BANGKOK
Thailand's Cabinet approved a 214 million baht ($6.1 million) fund to help small tourism companies weather the country's recent political upheaval and a downturn in travel as the global economy slumps.
The money will help eligible tourism companies shoulder the burden of interest payments for two years, Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports Sasithara Pichaichannarong said Tuesday.
Prolonged anti-government protests last year culminated in the weeklong seizure of Bangkok's two main airports at the end of November, stranding more than 300,000 travelers.
"Both domestic and global factors have made it difficult for tourism businesses," Sasithara said. "Global demand has dropped. Some of these companies are also affected because it (the airport closure) happened during high season."
Those qualified for the fund included small hotels, tour operators and transport companies which were directly affected by the closure of airports, she said.
The Cabinet also discussed plans to guarantee loans taken out by tourism operators.
Last month, Thailand's new government allocated 1 billion baht of its 115 billion baht fiscal stimulus package to rejuvenate the tourism industry, which accounts for about 5 percent of the country's economy.
The Bank of Thailand has estimated the country would lose 290 billion baht as a result of the protests, which called for the ouster of the previous government led by allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The protesters accused Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power.
The central bank forecast that tourist arrivals this year would drop by 8.8 percent from 12.8 million in 2008.
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