Six-day holiday tipped to generate 5-7 billion baht from shopping, tourism
The upcoming six-day public holiday is expected to generate 5-7 billion baht for the Thai economy mainly from tourists and shoppers, a business leader said on Thursday.
Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, said the long break would encourage people to travel and spend more, generating revenue for hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.
“The Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand estimates that about 5-7 billion baht will change hands during the long holiday period,” Sanan said.
The long break starts on Friday (July 28), His Majesty the King’s birthday, and continues until Wednesday (August 2), the start of Buddhist Lent.
The caretaker government on Tuesday designated Monday (July 31) as an extra public holiday to help people travelling to their hometowns upcountry.
Sanan said that Monday’s extra public holiday would generally benefit the country. However, it would also mean extra costs for businesses from overtime pay for their employees.
Sanan said he was confident the overtime costs would not significantly impact the businesses involved but complained of the last-minute notification from the government.
“If the announcement [of Monday’s holiday] had been made earlier, it would have allowed businesses more time to plan properly,” he said.
