Encouraging brand name-crazed Thais to shop at duty free outlets in the three southern Andaman provinces of Phuket, Phang-nga and Krabi could be a Bt 3 billion boon…
Encouraging brand name-crazed Thais to shop at duty free outlets in the three southern Andaman provinces of Phuket, Phang-nga and Krabi could be a Bt 3 billion boon to the local economies, a research house predicts.
As part of the plan to revive the economy of the country`s tsunami-struck provinces, the Thai government has allowed duty free shops-until now exclusively available at international airport departure – to operate there and with a new twist: Thais too can also access the shops.
Luxury goods, including cosmetics, perfumes, leather products and liquor, in the duty free shops are exempted from a 30 per cent import tax.
If the campaign turns out as successfully as planned, according to the KASIKORN Research Centre (KRC), it will be a Bt 3.0 billion business in which Bt 1.5 billion is expected to be earned by duty free shop operators.
The other half is estimated as the sum to benefit hotels, resorts, and other local service industries that cater to tourist needs.
A continuing decline in local and international visitors is behind the innovative business development push.
Tourist arrivals in the three provinces have contracted by half when compared to the same period last year in the aftermath of the tsunami.
The slump is projected to persist in the key Thai tourism markets of Malaysia, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The KRC observed, however, that this campaign is unlikely to lure Thais to divert their own shopping destinations from Hong Kong and Singapore unless it is cheaper for them to fly and stay in the Andaman provinces.
And for the campaign to take off among medium-income Thais, the government will have to make the duty free shopping trips to Phuket, Phang-nga and Krabi more worthwhile than trips to department stores, said the KRC. (TNA)
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