The Suvarnabhumi shutdown:
Impact on tourism industry and promised government aid
By Jon Fernquest
With support flagging, the anti-Thaksin forces of PAD struck where they knew they could regain the initiative, blockading and forcing the shut-down of Bangkok's main international airport Suvarnabhumi.
The current prime minister, brother-in-law of Thaksin, on the way back from Peru was forced to land his plane in far-away rural Chiang Mai, home town and support base of Thaksin.
Some say that Thaksin, now a convicted felon in Thailand, recently banned from his adopted second home of Great Britain, recently divorced from his wife, may be permanently out of the picture as far as Thai politics is concerned (Read historian Nidhi Eoseewong's editorial yesterday).
The PAD obviously doesn't think Thaksin is history yet.
With Thailand's main international airport shutdown and no one knowing when it will open again the negative impact on the tourism industry will likely be great.
Today's article reviews the impact and the measures the government is taking to help the tourism industry.
(Photo on right of tourist reading his book while waiting for delayed flight)
The full article on the economic impact of the airport blockade follows after this vocabulary:support flagging - less
and less people are helping them
PAD - People’s Alliance for Democracy, the union of several groups protesting against the current government and which staged large protests against the Thaksin government as well พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย
the initiative - in a better position than your opponents in a contest
regain the initiative - go from a worse position to a better position than your opponent in a contest
Suvarnabhumi - Bangkok's new international airport, blockaded yesterday by PAD (See Wikipedia)
blockading - preventing goods or people from entering or leaving a place
a convicted felon - a person found to have committed a crime and now facing punishment
adopted home - choose a place as a place to live
out of the picture - not important anymore, not a factor anymore
is history - won't play a role now or in the future
PAD - People’s Alliance for Democracy, the union of several groups protesting against the current government and which staged large protests against the Thaksin government as well พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย
the initiative - in a better position than your opponents in a contest
regain the initiative - go from a worse position to a better position than your opponent in a contest
Suvarnabhumi - Bangkok's new international airport, blockaded yesterday by PAD (See Wikipedia)
blockading - preventing goods or people from entering or leaving a place
a convicted felon - a person found to have committed a crime and now facing punishment
adopted home - choose a place as a place to live
out of the picture - not important anymore, not a factor anymore
is history - won't play a role now or in the future
SUVARNABHUMI SHUTDOWN
Aid fund for tourism planned
Guarantees to cover 50% of banks' risksPOST REPORTERS
APICHIT JINAKUL
Thursday November 27, 2008
Thousands of travellers were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday as PAD protesters shut down the site.
Government aid to tourism industry
The government will establish a new fund to assist tourist operators and exporters affected by the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport by anti-government demonstrators.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.
stranded - unable
to leave a place (due to bad weather or hoards of protesters, for
example)
loan guarantees - when others promise to be responsible for paying back a loan if the borrower cannot pay it back
cover up to 50% of the risks - will pay back 5o% of any money lost
Small Business Credit Guarantee Corp (SBCG) - a Thai government company for providing guarantees on small business loans
(Read previous article)
the public debt - government debt (from government spending more than tax revenues = government deficits)
loan guarantees - when others promise to be responsible for paying back a loan if the borrower cannot pay it back
cover up to 50% of the risks - will pay back 5o% of any money lost
Small Business Credit Guarantee Corp (SBCG) - a Thai government company for providing guarantees on small business loans
(Read previous article)
the public debt - government debt (from government spending more than tax revenues = government deficits)
Estimating the size of tourism industry losses
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.
protracted - lasts
for a long time
could run well into 2009 - could continue happening for a long time during 2009
direct job losses - without the business that tourism arrivals via the airport generate, many companies may fail and cut jobs
indirect job losses - reduction in tourism business may cause a slowdown in the overall economy
wiped out - destroyed
image - the picture of something that people have in their mind, what people think about something ภาพลักษณ์
damaged the country's image - created a negative picture in foreigners' minds about Thailand ทำลายภาพลักษณ์ของประเทศ
the country's image has been wiped out - destroy the positive picture in peoples' minds they have about Thailand
difficult to revive - difficult to bring back to life, return to the previous state
could run well into 2009 - could continue happening for a long time during 2009
direct job losses - without the business that tourism arrivals via the airport generate, many companies may fail and cut jobs
indirect job losses - reduction in tourism business may cause a slowdown in the overall economy
wiped out - destroyed
image - the picture of something that people have in their mind, what people think about something ภาพลักษณ์
damaged the country's image - created a negative picture in foreigners' minds about Thailand ทำลายภาพลักษณ์ของประเทศ
the country's image has been wiped out - destroy the positive picture in peoples' minds they have about Thailand
difficult to revive - difficult to bring back to life, return to the previous state
Impact on large conventions and Thailand's MICE business
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.
MICE industry - the
Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions industry, part of
the tourism industry (Source: Micepoint)
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) - a government organization established in 2002 in charge of promoting tourism-related meetings and conventions in Thailand (See website)
CNBC Asian Business Leaders Awards (ABLA) - an award to business leaders made by the television station CNBC (See website)
the first casualty - the first injury, the first one to be harmed or damaged
a blockade - preventing goods or people from entering or leaving a place
the airport blockade - the PAD action to prevent people and goods from entering or leaving Thailand's main airport
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) - a government organization established in 2002 in charge of promoting tourism-related meetings and conventions in Thailand (See website)
CNBC Asian Business Leaders Awards (ABLA) - an award to business leaders made by the television station CNBC (See website)
the first casualty - the first injury, the first one to be harmed or damaged
a blockade - preventing goods or people from entering or leaving a place
the airport blockade - the PAD action to prevent people and goods from entering or leaving Thailand's main airport
Tourism bookings and travel advisories
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.
package tours - a
tour or holiday arranged by a travel company, arranges and pays for all
hotels and transportation, makes decisions about where to go
a booking - a reservation, making an arrangement now for the future use of a hotel room, restaurant table, or seat on airplan or bus
bookings for package tours - making an arrrangement now to go on a package tour in the future
issued a travel advisory - when the embassy of a foreign government makes an announcement to people of its country traveling in the country advising them on safety issues and other topics of importance
their carriers - the airline that they are flying on
a booking - a reservation, making an arrangement now for the future use of a hotel room, restaurant table, or seat on airplan or bus
bookings for package tours - making an arrrangement now to go on a package tour in the future
issued a travel advisory - when the embassy of a foreign government makes an announcement to people of its country traveling in the country advising them on safety issues and other topics of importance
their carriers - the airline that they are flying on
(Source: Bangkok Post, Suvarnabhumi shutdown: Aid fund for tourism planned, POST REPORTERS, APICHIT JINAKUL, 27-11-08, link)
