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Thai unrest could affect millions of pounds of property deals

It is traditionally the high season for both visitors and people looking to buy property but they cannot get into the country at present and trips are being cancelled as they do not want to invest in such turbulent times.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport shutdown is causing billions of baht worth of damage to the property market, according to Patima Jeerapaet, managing director of the property consultant Colliers International Thailand.

'It is worse than the Phuket International Airport blockade in September. The overall situation is very bad. We just got cancellations from potential customers from Eastern Europe who had planned to fly to Bangkok,' he said.

'If the situation does not improve, pending property deals worth around one billion baht in the final stages will definitely vanish. Investors who are waiting and seeing or freezing their investment will absolutely cancel,' he added.

He added that foreigners generally came to buy property during the high season but the airport closure would slow transactions.

Meanwhile, the country's hotels and serviced apartments face a major occupancy decline that could get worse. Visitors have already been put off by September's unrest and the current situation is adding to that. Some hotels in Bangkok have an occupancy rate of only 20 to 30% despite the fact that it is the high season.

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