In the dreamy days before the pandemic, the tourism industry in Thailand was thriving, with international visitors flocking to the country to explore the cities, villages and scenic islands. Many of those tourists were in Thailand for a wedding with big fat Greek and Indian weddings, fancy Western weddings, small vow renewals and intimate elopements, all happening every single day of the week. As well as destination weddings, Thais and expats were getting married too.
In popular destinations such as Samui and Phuket, there could easily be 10 or 20 weddings happening on one day.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the cost of a lavish 3-5 day Indian wedding with hundreds of guests could cost over 10 million baht. A large Western wedding was also bringing big bucks to the economy. For many couples, Thailand was a great meeting point for their friends and family scattered worldwide. For others, it was way more economical than having a wedding at home. Some loved the idea of having a family reunion, vacation, wedding and honeymoon all rolled into one adventurous trip to paradise.
Then the pandemic hit and almost overnight, weddings were put to a stop. Some lucky couples tied the knot and fled home just in time before lockdowns happened. Some got married, then got stranded for a short time before getting home. Many had to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel or postpone their best day ever indefinitely.
The wedding industry in Thailand has been changed forever.
The Negative
Most people working in the wedding industry found themselves jobless by the end of March 2020. Except for the odd local wedding or vow renewal since, there hasn’t been much work to do apart from marketing and planning for the future.
For many expats, the only option was to return to their home countries since the future was so uncertain. While the cost of living can be cheap in Thailand, some had major expenses to cover, such as international school fees for their children, which were very expensive. Many lost their jobs and work permits. Returning home made more sense. Others stayed and hunkered down by surviving on savings or looking for work in other industries. Many Thais moved back to their hometowns to be with family. Family who depended on money sent to them every month from their loved ones who were now out of work. Many found themselves struggling or even in poverty as the months went on and on.
Soon the tourist areas were deserted, with most shops closed up for good. Buildings quickly became rundown, especially ones near the ocean, as the sea salt erodes architecture quickly and needs to be treated every year. Once busy tourist areas turned into ghost towns.
Before Covid many resorts in Thailand had stopped using elephants at weddings, including the Marriott brand, which was one of the first to implement the ban in a stand against animal cruelty. Still, before the pandemic, you would see them at some weddings, and many were used in tourism at camps for riding and sanctuaries to watch and interact with. Elephant owners who relied on income from tourists suddenly had no cash flow to buy food for their giant creatures. The cost of feeding an elephant is astronomical, and a lot were sent back to the villages they originally came from, some to better situations but many to worse.
The Positive
There is always a positive side to every bad situation, even a pandemic. For many of the wedding industry professionals in Thailand, it has given the blessing of time. With weddings happening every day of the week, there is rarely a day off. Many work long hours every day of the week, especially in the high season. Family time has been one of the biggest blessings of the pandemic.
The break has also allowed many wedding pros to catch up on marketing, social media, branding, and other important business tasks that often get neglected. Rest and relaxation also bring about new inspiration and wedding industry professionals are as excited to get back to work as the tourists are to return to the tropical paradise many return to annually for vacations.
Another positive aspect of the pandemic which relates to the wedding and tourism industry is the impact on the environment. Without tourists, there has been a return of wildlife. Sea turtles are nesting in numbers that haven’t been seen in decades, and dolphins and dugong are being sighted more frequently too. Less pollution, including plastic on the beaches, is also helping the environment. Locals with plenty of time on their hands have been inspired by the positive effect on the environment and have cleaned up the beaches and land even more.
Wedding photographers and videographers who are usually fully booked shooting weddings have documented the changes with uplifting content about fauna growing, blooming, and animals reproducing in areas they previously considered dangerous. Mini National Geographic-style videos will make sure we remember this time in history when the borders were closed to tourists but opened to the nature kingdom.
When the tourists are allowed back, there is talk of keeping some national parks closed to encourage the wildlife to stay.
Hope For The Future
With the recent rollout of vaccines and the Thai government’s plans to open the borders to tourists as soon as possible, there is much hope within the Thailand wedding industry. A love conquers all attitudes in the air as the whole country gets ready for the light at the end of the tunnel or the airport runway might be a better term.
Slowly wedding inquiries are appearing in wedding venues and vendors inboxes again. People are optimistic about traveling and miss the beautiful Thailand environment, from the jungles, mountains to the beaches and the bustling cities with endless shopping and traffic jams full of tuk tuks.
It is likely everyone will work and travel with a new appreciation of life, love and happiness in the future. Tourists will ask what Thailand was like during the pandemic when the wedding industry collapsed. They will hear how difficult life was when the international tourism industry closed down. Wedding speeches will be peppered with mention of how lucky guests are to be at a destination wedding. For a long time, there will be the talk of this moment in history that changes so much for so many.
