Magazines Archives - 2010 January

Thailand’s retail sector all set to bounce back in 2010
Story 9 - Focus

With the world economy slowly recovering, a calmer political climate and an increase in the number
of tourist arrivals, Thailand’s retail sector is expected to bounce back in 2010.

The kingdom’s Bt1.4-trillion (about US$50 billion) retail market could see positive growth of 5%
this year.

It is a much better scenario than a year ago when Thailand’s economy started crumbling as exports dropped massively due to the financial crisis in the US.

It was made worse by the two-week closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang Airport at the end of 2008 by antigovernment protesters that left over 300,000 people stranded.

The closures caused a massive drop in tourist arrivals and the retail sector suffered badly in
the first and second quarters of 2009.

At the beginning of 2009, the Thai Retailers Association (TRA), which was confident of a moderate growth last year before the airports’ closures, revised its growth projection to between 2% and
3%, lower than the 4% growth in 2008 and total retail worth Bt60 billion.

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