BANGKOK, 8 July 2020: Skal International’s Bangkok club is back with an ‘old normal’ lunch event after being closed down since last March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scheduled for Pullman Bangkok King Power, 14 July, around 60 top executives from Bangkok’s travel and hospitality communities will meet for lunch and a panel discussion on the way forward as the Covid-19 pandemic pummels Thailand’s tourism. In the first five months of the year, tourist arrivals reached around 6.7 million down from 16 million during the same five-month period in 2019.
Due to physical distancing measures as outlined by the authorities, the lunch event is limited to a maximum of 100 people. Strict measures apply to reduce the risk of infection, including temperature scans and no handshakes. All hotel staff wear masks. Skal members are not required to wear masks in the meeting room venue, but the number of persons sitting at each table will be considerably fewer than the old normal.
The event is hosted from 1130 to 1430 and is priced at THB950 for members and THB1,650 for non-members including the free flow of wine, beer and soft drinks. Sponsors for the Skal Club events include Coffee Works, Paulaner Beer and Serenity Wines Asia.
Commenting on the first club event since Covid-19 struck, Bangkok’s Skal Club president, Andrew Wood, said that bringing back the monthly lunch meeting shows health measures are now in place to ensure a safe environment for members based on the Ministry of Public Health’s requirements.
Like all event organisers in Thailand, he has to juggle with two thorny issues; stringent Covid-19 safety measures and the introduction of stricter rules to limit the promotion of alcohol promotions. Skal Clubs enjoy considerable sponsorship support from distributors of alcoholic drinks and club presidents are struggling with precisely what is allowed in the credits and recognition for the beer and wine sponsors.
The other issue was brushed aside by the club president. The country’s emergency decree prohibits people of 70 years and more from attending public events due to the higher risk of infection among the elderly. Wood said he is not about to check birth certificates at the door for what he described as a “silly rule.”
