Thailand's crisis could cost Cambodia $100m: minister

Anti-government protesters stand guard while blocking the entrance at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. (Photo: AFP)

Monday, 01 December 2008
Written by Kay Kimsong
The Phnom Penh Post

The occupation of Bangkok's airports has closed Cambodia’s main tourist transit point, putting the choke on foreign travel

CAMBODIA stands to lose more than US$100 million in tourism-related revenue if the political deadlock gripping Thailand's capital - a major transit point for visitors to the Kingdom - does not ease in the next three months, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon told the Post Sunday.

The minister estimated that 1,500 tourists arrive daily by air and land from Bangkok, accounting for nearly 30 percent of total travellers, and that foreign visitors spend $770 on average per trip.

He added that the government expects the turmoil in Bangkok could last for at least a few months.

"At least 10 to 12 flights arrive every day in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh via Bangkok," Thong Khon said. "We are sure to lose substantial numbers of tourists."

The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy last week stormed Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in an attempt to bring down the government of Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

Thai government officials have since declared a state of emergency at both airports, which have cancelled all flights.

Tourism drops

Despite an increase in arrivals from other countries, the number of overall visitors has dropped, Thong Khon said.

"There are many passengers travelling via Hanoi, Japan and Korea, but not as many as we had coming from Bangkok," he said.

"Cambodia wants Thailand to return to normal. If [the situation in] Bangkok continues to deteriorate, it will impact our tourism sector," he said.

Thong Khon urged tourism operators to continue marketing Cambodia as a safe travel destination.

Tes Chhaya, a tour guide in Siem Reap, said the crisis in Bangkok has taken a toll on local businesses, including hotels, tourism packages and taxis.

"At this time last year, I would have bookings for nearly 15 days out of every month. Now, we are getting only about five days of bookings per month," he said, adding that his profits have dropped more than 50 percent.

Independent economist Sok Sina said the political turmoil, as well as the global financial crisis, has affected Cambodia's tourism sector this year, making it unlikely to achieve the growth projected by the government.

"Cambodia will not likely reach its target of two million visitors this year," he said, adding that a drop in visitors to Siem Reap would also hurt local farmers who supply produce and meat to area hotels.

Analysts expect the crisis in Bangkok to drag on with the army and police refusing to act on government demands to disband the demonstrators.

Meanwhile, pro-government groups have threatened to directly confront the People's Alliance in what observers fear would be an eruption of bloodshed that could spark a coup.

Riot police surround Bangkok airports

The move is the latest effort by Thailand's government to break up a protest that has blockaded air traffic. Fears of a bloody clash are rising.

November 29, 2008
By Charles McDermid
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- Bangkok's two main airports were surrounded by riot police early today in the government of Thailand's latest gambit to disperse protesters who have blockaded air traffic and cut the Southeast Asian nation off from the world.

Police at the domestic Don Muang airport, overrun by members of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy, or the PAD, said early Thursday that "necessary measures" would be taken if protesters did not stand down.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport, one of the busiest international air hubs in Asia, 100 police officers were deployed, but they only watched as demonstrators reinforced roadblocks and sang protest songs in a makeshift camp at the main entrance.

With fears of bloody clashes escalating, the founder of the protest movement rejected a plea from Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to negotiate.

"Today the prime minister contacted me on the telephone to negotiate. There are no talks," the PAD's Sondhi Limthongkul told supporters at Don Muang.

Somchai declared a state of emergency Thursday to restore air traffic and social order. On Friday, he removed the national police chief, Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwanbut, for failing to move against the occupiers.

Senior army officials have made it clear that they would not use force to remove the PAD protesters, adding to rampant rumors of a military coup. In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Somchai rejected army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda's call for the prime minister to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.

Somchai, brother-in-law of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, reportedly will remain indefinitely in the northern city of Chiang Mai, his hometown, because of concern for his safety. The PAD has vowed to remain entrenched at the airports and Government House, Thailand's top administrative center, until Somchai steps down.

