Stranded Western tourists wait for transportation Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, at Bangkok, Thailand's Suvarnabhumi airport following a takeover of the facility by the People's Alliance for Democracy. Tourism officials and economists project the tourism industry's losses for the remainder of the year will amount to billions of dollars. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)From AP:
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — The vacation is over for tens of thousands of tourists in Thailand. But they can't go home.
The Hotel California-like drama began Tuesday when anti-government protesters shut the country's primary international airport. The following day they moved in on the capital's domestic airport, grounding all commercial flights in and out of the city.
About 100,000 people have been stranded by the closures, dealing a severe blow to the country's reputation as a safe and reliable vacation destination. Officials project the tourism industry's losses from now until the end of the year will balloon to about 150 billion baht ($4.2 billion), equal to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product.
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My Comment: No one benefits from this shutdown. No one.