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Bangkok airports shut down cost Thailand more than Tsunami
Thailand News.Net
Wednesday 7th January, 2009 (ANI)
Melbourne, Jan 7 : Anti-government protests that shut down Bangkok's airports last year have cost Thailand 11.5 billion dollars, much more than loses suffered during the Tsunami or SARS, a central bank study has said.
Demonstrators opposed to the previous government's ties to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra occupied the capital's international and domestic airports for more than a week from late November to early December in 2008.
The protesters from the royalist People's Alliance for Democracy movement dispersed after a court verdict brought down the government, but a Bank of Thailand study said the economic damage from the siege was huge.
The shutdown of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports between November 25 and December 4 prevented 3.4 million tourists from visiting Thailand.
"The losses are more serious than SARS and the tsunami because those two were short-term," the study said, referring to the global Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2003 and the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The study predicted that tourist arrivals in Thailand this year would fall 8.8 percent year on year to 12.8 million, news.com.au reported.
Thailand' tourism industry accounts for five percent of GDP and employs some two million people or up to seven percent of the country's total workforce.
"The political unrest has not only affected the tourism industry but also other related industries," said the study, titled Thailand's Tourism Industry After The Closure Of Airports.
It said the losses included 120 billion baht (4.75 billion dollars) in the service industry, 90 billion baht (3.56 billion dollars) in logistics and 60 billion baht (2.38 billion dollars) in industry.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
ChantaVong
01-07-09, 09:22 AM |
Bangkok airports shut down cost Thailand more than Tsunami
Thai history was Good with(that time younger King) peacefull.. But I wondered maybe Thai’s TIME is OVER to be PEACE in IndoChina because Thai has Been Controlled and Atayed Over POWER with his neighbors( Laos, Burma and cambodia)countries so long.. Especially, Child(Hard) labor Illegally, Treated all Refugees from his Neighbors Countries Unfair with the Human Rights Policies( Especially the Hmong People,now).
Thai maybe have No KING Like LAOS,soon.. This is my Prediction..
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nero
01-07-09, 07:21 PM |
all pad doing
you can imagine , the responsibles are still running loose and are even ruling the country, now with the elite
( chinese) in power thailand will go more down the drain at cost off the rural people whom are suffering most under the this pushed governement, and now all off a sudden police and army can move again afther being immobilised by pad corruption, unbelieveable here..., and very sad for a nice country....., but not thailand anymore.....
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Thai American
01-08-09, 12:42 AM |
This is deeper than you think
All of these Turmoil is happening in Thailand because of Thai is not a true democracy. The law is not the law, and they enforce some law some not. The constitution has been written so many times over and over again. I dis agree with PAD even over in US that they also protest over here too. They want the country to run the way they want with out any election. I don’t know for sure that Tucksin Corrupts or not, but he grew Thailand from no ware to a most power full country in south East Asia. In the 90’s Thai was in deep debt to IMF they did not know when they will be able to pay them off. Tucksin was able to pay them off with in a few years after that. As of he sold the communication company and profit in capital gain with out pay any tax is because the law said there is no tax on capital gain. This is the same as US Law. In US the capital gain tax is only 28% of the gain. Why? Because they want people to invest in the equality market to grow the business. When the businesses grow every thing grow with them. To me all business man like Tucksin is the hero because they grow business and create jobs. The PAD does not want elected government because they know that if the election com again they will lose. The PAD only representing very small group of Thai, but I can’t believe that the Thai government did not use the strong enforce to stop them from damage the country finance like this. Look if they are some protester take over any of American government buildings, Air ports, or police stations they will be short with out warning over here. I live in US, I respect the law, I accepted the people election, and when the election done I am supporting people that I was not voting for. Thai political is deeper than you think, there are laws to protect the royal family, and there is no freedom of speech like America. Some Thai said Thai have to govern the Thai way. What is the Thai way? The US constitution never been change only amended, but Thai try to say that they are democracy country, and they are kidding them self they are not.
Another thing Thai government is always corrupted. When I was young there were always military government that corrupted by the whole system from Sarith to Prapat. Those people corrupted with out thinking of the poor Thai, they want to control the country by generation to generation. They can’t grow country because they are military people not the business man. I did not understand it until I educated in US. My friend the military is to protect the country, and people not run the country. Why Thai military have so much power to play around with politic? Think about this Tucksin net asset is around $20 billions, our king is $32 billions, taxi driver making 700($21) baths a day driving in the polluted city every day.
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