executives or medical tourists，Even consider directly inviting guests who have visited luxury resorts on islands such as Phuket to return to Thailand。

The Maldives can no longer think about so much，With the end of the domestic epidemic，The epidemic situation in China and most parts of the world is slowing down，Maldives eagerly hopes for the return of inbound tourists。Maldivian President Solih announced on June 23，Border reopening on July 15th，Hotels on resort islands (non-resident islands) will also begin to receive tourists from that day。Overseas visitors will not face mandatory quarantine or testing，Just fill out the health declaration form，All tourists who book accommodation in the country at the same time receive a free 30-day visa。

Same as Thailand，South Korea also launched coupons、Weekend specials and other measures to attract local 188bet app customers，Airlines are fiercely competing to launch Korean domestic low-cost flight plans，So much so that the ticket price from Seoul to Jeju Island is only the price of a cup of coffee。To solve the problem of unsalable products in duty-free shops，The Korean Customs Service announced recently，Temporarily lift the entry control of duty-free goods，Some duty-free products are expected to be available in Korean department stores as soon as July、Sales through discount stores and other channels。

Analysis: Over-reliance on inbound tourists, single source of customers

Island tourism relies heavily on inbound tourists，And create tourism products around the needs of foreign tourists。

Overview of the situation on these three islands，We can see it very directly，Island tourism relies heavily on the local tourism consumption of inbound tourists，Island Accommodation、Catering、Travel and other industries are extremely dependent on and create tourism products around the needs of foreign tourists，Under the current border controls due to the epidemic，Few people can respond flexibly，Adapted to local consumer needs。

The major islands in Thailand and the Maldives are typical island tourist destinations，Sunshine、Seawater、The beach is the core selling point。A destination with natural landscape as its core，It can be said that it is an advantage of being gifted，God rewards rice、Eat the sea by the sea，On the other hand, it may also be the reason for the difficulty in its transformation。Thailand “attempts” to convert half of outbound tourists into local tourists，Launching a series of preferential plans，But whether tourism products can meet the needs of local tourists？This still needs a question mark。Patong Beach has been tailor-made for tourists from around the world since its construction，So under the real problem of the sharp drop in the number of inbound tourists，These travel products、The design of accommodation products does not match the needs of local tourists。Sunshine、Seawater、Beach for local consumers，Not a scarce resource。

The Maldives seems not 188bet online sports betting to have considered promoting local tourism products at all。During the epidemic，Except July switch，Another previous practice of the Maldives was to broadcast tourism live to the world，Still intended for foreign tourists。One reason may be that tourism is the source of income for most citizens，Travel stagnation，National income is falling，So，How many locals can spare the time to travel？Local people’s willingness and ability to travel locally are not high。

Jeju Island’s natural conditions are not excellent，Business and Entertainment、The shopping-consumption-focused model has allowed some duty-free shops in Jeju Island to gain some opportunities to "convert exports to domestic sales" under difficult circumstances，But it is still difficult to eliminate the huge black hole where the inbound passenger flow has dropped to close to 0。Jeju Island is even more biased in the source of passenger flow，Among the visa-free entry tourists received by Jeju Island in 2019，Nearly 800,000 Chinese tourists account for 98% of all inbound foreign tourists。As soon as the epidemic broke out in China，No buffer period in Jeju Island，Inbound tourists dropped to zero rapidly。However，The ultra-low prices of domestic air tickets in South Korea may bring some domestic tourists to Jeju Island，Relieving the depression on the streets。

Based on the natural geographical conditions of the island being far away from the mainland，The main passenger flow is inbound tourists, which is the result of following the trend，Then the future，Can the island get rid of this？How to develop more customer flow sources？How to create related products？What new possibilities can there be for island tourism？We will interview experts for analysis in the next article。

*Source of this article: International Island Tourism Conference, author: Lu Ying, original title:《Inbound tourists plummeted to zero，The Maldives have encountered the worst market situation in 47 years (Part 1)》.