COVID-19 has shaken the world to its core and few regions have felt the blows more profoundly than Southeast Asia and Thailand - the region’s most popular tourist destination. It’s been estimated that the economy could end up being one of the worst-performing in the region thanks to the pandemic essentially killing off the tourist trade. The country is also currently in the grip of a string of anti-government protests, which are taking up valuable resources.

Last month, it was reported that the country’s economy is shrinking by 12.2% year-on-year, which marks the most severe economic downturn since the financial crisis of 1998. But why has the country suffered so much when it’s one of the countries in the world that has arguably handled coronavirus the most effectively, with just a handful of cases and deaths compared to other countries?

A double-edged sword

Thailand making the bond executive decision to close its borders to travelers from selected countries earlier than most meant the virus was quickly brought under control. However, whilst this might have saved thousands of lives in the short term, it’s a move that might have had a devastating long term impact on local trade and tourism. Add a boatload of political unrest into the blender and you have a recipe for disaster.



Looking back

What’s most interesting perhaps, is that the Thai economy was expected to grow at 3.6% only a year ago, with GDP growth healthy and a wave of optimism surrounding the country. This was due to a bevy of private sector investments and a booming tourism industry, not to mention some pretty bold government investment projects. It all goes to show that a lot can change in a year.

Impact by sector

The political problems in Thailand have affected every sector on an even keel, but some Thai businesses have been more impacted by COVID than others. The hospitality sector, for example, has been devastated, not only because of a lack of tourism but because fewer people are eating out than they once were. Grocery businesses and telecommunications, meanwhile, have thrived as the only means of sustenance and contact respectively. Here is the view of World bank on this subject:



Looking ahead

While the economy is still forecast to decrease, Thailand is projected to have an increase in GDP growth for 2021, so the future might not be as bleak as you’d think. The key for locals might be in looking to alternative avenues to help make ends meet. Global market trading with a dynamic stock broker is one popular option, or there’s the option of setting up a new business. Either way, the new normal is well and truly here and isn’t going anywhere soon so Thailand and its citizens need to really consider pivoting their economy away from a tourist-focused one to a more flexible one.If you are a business, one of the ways to grow faster especially after a downturn due to COVID-19, is to have the analytics clear. If your business growth depends on the website, having proper analytics of the activity on the website through the platforms like Diib can help you with the clarity of the numbers that would assist you in deciding the direction the business is to be steered towards. If you are looking for learning about enterprising opportunities during covid-19 read "Entrepreneurial Opportunities During Covid-19"