Entrepreneurs join forces to announce "Central Bangkok" area, the new
landmark in the heart of the city, expecting to boost tourism and
economy • The "Central Bangkok zone", in the heart of the
Capital, the height of Luxury, is aimed at promoting tourism and
boosting local economy. • The ultimate centre of everything
with over 2,000 shops, such as hi-end malls, department stores,
restaurants, 5-6 stars hotels, famous places for worship, leading
entertainment complex, luxury spas, top Thai branded products and
services, public park, office buildings and financial institutes. •
A budget of 1,000 million baht will be spent for marketing campaigns,
with collaboration between entrepreneurs in the area, supported by
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration (BMA). The move is to attract tourists to visit Central
Bangkok as a must place to come, hopefully to generate more revenues
from tourism sector. • The announcement of the Central
Bangkok area will help increase the number of tourists traveling to
Thailand to 30 million by the end of this year. (The
Ministry of Tourism and Sports' data showed the country attracted
24,364,667 international visits during January to October 2015. Source
Department of Tourism www.tourism.go.th)
Bangkok
Metropolitan Administration, Tourism Authority of Thailand have joined
forces with the private sector to announce the Central Bangkok area, the
premium centre of economy and tourism in the heart of the Capital of
Thailand. The zone covers Ploenchit, Ratchadamri, Wireless and Rama IV
roads. It will be a centre for all, responding to all lifestyles. The
all in one centre consists of the hi-end malls and department stores,
best restaurants, the 5-6 stars hotels, luxury spas, top Thai branded
products shops, leading entertainment complexes, the historical holy
statues, public parks, office buildings including financial institutes.
The budget of one billion baht will be spent for the big event
activities. Begin with the Central Bangkok Lighting Festival that will
make the Central Bangkok area the City of Light, with millions of light
bulbs all over the place, shining bright all the way. That includes
other activities throughout the year 2016. It is expected that after the
events held to promote the Central Bangkok area, the number of tourists
visiting Thailand, especially in the Central Bangkok zone, will
increase to 1.2 million a day, up from 1 million, an increase of 20%.
Miss
Busaba Chirathivat, the representative of entrepreneurs in the Central
Bangkok zone, said that on behalf of the network of private
entrepreneurs, we have intention to make the Central Bangkok area the
heart of Bangkok. It is like all the famous major cities in the world
where they have a zone in the heart of the city which plays its part as
the capital of the economy, trading, fashion, lifestyles and culture.
Likewise, in the UK's , they have Central London, in the USA, they have
Central Park and the Fifth Avenue of New York.
Central
Bangkok is therefore a area that is like the heart of the economy and
the premium tourism with a high potential purchasing power. It is the
heart of the Capital, the height of luxury, covering four main streets
of Bangkok Ploenchit, Ratchadamri, Wireless and Rama IV roads.
Geographically, the area is the number one prime location of Bangkok
located in the centre of the Capital city. The hi-end residential and
commercial buildings and the high value properties are located in the
zone where the land prices are at the top level. The value of economic
activities in the zone generated by the hi-end businesses are at the top
level as well. Moreover, it is the transportation hub of the country
that connect all the network together. With all these reasons, Central
Bangkok therefore becomes a significant part of the Thai economy,
especially for the tourism industry. The area is bordered by luxury
residential buildings, hotels, apartments, shopping arcades, restaurants
including premium hospitality and entertainment complexes (spa, hair
salons, theatres, nail care shops, fitness, and public parks). It is a
place where visitors can roam all day long without getting bored. It
comprises of more than 30 luxury hotels such as The Plaza Athenee
Bangkok, Swissotel Park Nai Lert, Sivatel, Novotel, including Park Hyatt
hotel which will open in the late 2016. There are over 30 residential
buildings and condominiums, six world's renowned places for worship,
four public parks and seven malls and department stores, namely Central
World, Zen, Central Chitlom, Central Embassy, Gaysorn Plaza, Isetan and
Amarin Plaza. The number of tourists visiting the zone is not less than
one million a day. The highest number of tourists come from China,
followed by the Middle East, Russia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India
respectively.
To attract a greater number of tourists to
the Central Bangkok, business operators in the district are jointly
launching a series of colourful, entertaining events, starting with the
Central Bangkok Lighting Festival to officially introduce this special
zone. The Festival will light up the heart of Bangkok with millions of
illuminations decorated along the four roads to welcome the
Christmas-New Year festivities. The second event will be the Light Up
Christmas Tree Celebration in the plaza in front of CentralWorld, where a
30-metre Christmas Tree, the tallest in South East Asia, stands
impressively and surrounded by giant copyright Disney figures, perfect
for visitors to have fun taking pictures. The events to follow are the
Thailand The Kingdom of Light in the Ratchaprasong area; The Palace of
Light lighting displays on the exterior of Central Embassy and Central
Chidlom department stores as well as along the 500-metre pavement from
the Wireless (Wittayu) Intersection to Chit Lom Intersection; the Amarin
X'Mas Playbox 2015 in front of Amarin Plaza; the Central Bangkok Big
Cleaning Day inviting the public sector and general public to spruce up
the area; and the New Year countdown events to take place at different
spots, including the Bangkok Countdown 2016 at Central World, which has
been one of the world's most popular places to celebrate New Year's Eve,
and The Winter Ville Countdown 2015 on the fifth floor of Central
Embassy, where participants can chill out and enjoy the nice views, food
and drinks and music. The private sector will also collaborate with
the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration (BMA) in organising seven or eight big events throughout
2016. The collaboration is aimed at attracting a greater number of
foreign tourists to the kingdom, promoting the tourism sector and the
overall economy and at the same time establishing Central Bangkok as a
landmark for tourism. Ms.Pranee Sattayaprakob - Director
Culture, Sports, and Tourism Department, BMA, said the capital has been
the centre of Thailand's governance, transport and logistics, commerce,
communications and progress. Recently it has been tipped to be Asia's
most popular travel destination and the world's second top destination
after London, according to the 2015 MasterCard Global Destination Cities
Index. This is thanks to a vast array of hospitality facilities,
leisure activities and unique religious places that can fully satisfy
the diverse interests of international visitors. He added
that the private sector's effort to create the Central Bangkok would
help to earn more recognition for Thailand as a tourism destination
while also strengthening the image of Bangkok as a fascinating city and
playing an important part in making people across the world feel safe to
travel to the country and the city. Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn,
Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said that the Ministry
of Tourism and Sports and the TAT share an aim to make Thailand a
Quality Leisure Destination. Last year, the top five countries of origin
of tourists who came to Thailand were China (4.63 million/ 18.7%),
Malaysia (2.63 million/ 10.5%), Russia (1.07 million/ 6.44%), Japan
(1.25 million/ 5.06%) and South Korea (1.1 million/ 4.47%),
respectively. As competition in global tourism becomes
increasingly intense and the Asean Economic Community (AEC) integration
will officially come into effect next year, Thailand needs to strengthen
its network of alliance and prepare itself to welcome the tourists with
high-spending power and maintain its visitor base so as to keep its
tourism and hospitality sectors growing. The launch of
Central Bangkok underlines the capital's advancement and amenities as
well as the strength of the area along Ploenchit Road, Ratchadamri Road,
Rama IV Road and Wireless Road, where a complete range of
accommodations, luxury hotels, markets, shopping centres, restaurants
and entertainment venues ensures a rich experience and allows local and
international visitors to spend all day in pleasure.
In
addition to spurring Thailand's tourism sector and the economy, the
Central Bangkok zone is aimed at becoming a must-visit premium
destination for global travelers.
