Thailand’s tourism industry a victim of military coup

[CrazyExpat]

Tourism chiefs in Thailand wept into their Singha beers last week as army chief General Prayuth Chan-Ocha took control of the country and suspended the constitution, two days after declaring martial law.

For years, Thailand has been known as the “teflon economy” for its ability to shrug off political instability, but this time around, the economic backdrop to the military coup is considerably more downbeat than during previous coups.

During the day, before the 10pm curfew comes into force, Thais go about their normal business in Bangkok. Young women take “selfies” at the military roadblocks on the city’s major intersections and an eerie normality prevails.

But the numbers tell a more depressing tale.

South-east Asia’s second-largest economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to data issued last week, after anti-government protests that began in late October emptied hotels, scared off foreign investment and paralysed state spending.

 

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/thailand-s-tourism-industry-a-victim-of-military-coup-1.1809510