Running under the theme ‘Megacity Bangkok – A Tourism and Hotel Futurescape’, TTF 2018 will focus on the redevelopment of the Thai capital. A series of high-level speakers will address the one-day event, including Srettha Thavisin, president of Sansiri PLC, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and real estate developers.
Bangkok will be the focus for the Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) at the InterContinental Hotel Bangkok on January 22, 2018.
Running under the theme ‘Megacity Bangkok – A Tourism and Hotel Futurescape’, TTF 2018 will focus on the redevelopment of the Thai capital.
A series of high-level speakers will address the one-day event, including Srettha Thavisin, president of Sansiri PLC, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and real estate developers.
Sansiri recently entered the hospitality space in partnership with Standard Hotels to create the upstart hotel brand, Monocle.
The opening address will be made by Bill Barnett, TTF event co-organiser and managing director of C9 Hotelworks.
“As the country’s capital and major international gateway, Bangkok is fast becoming one of the world’s great mega-cities,” Barnett said.
“At TTF 2018, we will learn first-hand about the ambitious plans for Bangkok’s emerging cityscape and examine their impact on the tourism and hospitality sectors,” Barnett added.
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.
Challenges for the capital include Thailand’s transport infrastructure, which struggles to cope with the tourism influx, and strong competition for hoteliers in a city where average daily rate (ADR) remains under pressure.
TTF will assess the outlook for Bangkok where a series of multi-billion-baht developments, including transport links, mega-malls, attractions, hotels and residential projects, are transforming the cityscape, and creating both opportunities and threats for the city.
Other speakers and panelists 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.