Tourist snubs, investor jitters as protests grip Thailand

As protests grip Bangkok and bitter controversy hangs over upcoming elections, Thailand is facing battered investor confidence, lower growth and millions of dollars of lost tourist revenues, experts say. The latest unrest has raised fresh concerns that businesses and visitors could tire of repeated rounds of protest and regime change in the polarised kingdom, a regional manufacturing and tourism hub. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called a snap February 2 election in an attempt to staunch the political tensions, but the main opposition Democrat party is boycotting it and demonstrators have vowed to block voting, according to a news agency.