Thailand Tourism Forum 2018 to address Bangkok’s megacity dilemmas

Srettha to discuss value of large-scale developments

The Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) will return for its seventh annual edition on January 22, 2018 with the theme of Megacity Bangkok – A Tourism and Hotel Futurescape.

The forum will gather approximately 650 hotel industry professionals at the InterContinental Hotel Bangkok to discuss the mega-projects that are reshaping the Thai capital.

Among the speakers at the one-day event is Srettha Thavisin, president of Thai hotel and real estate developer, Sansiri. With Sansiri having recently entered the hospitality space in partnership with Standard Hotels to create the upstart hotel brand, Monocle, Thavisin will discuss how large-cale projects contribute to better tourism experiences.

The opening address will be made by Bill Barnett, TTF’s event co-organiser and managing director of C9 Hotelworks.

“Thailand’s tourism industry continues to ride the crest of a wave, with record-breaking numbers of global visitors clamouring to experience the country’s many attractions,” Barnett said. “As the country’s capital and major international gateway, Bangkok is fast becoming one of the world’s great mega-cities.

Srettha to discuss value of large-scale developments

“To sustain such numbers however, Bangkok needs large-scale redevelopment. Massive infrastructure projects are pushing into more districts and creating new tourism hotspots such as the Chao Praya River area. At TTF 2018, we will learn first-hand about the ambitious plans for Bangkok’s emerging cityscape and examine their impact on the tourism and hospitality sectors,” Barnett added.

Thailand’s tourism industry is on track for yet another record-breaking year. According to data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Kingdom welcomed 17.3 million international visitors in 1H2017, generating 876 billion baht (US$25 billion). Tourism revenues are expected to reach an all-time high of 1.81 trillion baht (US$50 billion) for the full year.

According to STR, approximately 100 new hotels are currently in the country’s pipeline, potentially adding 21,600 new rooms to the national inventory – many of which will be in Bangkok. But challenges remain – Thailand’s transport infrastructure struggles to cope with the tourism influx and hotel ADR remains under pressure.

TTF 2018 will hence steer discussions to address the opportunities and threats that are arising out of multi-billion-baht developments reshaping the cityscape – including transport links, mega-malls, attractions, hotels and residential projects.

In addition to Sansiri’s Srettha, speakers and panellists at TTF 2018 include Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotel Group; Nikhom Jensiriratanakorn, director of Horwath HTL; Thomas Schmelter, IHG’s director of operations for Thailand & Indochina; KC Moy, executive vice president of Capella Hotel Group; Mike Batchelor, JLL’s managing director, investment sales for Asia; Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s area director for Asia Pacific; Caroline Cheah, general manager of the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok; and more.

For the full programme and presentations from the event, visit http://www.thailandtourismforum.com.

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