The government is being urged to fix the manpower shortage in the wellness industry and create a more favourable environment for locals and international visitors to establish Thailand as a top-tier wellness hub.
Krip Rojanastien, chairman and chief executive of Chiva-Som International Health Resorts, called for a strong government policy to accommodate the wellness industry, notably tackling the shortage of skilled labour and education in this segment, as well environmental issues.
Speaking at the Bangkok Post Conference 2023 — “Thailand’s Road to Wellness Hub”, Mr Krip said that developing vocational school programmes to flesh out the industry while providing them with guaranteed jobs would help combat the labour shortfall.
He said the industry has been hit with a brain drain, where skilled workers such as therapists have been enticed to work with operators and international cruises overseas.
The government should also loosen its restrictions on licensing foreign medical doctors and naturopathic doctors to enable rapid knowledge transfers, along with supporting free movement of labour in Asean, he said.
To draw more customers, Mr Krip said the government should ease visa regulations, for example, extending tourist visas from 30 to 90 days.
As senior citizens are a major target for the wellness and medical industries, the process of acquiring retirement visas should be made easier and more convenient, he said. Moreover, land leases should be extended beyond the current 30 years, so that properties can be held by foreign families for a longer term, he suggested.
Mr Krip said that in order for more Thais to adopt a wellness lifestyle, a curriculum supporting this should be introduced to schools, as more than 32.6% of the population were reported as being overweight or obese in 2016, according to the World Health Organization.
“Before convincing the world community that we are truly a wellness hub, we must aim for our population to be a shining example of a wellness lifestyle,” he said.
Another challenge is the greying population, which adds more burden the nation’s healthcare system.
Mr Krip stressed the importance of sustainability for both the government and private sector in creating high value but low impact tourism, so that Thailand can market itself as an eco-friendly country.
The government should incentivise businesses to adopt more sustainable approaches, he said. For example, wellness businesses must be audited to ensure they minimise their use of plastic, reduce waste overall and offset their carbon emissions, he noted.
Those who meet certain criteria should be rewarded with lower income tax rates, he said.
“Wellness and sustainability must go hand in hand,” said Mr Krip. “We cannot achieve wellness if the environment is toxic.”
With the election coming up, Mr Krip said the new government should come up with a policy to support the rapid absorption of best practices from around the world, providing education on wellness in schools and setting aside a healthy budget to care for the elderly.