Shifting Lenses

Of all the family holidays I’ve taken in Asia, one of my most memorable was a 2017 trip to Chiang Mai. While I wish I could say it was because of the amazing temples or lively markets, the truth is, the most memorable part was the incredible hotel we stayed at, the Dhara Dhevi.

The hotel lobby and many of the buildings were built to resemble temples. The some rooms were traditional wooden structures set in a rice paddy, while others areas of the resort had classic British colonial architecture. For kids, there were activities like scavenger hunts, yoga, agriculture lessons, and, of course, a pool. Even all these years later, the Dhara Dhevi was the hotel I was most excited about returning to.

Sadly, the Dhara Dhevi permanently closed in November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism industry hard, leading to financial difficulties that eventually forced the hotel into bankruptcy. In April 2025, a fire burned 2,000 square meters of the former resort.

The pandemic’s impact was widespread in the Asian tourism industry. The Dhara Dhevi is not the only hotel my family once visited that has closed due to the pandemic. While developed economies like the U.S. also lost businesses and individuals felt the financial impact, stories like the Dhara Dhevi make me think about how many people were affected in less developed areas and how much harder it is to recover. How many people lost their jobs with little to fall back on? How long will it take for the economy to recover, and how much progress was lost?