Airport blockades cast deep gloom over Thai economy

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat greets supporters past policemen after a cabinet meeting in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai November 27, 2008. Somchai declared a state of emergency on Thursday at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, as rumours of a coup swirled round the capital.REUTERS/Stringer (THAILAND)

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat speaks during meeting with his cabinet in Chiang Mai province, 700 km north of Bangkok, November 27, 2008. Somchai declared on Thursday a state of emergency at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, as rumours of a coup swirled round the capital.REUTERS/Stringer

An anti-government protestor keeping guard at a check-point leading towards Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport shows his support to arriving demonstrators on November 27, 2008. Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency on Thursday at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, a minister said, as rumours of a coup swirled round the capital.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (THAILAND)

Anti-government protestors stand guard at a check-point leading towards Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport November 27, 2008. Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency on Thursday at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, a minister said, as rumours of a coup swirled round the capital.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (THAILAND)

TIMES ONLINE
November 27, 2008

Sian Powell in Bangkok

The occupation of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and the subsequent massive disruption of international and domestic travel has darkened an already gloomy economic mood in Thailand.

Reeling from the impact of the international financial crisis, Thailand cannot afford either the symbolism or the reality of an international airport that is closed for business.

The country's £10.4 billion pounds) tourism industry had been slowing in Thailand for the last few months, shaken by the international financial crisis and perhaps also by Thailand's ongoing political turmoil. The broader economy, too, has been slowing. The National Economic and Social Development Board recently downgraded annual growth forecasts from 5.2 - 5.7 per cent to 4 per cent.

Dale Lawrence, Bangkok-based spokesman for the Pacific Asia Travel Association, described the airport occupation as "a sickening blow for Thailand".

Six percent of Thailand's gross domestic product is directly connected to the tourism industry, and the peak season, which generates a substantial amount of the revenue, is about to begin.

"With tourism, it's not just the revenue, it's the jobs it creates," Mr Lawrence told The Times, adding that the current crisis would almost certainly deter anyone planning to holiday in Thailand in the near future, carving into its tourism revenue at the most profitable time of the year.

More than 90 per cent of international passengers coming to Thailand either flew directly to Suvarnabhumi Airport, or transited through on the way elsewhere. Opened in 2006, the US$4 billion (2.6 billion pounds) airport was designed to attract transiting regional passengers.

Now, with the airport a protest site rather than a gleaming regional hub, the ripple effect has undermined business meetings and ongoing business plans across the nation.

Mr Lawrence said he personally should have been welcoming a delegation from China yesterday, but the visit had been cancelled because of the airport closure.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, until this week the region's busiest hub, processes 40 million passengers a year.

Mr Chris Bruton, Thailand director of corporate advisory company Dataconsult, said that tourism was a vital component of Thailand's economy, and in the short run the tourism sector would be damaged by the occupation, with a knock-on effect on other sectors.

The disruption, he believed, would affect also investment, particularly foreign investment. "A lot of businesses like stability," he said. "The worry that people have here is they can't see the future."

Mr Bruton, too, had been directly affected. A meeting with an entrepreneur from Qatar scheduled for yesterday was cancelled because the businessman found his plane diverted to Singapore.

"Now we've seen several cases of business people who can't get in or out of Bangkok," he said.