Thailand on less than 2 dollars per day
A lot of us are feeling pretty fed up in the UK at the moment and I suspect that feeling is shared around the world. For us though, if things start to get difficult, there is a safety-net, of sorts: we have a social welfare system. It is not without its faults (an under-statement perhaps), but it is better than many countries have.
For example, I was just reading that in Thailand they do not have a systematic process of identifying and supporting the poor. That means that those who are losing jobs are not necessarily showing up on any one’s radar. “The poor, defined as those who earn less than $2 a day, may currently stand at 8% of the population.” If there is no way to track the poor then I guess that figure could be absolutely anything.
Still more worrying is the story in The Nation that states that “Women are facing harder times than men in the current labour market….with some working for as little as Bt15 a day.” That’s around 29 pence or 40 cents US. OK, the cost of living is lower there than it is here but even so!
Many people are losing there jobs in Thailand, and pretty much everywhere in Asia, because we in the West are not importing as much; and that of course applies to invisible imports (like tourism) as much as anything else.
The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is calling for the world economies not to become Protectionist so that we can help each other spend our way out of this mess.
Now, I am just a humble ex-tour operator but that makes a lot of sense to me.
I no longer have any commercial interest in whether anyone travels to Asia or not. However, because of my affinity with the region and especially those within and allied to the travel industry, I do want to see tourists and travellers continue to visit and enjoy the region. If we can travel and help others in the process, then that seems a pretty good proposition to me.
Currently there are special ‘package’ deals to Thailand available from the likes of Funway Holidays and Kuoni Travel and, anyone wanting to go it alone, can get to Bangkok this month from £446 return with Emirates and bag a discount at somewhere like the Dusit Laguna Phuket (See Financial Protection & The Traveller)
What a great time to be a traveller hooked on Asia!
