Tourism fund not enough for all

Published: 17/03/2009 at 08:06 PM
Online news: Breakingnews

The five-billion-baht fund for tourism operators is not enough for them to all survive the slump, said Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa.

The financial support programme was officially launched Tuesday and will run until April 30.

The Federation of Thai Tourism Associations (FTTA) predicted that at least 450 tour operators would seek financial help worth at least 1.8 billion baht.

More than 1,000 restaurant operators are expected to submit loan applications for 500 million baht, with small hotels likely to seek up to two billion baht.

Soft loans to help tourism-related operators will charge an interest rate at 2% in the first two years, followed by the minimum lending rate (MLR) -3%.

"The requests for loans during the 1.5-month period will exceed five billion baht for sure. If demand is excessive, we will go forward with the second fund,'' Mr Chumpol said.

The minister estimated that the tourism business would pick up near the end of this year if the private and government sectors worked hand-in-hand to promote the country in the same direction.

Apichart Sankary, the FTTA president, said the tourism industry in Thailand would be sluggish in the next two years, particularly for inbound business.

"I can say that this year is the poorest since I have been in business. This summer, tourist arrivals from Europe and the United States will drop more than 30%. Instead, most operators should pin their hopes on Asian tourists particularly from Japan and China,'' he said.

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Writer: Bangkokpost.com

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sal

Discussion 5 : 26/03/2009 at 10:28 PM5
i want to visit yout beautiful country,but am a little afraid of the protests red shirt - im checking to see if its going to turn violent-
i am from USA- want to spend my money there- but when i heard of tourist getting robbed,killed
cheated it hard - have plans on going april 25
unrest in south province, the US department of state said do not treavel to south province
is ptuket ok to travel with family??
also like to visit Chaing Mia is this area safe
for americans- we feel safer when we see police
in tourist area
Bob

Discussion 4 : 18/03/2009 at 03:50 AM4
I am not surprised by the drop in the tourism especially with the red shirt continuing creating news by their protest rallies. Tourist do not want to be caught in a situation. They are there to enjoy a holiday and thus do not need the hassle. Therefore to the red shirt, get real, do not ruin your country.
PAD terrorist

Discussion 3 : 18/03/2009 at 02:44 AM3
sorry Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa you are not my member so take it or leave it
bee

Discussion 2 : 17/03/2009 at 10:46 PM2
i m surprised that the ministry are handing yheir allocation as loans. wouldn't it be better if the money was spent on tourism (or perhaps even international sports) related events that draw in the crowds from overseas? or, why not have the "needy" proposed what tourism related events they can organise and the ministry can justify on a sponsorship or subsidy cause. i hate to think that the loan going to them may end up like the US's AIG controversy .... paying for the big bosses salaries and perks.
Winky

Discussion 1 : 17/03/2009 at 08:18 PM1
No you wrong. That other guy said this year highly likely same as before 12 million tourists. I think so.

Tourism fund not enough for all