Thailand Will Spend $450 Million to Revive Tourism Industry
The Thai government has announced that it will spend $450 million in order to revive Thailand's ailing tourism industry, which is suffering in the wake of nearly a year of political protests. The package, introduced at a press conference last week, includes a four-year rescue plan that Thai officials hope will improve not only the country's reputation as a desirable destination for leisure and business travel, but also the country's broader economy.

"If businesses fail, it will cause damage to the country," Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-Archa told reporters last week, according to Reuters.

Thai citizens—calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD)—began protesting against Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in Bangkok in May 2008, accusing his party of corruption, nepotism and election fraud. Although the protests began as street demonstrations, they led to a three-month takeover of Wongsawat's office in August 2008, and to a siege on Suvarnabhumi International Airport, as well as Thailand's Don Muang domestic airport, late in November 2008.

After being closed for more than a week due to occupation by PAD protestors, both airports officially reopened last month when a Thai court banned Wongsawat and his party from politics. The damage had already been done, however, as approximately 300,000 travelers were stranded in Thailand during the occupation.

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