A closed restaurant is seen following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Pattaya, Thailand March 28, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
PATTAYA, Thailand (Reuters) - Beaches are deserted, go-go bars stand empty and cabarets have shut their doors in Thailand's tourist haven of Pattaya, as business has ground to a standstill after worldwide travel restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For one of the world's most famed - some might say infamous - tourism hotspots, the economic devastation is near-total and business owners say haven't seen anything like it for four decades."Our organization has halted business 100%. Pattaya is a tourist city, we rely mostly on them. The whole city is affected by the virus," Alcazar Cabaret Show executive Pawin Phettrakul told Reuters.In normal times, the theatre - which features high-kicking dancing girls wearing elaborate feather headdresses and sequined dresses - sees over a thousand tourists daily, but now there are zero.Alcazar Cabaret is not planning on laying off its staff at the moment, but the foreseeable future seems bleak.Thailand depends on tourism for around 12% of its GDP, but in Pattaya, nearly the entire economy runs on visitors.
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