Thailand Tourism Forum to address Bangkok’s megacity dilemmas

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.

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.