The fallout from the Covid_19 World Pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on tourism businesses in Phuket. The economic impact is far greater than that resulting from Avian Bird Flu, Sars, Swine Flu or the Tsunami. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost, mainly from tourism related businesses. The resources the Thai government has to help the unemployed and businesses are very stretched and, in any case, limited. It cannot be stressed enough how devastating all of this is on heavily tourist dependent Phuket. Tourist businesses are collapsing daily and there appears to be no end in sight.
During February and March, international tourists were postponing their trip, returning home voluntarily because of fear of Covid_19 or were being recalled by their governments. By the middle of March, almost all tourists had left Phuket leaving Sumalee without the international tourists it depends on. Since then, we were required to completely close the business for three months from April until the end of June 2020. During this time we continued with our commitment to help the children at Wor Watthana gym by making regular donations. With the assistance of the generous donations made by Sumalee customers and Ocean Breeze residents, we were also able to help the local Burmese community, many of whom were left with no work and no income as they were not eligible for any support from the Thai government. UK celebrity Kaz Crossley also pitched in with donations and assistance when she heard about our efforts.
We have also started our own Sumalee Children’s project in the local community. Situated well away from the tourist hubs of Phuket, our locality was already impoverished before the Covid_19 crisis. The high level of unemployment that now exists in Phuket has been devastating to local people. Children from the Burmese community have been particularly affected because they cannot return to school in Myanmar as cross border traffic is prohibited. We are inviting kids from the neighbourhood to free weekly sessions, hoping empower them through Muay Thai, Yoga and Meditation. The yoga classes are being led by Ruth Baker, a teacher from the British International School, who has recently qualified as a children’s yoga instructor. We are very excited by the potential of this project.
Although we were allowed to open again at the beginning of July, the business environment in Phuket has been hit hard because international borders are still closed. There is currently no end to this in sight.
This situation is about to get even more difficult. The visa exemption given to tourists unable to leave the country before the airports closed will end on September 26th 2020. Without permission from their respective embassy to stay, these tourists will have to leave the country.
Unemployment is now extremely high on the island and many businesses have already closed because of the Covid_19 crisis, with the prediction that there will be many more to follow. Unless they adapt quickly, businesses cannot survive.
The current situation presents Sumalee with many challenges: a) to retain jobs for our staff. We are a responsible company and made contributions to the social security fund so that during the period This meant that during the period of obligatory closure, all of our staff received some recompense from the social security fund with a top up from us. This assistance has now ceased, even though operationally tourism businesses are struggling because the borders are still closed. Many of our staff have been with us a long time and have worked very hard to ensure that our students received the best possible training experience. Our TripAdvisor reviews are a testament to their success;
b) satisfy the needs of the people who have supported and visited us over the years. Many want to come back to resume their training but cannot. During the 9 years we have been open we have built a strong Sumalee Community who remain hungry for what we are able to provide. They want our support in their Muay Thai and Yoga practice, they miss our food and they miss Thailand;
c) continue with our community work. Our free yoga and Muay Thai classes have been very popular amongst the local children who rarely have any other outlets or opportunities. We have a regular group of around 15 children who attend. Two of the boys have become more permanent fixtures in the gym and join the daily Muay Thai classes. We continue to give food handouts where they are needed.
To meet these challenges we have made many changes. Our classes have been restructured and enhanced to cater for the local market. We’ve introduced a broader program with wider appeal. We have developed on online platform providing regularly updated, good quality content which will not only support your training but will give you a much deeper insight into life/business in Thailand.. The content includes: training tips and tricks, online classes, recipes recommended by Sumalee, nutritional information, Thailand/Phuket guides, and behind the scenes content.
The fighter Yodbuangnam (known to many of our past students as Lib) is a guest presenter giving training tips and tricks. (His brilliant career was cut short by a very restrictive contract which he was unable to extract himself from following problems at the gym he signed with. You can learn about his life, which is very typical of Muay Thai fighters, from the platofrm.)
The ebook ‘Fighting for Success’ written by Lynne Miller and giving a candid insight into building a Muay Thai business in Thailand, is also be serialised on the platform. There are chapters on establishing a business in Thailand, Muay Thai fighter contracts explained, the signing of Saenchai, Superlek’s funeral, the Muay Thai community, thai trainers as staff, sponsored fighters, Muay Thai promotions and much more. If you want an in-depth understanding of the Muay Thai business, you will find it in this book.
If you would like to keep in touch with Sumalee, find out more about Thailand, sponsor our community work and help ensure the business is here for when you are able to return, please consider our Sumalee membership scheme: www.patreon.com/SumaleePhuket.
