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Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of Bt374 million to the Tourism and Sports Ministry for its short-term development project for tourist destinations - far short of the Bt1.2 billion the ministry had proposed.

Altogether, ministries have submitted projects for allocation from the central budget totalling Bt100 billion to boost the economy over the next nine months.

Weerasak Kowsurat, Tourism and Sports minister, said yesterday the money for tourism will enhance the  industry for the remainder of this year.

He said it will be spent on repairing signs and other facilities in the tourist destinations. Also, it will also be used to renovate  the international conference centres in Phuket and Chiang Mai.

"If we received a  budget of Bt600 million, it would create liquidity to the industry of Bt60 billion," the minister said.

Weerasak yesterday left for Shanghai to meet with the  Chinese tourism minister, a trip aimed at providing information on Thailand's political situation.

"The ministry wants to convince Chinese tourists to come back to Thailand after choosing other countries during the political turmoil," he said, pointing out that tourists from China to Bangkok - normally around a million- dropped by 50 per cent during the recent unrest.