[Bangkok Post] Expected Drop in Tourism Numbers
[The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from the expected 14.1 million to 11, he said.
The A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three to four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200 billion baht of tourism revenue this year, he said.
Last year, Thailand gained 540 billion baht in tourism revenue.
...
However, he said Thai tourists would help generate an estimated 430 billion baht in revenue this year].
BP: Huge drop, but not unexpected.Bangkok Post : Suvarnabhumi crackdown next week
[A major crackdown on illegal taxis and unlicensed guides will be conducted at Suvarnabhumi airport starting July 28, according to a notice put up by the Airports of Thailand Plc in the airport on Wednesday].
BP: Translation = Attention scammers, you only have 5 days left before we will have a crackdown. We will alert you again once the crackdown is over and it looks like we have pretended to do something. So make sure you make up for the loss of revenue in the next 5 days!
The crackdown will be jointly carried out by AoT, which is the airport operator.[Bangkok Post] EDITORIAL Charter change is no guarantee
[That the committee came up with such a controversial proposal should not surprising, since its leader, Mr Direk Thoengfung, is a Puea Thai MP of Nonthaburi. The opposition Puea Thai Party made the amnesty issue the top agenda on its political platform. Whether the proposal will be realised at all remains a big question mark. But what is quite certain is that it will face fierce resistance from the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy, the Democrats and a group of progressive-minded senators, who have vowed to do all they can to stifle any move to have the charter amended.]
BP: Direk is a Puea Thai MP??? No, he is a Senator... In fairness, the rest of the editorial is quite good and looks the points and issues, but was astonished that this error was not picked up.[Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made an explicit appeal to Burma on Wednesday to release jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, offering the prospect of direct U.S. investment in the repressive Southeast Asian nation.]
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