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Baht/$ 35.24/29 (Bid/Ask)
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13,200
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SUVARNABHUMI SHUTDOWN
Guarantees to cover 50% of banks' risks
POST REPORTERS
The government will establish a new fund to assist tourist operators and exporters affected by the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport by anti-government demonstrators.
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| Thousands of travellers were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday as PAD protesters shut down the site. APICHIT JINAKUL |
Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat said the fund would offer loan guarantees to cover up to 50% of the risks carried by local banks. The fund, which would operate with guarantees similar to those offered by the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corp, could begin operations as early as next month.
"We are debating the fund size now. The government will ensure that the new fund won't add to the public debt even though we will have to borrow funds to finance the programme," he said yesterday.
Weerasak Kohsurat, the Tourism and Sports minister, said the ministry had yet to fully evaluate the losses suffered by the industry.
But he said the damage would be protracted and could run well into 2009.
Kongkrit Hiranyakit, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said damages to the industry could top 100 billion baht with up to 100,000 direct and indirect job losses through mid-2009.
"This situation is worse than the [2004] tsunami. The country's image has been wiped out and it will be difficult to revive. Who will come to visit Thailand?" he asked.
On Tuesday night, almost 3,000 foreign tourists were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport without any help from the government.
One tourism expert said Thailand would definitely lose huge tourism revenues in this peak season. Normally, the number of foreign tourists from November to January averages 1.2 million to 1.5 million per month. They stay about nine days in Thailand and spend about 4,000 to 4,200 baht per day.
Natawut Amornvivat, the president of Bangkok Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said the CNBC Asian Business Leaders Awards were the first casualty of the airport blockade. The meeting, originally to be held today and tomorrow in Bangkok, has been taken off the calendar.
"The image of Thailand is being destroyed and many foreign delegates feel unsafe to come to Bangkok right now. The cancellation of the CNBC event will send a negative sign to the Mice industry here," Mr Natawut said.
Another event originally set to start today, the World Halal Programme, has also been cancelled. Anirut Smutkochorn, the president of the Thai-Islamic Trade and Industrial Association, said the one-day event had been scrapped due to the uncertainties.
Maiyarat Pheerayakoses, the president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said bookings for package tours were expected to slow further from the current 60% sales rate. Normally, tours are 90% to 100% booked in November.
She said Thai Airways International and the State Railway of Thailand should offer discounted tickets to travellers to support the industry.
Jungkug Ahn, president of the Korean-Thai Chamber of Commerce, said there should be notices at government buildings and embassies to explain to foreigners about the protest at the international airport.
"Safety of tourists should be the top priority of the government, Thailand is safe for business people living here but for tourists I'm not sure because they normally travel around the city during the visit," he added.
The British Embassy in Bangkok issued a travel advisory for travellers from the UK to Thailand to re-check schedules with their carriers.
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