The Council of Industries of Chiang Rai will not cancel tourism-related events, already planned for the run-up to the New Year and after, despite the outbreak of COVID-19 in the province brought in by Thai returnees from Myanmar’s Thachilek township.
The council president, Chatchai Pattananuparb said today (Sunday) that events, such as the ASEAN flower exhibition, will go ahead as planned, while the council is now collecting information from hotels, guest houses and homestays about the actual number of reservations which have been cancelled by customers, due to concerns over the contagion.
Natthamon Holmberg, owner of a restaurant in Muang district, said that the recent COVID-19 outbreak is affecting her business, which saw customers drop off by about 50%.
She said that group bookings, however, such as families and tour groups, have not cancelled yet and she hopes the situation will improve later this month.
Surasak Chuenvilaisap, owner of Café Asako homestay, said that his reservations have not been affected yet adding, however, that he will keep monitoring the situation.
About 20 COVID-19 cases have been recorded so far in Chiang Rai, since late last month when some Thai bar workers in Thachilek snuck back into Mae Sai district and travelled to several other places before they were found to be infected.
