The Pathumwan district, which was ranked as the best-selling location for residential properties, including condos and houses in Bangkok last year, is now the site of the main stage of anti-government protesters. The Bangkok Shutdown campaign has been steadily affecting tourism and real estate for over three months now since the protests began, so it is expected that Pathumwan will experience slow sales and rental exchanges, as many streets in the area have been closed off.
Not only has tourism and real estate been affected, but the umbrella issue here is that the CCI (Consumer Confidence Index) is the lowest it has been in 26 months. Looking at consumers’ readiness to spend on real estate, house purchases are at 63.2, the lowest it has been in 103 months; down from 64.2.
The passport issuance office has been closed for security reasons since January 13th, after protestors took over the Government Complex. This week the division will reopen; likely a huge relief to Thai nationals overseas, as they have not been able to renew their passports through Thai embassies. In response to the large number of applications, a temporary mobile office will be set up at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from Monday onward, where it will be able to issue up to 600 passports a day. At other branch offices, only a specific number of passports can be issued daily, for example the Bang Na office can only issue 1,750 passports per day, Pinklao 1,300 and Chiang Mai 200.
