Malls feel pinch as foreigners keep away

Major shopping malls located at tourist destinations in Bangkok have started to feel the impact from the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has led to a huge decline in foreign shoppers.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president - marketing, Central Pattana, which operates the CentralWorld shopping complex at the Ratchaprasong intersection, said that about 40 per cent of shoppers at CentralWorld are normally foreign tourists.

"Since the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, we have found the number of foreign shoppers at CentralWorld has dropped significantly by more than 30 per cent," said Nattakit. "We have seen the disappearance of weekend travellers, particularly from Hong Kong and Singapore," he said.

Executives of The Mall Group, which operates Siam Paragon and The Emporium, admitted that next year's sales could be lower than this year's.

Nattakit said the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports had impacted the country in terms of tourism, confidence and logistics. Tourism is one of the most significant industries for the Kingdom, contributing income of about Bt600 billion a year, and is a sector that should be protected, he added.

"The closure of the airports is a major issue for the country, as it destroys the tourism industry and the potential of Bangkok to become an aviation hub," said Nattakit.

"Thailand earlier observed rules and laws. But currently, it seems to be a lawless country and anything can happen, which damages the country's reputation of good hospitality and friendliness."

Darmp Sukontasap, senior vice president of Tesco Lotus, said attempts to paralyse all outbound and inbound international flights, as well as domestic airline traffic, was unprecedented in any country.

For the past several days, the closure of the airports has affected almost all businesses in the country. Some have estimated the cost at Bt146 billion for the first three days alone.

"Aside from suffering from a decline in consumer confidence and almost zero tourist arrivals in this year's high season, Tesco Lotus exports Thai products to its affiliates in Europe and elsewhere. All cargo shipments and the courier of export documents have been delayed. We are more concerned about the negative impact that the political situation has on the overall Thai economy this year and next, rather than on our own business. We hope that a sensible solution will be found as quickly as possible for the benefit of the country and its people," said Darmp.

Satima Tanabe, deputy general manager of Gaysorn, said the airport closures had led to a serious decline in foreign shoppers, who normally account for about 40 per cent of its sales revenues.

"Around 15 to 20 per cent of foreign tourists have already gone due to the airport closure," said Satima.

She said Gaysorn instead needed to boost sales during the peak selling season to offset the decline of foreign tourists, by launching a gift catalogue for leading brand-name products aimed at attracting Thai shoppers.

"About Bt20 million is expected to be generated from gift catalogue sales during this high season, from today through January," she said.

Thai Retailers' Association president Thanapon Tangkananan said it had revised the growth target for overall retail sales, which is expected to be lower than the 4 per cent projected earlier this year.

"The closure of the two airports has severely impacted the tourism industry, particularly the disappearance of inbound visitors. Shopping malls located at tourism destinations will be seriously affected," said Thanapon.

He added that the degree of the damage would depend on the duration of the shutdowns.