This week, senior PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk said the group's followers were prepared to "fight to the death."

"This is bad for Thailand, and I think it will just go on," Murkda Songte, a manager at the Novotel hotel, said as she looked across the road toward the demonstration at Suvarnabhumi. In front of the Novotel, a group of police officers and 20 ambulances stood at the ready.

"I haven't seen my family for three days," she said.

For the thousands of foreign travelers stuck in Bangkok, the capital, the wait has been much longer.

Linda Edwards of Richmond, Va., arrived at the Novotel on Tuesday. She and her son were sharing a room with a married Australian couple. Each day, the group goes to the airport for the free food dispensed by the PAD.

Although the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced Friday that it would cut the cost of hotel rooms, the strain was showing on Edwards.

"The [U.S.] Embassy says they can't do anything, and we've really got nowhere to go," she said. "Everyday we have a new plan; today the airline gave us a ticket for Dec. 7."

Some American tourists left the country by land for neighboring Cambodia or Malaysia. But a U.S. Embassy spokesman said hundreds of Americans were still marooned in Thailand.

"My dream is that it will be like 'Miss Saigon,' and we'll all jump on a helicopter and get out of here," said Edwards' son, Nathan Sydnor.

McDermid is a special correspondent.

Thai Turmoil Costing Cambodia Millions

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 November 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Thailand’s political crisis is costing Cambodia’s tourism sector $1 million a day in lost revenue, tourism officials say, while worries are growing about security for an upcoming Asean conference and the resolution of a monthslong border standoff.

Anti-government demonstrators have closed Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in their efforts to oust the prime minister. In Cambodia, 10 flights per day have been canceled between three airlines, and tourism officials say they are missing 2,000 tourists per day as a result.

Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Tourism Association, estimated that the average tourist will spend $500 on a four-day trip in Cambodia, amounting to a loss to Cambodia of around $1 million per day.

“The cancellation of international flights affects hotels, restaurants and the work of tour guides, guest houses, taxi drivers, tuk-tuks,” said Bath Sambo, president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Worker Federation. “We are very concerned about this.”

Officials also said Friday the instability could mean a cancellation of the Dec. 14 Asean meeting, which is to be held chaired by Thailand and held in Chiang Mai.

“In my opinion, the delay of the Asean summit is necessary because of the complicated situation in Thailand, where no one is responsible for the anarchy,” Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said.

The “complicated situation” in Thailand will also adversely affect talks next month, where a joint border committee was expected to discuss demining and demarcation, Hor Namhong said.

Siem Reap tourism hit by Thai protests

Friday, 28 November 2008
Written by Kay Kimsong
The Phnom Penh Post

TOURISM officials said Thursday that flight cancellations caused by the recent political unrest in Thailand have cost the Kingdom nearly 500 international tourist arrivals per day.

Mobs with the pro-monarchy People's Alliance for Democracy on Tuesday stormed Suvarnabhumi International Airport and on Thursday closed Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, prompting airport officials to cancel all departing flights.

Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said as many as 500 tourist arrivals would be lost by the disruptions in Bangkok, which would affect travel agencies, hotels and other related services.

"The question is who will share responsibility for the loss," he said.

Luu Meng, president of the Cambodian Hotel Association, said the loss of international tourists could put a squeeze on the Kingdom's hotel sector.

"If the problems in Bangkok continue, some hotels in Siem Reap will be without guests," he said.
He added that flight cancellations had left some travellers in Siem Reap without a return flight, and others in Bangkok without service to the Angkor temple town, a key tourist hub.

"Phnom Penh hotels have not been impacted much, but Siem Reap could sustain a big impact," he said.

Kao Sivorn, director of Cambodia's State Secretariat for Civil Aviation, said between eight and 10 flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap have been cancelled since Suvarnabhumi was occupied by protesters.