Chai Srivikorn, president of the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA), said that the most important thing the junta had achieved to date was to restore peace. Since taking power, many economy-stimulus measures have also been launched, including the release of the annual public budget and the drafting of an economic road map, which “encouraged the injection of money into the system, causing the economy to start to turn around.”
Also, the number of foreign tourists has started to pick up, and the Thai Retailers Association anticipates that the overall retail market will increase by 6 to 8 percent this year, up from about 6.3-percent growth last year.
In the Ratchaprasong area, a main demonstration site and home to Bangkok’s luxury boutiques and high-end malls, hotel occupancy already rebounded to 40 percent. A full recovery of foreign tourists in the area, especially from China, Russia and the Middle East, should be seen in the third or fourth quarters.
On the lower end of the retail market, Sirichai Praphunturakit, executive vice president for property management, The Platinum Fashion Mall, a wholesale centre for fashion apparel and goods, said the number of Thai visitors at Platinum has risen from 30,000 to 40,000 a day over the past month, while the number of foreign visitors was also picking up significantly.