BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's airport authority said Thursday it lost almost $6 million after agreeing to waive fees for airlines and store owners reeling from an eight-day blockade of Bangkok's airports by anti-government protesters.
The Airports Authority of Thailand ruled Wednesday that it would not charge landing fees to airlines or ask stores to pay rents for the Nov. 25-Dec. 3 period when Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports were closed, spokeswoman Toompetch Boonyaridh said.
The lost fees total as much as 200 million baht ($5.8 million), Toompetch said.
The airport sieges forced the cancellation of hundred of flights, left more than 300,000 foreign travelers stranded and dealt a crippling blow to the economy and Thailand's crucial tourism industry. The Thai government earlier reported that it spent some 1.9 billion baht to lodge and feed tourists stranded because of the protests.
Tourism authorities have predicted that business would be worse in 2009 than in the year following the December 2004 tsunami that killed thousands of foreign tourists during peak season. The Thai tourism authority estimates the number of visitors will decline in the next six months by 2.5 million, costing the industry an estimated 100 billion baht.
Tourism brought in about $16 billion in revenue last year, about 6.5 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product, and any further slowdown could push the country's economy into recession. The government forecast a contraction of up to 1 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and zero growth in the second quarter.
