Businesses hope for non-violent, short protest - The Nation

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Business Reporters
The Nation November 24, 2012 1:00 am

The tourism industry said there had been no booking cancellations as of now. However, while sharing the view of the others, they said it was too early to predict whether there would be any impact.

Suthiphong Pheunphiphop, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said all tourism operators have monitored the situation closely. So far, it has not seen any impact on the industry. However, the demonstration must end within one or two days and without violence. If it is prolonged, it is sure to cause problems for the industry, Suthiphong added.

"I think the government is too worried about this situation. Let it first take a look at what it has to respond to," he said.

Piyaman Techapaiboon, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said if the protests take a serious turn, it will affect the tourism industry, particularly during the coming Loy Krathong Festival next Wednesday. Tourists may reconsider their travel plans. However, if there is nothing serious until Tuesday, it will have only a small impact on the industry as well as the confidence of foreign tourists.

"If protestors do what they have promised, there will not be any impacts on this high-season," said Piyaman.

The number of tourists to Thailand reached 17.7 million during the first 10 months of this year. Without political violence, inbound tourists should total 4 million during the rest of this year, generating Bt900 billion revenue for the year.

Sriram Narayan, British Airways manager for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, said he was not worried about today's political demonstration as long as the airport remains "functional". So far, the airline's flights are on schedule. The airline operates daily non-stop flights from Bangkok to London.

Minoru Furusawa, president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, said yesterday that it was too early to comment on the impact of the protests in Bangkok.

"We do hope to see political stability without any coup and hope nothing serious would happen," he said.

Praipol Khoomsap, a Thammasat University economics lecturer, said it was hard to predict the impact of the protest as it was not known how long it would last. However, if it does not last long, it would have only a small impact on the Thai economy.

He added that Thai businessmen have experienced many political demonstrations so they are well prepared to cope with the situation.

"In case of a serious situation, there will be an effect on the economy," said Praipol.

Charl Kengchon, managing director of Kasikorn Research Centre, said if the protests don't drag on for long, it should not have any significant impact on the economy. However, everybody is closely monitoring the protests.

"In the event of any violence, there will be an impact on the economy, otherwise the impact will be limited," said Charl.

Chanin Vongkusolkit, chief executive officer of Banpu, said every party should consider national interest rather than focusing on benefiting individuals. Thailand has learned in the past years that peace brings economic growth.

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