ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | BANGKOK — Thailand's airport authority has agreed to waive rental fees for airlines and shops at the two airports that were closed from Nov. 25-Dec. 3 by protesters.

The authority said on Thursday it lost almost $6 million by agreeing to waive the rental fees.

The Airports Authority of Thailand ruled that it would not charge landing fees to airlines or ask stores to pay rent for the eight-day blockade period at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, spokeswoman Toompetch Boonyaridh said.

The airport sieges forced the cancellation of hundred of flights, left more than 300,000 foreign travelers stranded and dealt a crippling blow to the economy and Thailand's crucial tourism industry. The Thai government earlier reported that it spent some 1.9 billion baht to lodge and feed tourists stranded because of the protests.

Tourism authorities have predicted that business would be worse in 2009 than in the year following the December 2004 tsunami that killed thousands of foreign tourists during peak season. The Thai tourism authority estimates the number of visitors will decline in the next six months by 2.5 million, costing the industry an estimated 100 billion baht.

Tourism brought in about $16 billion in revenue last year, about 6.5 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product, and any further slowdown could push the country's economy into recession. The government forecast a contraction of up to 1 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and zero growth in the second quarter.