Thailand gives urgent support to tourism operators
Thailand’s economic ministers on January 31 endorsed urgent aid measures for tourism operators battered by the coronavirus outbreak. According to local media, the measures include a soft-loan scheme and principal and interest payment suspension for six months by state-owned banks, including Krungthai Bank, Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
The Erawan shrine is one of the most popular attractions in Bangkok for Chinese tourists. (Photo: bangkokpost.com)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’seconomic ministers on January 31 endorsed urgent aid measures for tourismoperators battered by the coronavirus outbreak.
According to localmedia, the measures include a soft-loan scheme and principal and interestpayment suspension for six months by state-owned banks, including KrungthaiBank, Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and AgriculturalCooperatives.
The Finance Ministry will also reduce jet fuel excise tax and suspend incometax payment for six months for tourism operators, while the Transport Ministrywill reduce landing fees.
The measures will be filed with the cabinet for final approval on February 4.
Kobsak Pootrakool, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister for politicalaffairs, said the government is considering additional measures to stimulatedomestic travel, and all details will be concluded at the cabinet’s meetingnext week.
According to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT), the coronavirus outbreak will result in a decline in Chinese visitorsfrom January to April by as much as 80 percent, with an estimated loss of 98billion THB (3.14 billion USD) in revenue.
Still, the agency is maintaining a target for 41.8 million foreign visitorsthis year, with 2.22 trillion THB in revenues.
The agency said marketing efforts will shift to other markets in lieu of China,including ASEAN, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China’s Taiwan, India, Russia,Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the United States and Mexico./.
The baht of Thailand on January 30 depreciated to its lowest level in seven months at 31.17 per US dollar as investors are worried about the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak, according to Kasikorn Research Centre.
Singapore announced on January 31 that it would stop issuing visas to people holding Chinese passports and deny entry to foreigners who had visited China in the past 14 days, in a bid to counter the spread of novel coronavirus.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
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Univers said in a statement that the new centre will serve as a hub for innovation, bringing together digital intelligence and climate ambition to accelerate Sarawak's transition toward a low-carbon, tech-enabled economy.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim noted that the Asia-Pacific region accounted for half of global energy consumption and 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. Despite this, regional countries, including eight of ten ASEAN member states, remain committed to climate goals, including net-zero emissions and tripling global renewable capacity by 2030.
The Erawan shrine is one of the most popular attractions in Bangkok for Chinese tourists. (Photo: bangkokpost.com) 
