The week-long siege of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports by the anti-government group People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) paralyzed Thailand’s tourism industry and stranded 300,000 travelers during the country’s peak tourist season. Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Board estimated that the overall loss would be about 1 million jobs and more then 137 billion baht (~US$3.95 billion) as a direct result of the closures. The greatest challenge will be to win back the confidence of international tourists who make up 6 percent of the country’s GDP.

Though the airport siege may have caught many travelers off-guard, Thailand’s political turmoil has been several years in the making. In September 2006, a military coup ousted then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on corruption charges. The PAD – the same group responsible for the airport shutdown between November 25 and December 3 – had organized the street protests calling for Thaksin’s resignation in the months before the coup.

In December 2007, Thailand held an election for a new prime minister, and Samak Sundaravej and his People Power Party (PPP) were voted into office. Samak’s vocal support of the exiled Thaksin, the downturn of the global economy, and Samak’s embroilment in a temple dispute between Cambodia and Thailand stirred more protests from the PAD. In September 2008, Samak was forced to resign by the nation’s Constitutional Court, which ruled his paid television appearances as prime minister was a conflict of interest. Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin’s brother-in-law, was elected by parliamentary vote to succeed Samak, further infuriating the PAD, which accused Somchai of leading a proxy government for Thaksin.

In early December, the Constitutional Court ruled that Somchai and his party had committed voter fraud in the 2007 election, banning him from politics for five years and dissolving the PPP and two other parties. On December 15, 2008, Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand’s third prime minister within the past year, was voted into office.

To win back tourist confidence, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is proposing and drafting an industry recovery plan for 2009 that will include 20 billion baht (~US$577 million) in soft loans for small operators and 1.9 billion baht (~US$55 million) for domestic and international marketing campaigns.

However, even as steps to regain confidence in Thailand are underway, at the time of writing thousands of pro-Thaksin supporters are staging demonstrations in Bangkok to oppose Vejjajiva and demand new elections.