Music thumps, break-dancers flip across the street and flower sellers weave between tipsy tourists. Phuket's party strip - Bangla Road - is in soft launch mode ahead of a tourism season the Thai government has bet the house on as it tries to nurse its economy back to health after the ravages of the coronavirus. Thailand is among the growing.
Thai Real Estate Giant Bets Big On Tourism Rebound With $3.2 Billion Growth Plan
Courtesy of Asset World Corp.
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This story appears in the July 31, 2021 issue of Forbes Asia. Subscribe to Forbes Asia
Flush with cash from one of Thailand’s biggest IPOs, Asset World Corp. CEO Wallapa Traisorat is building new hotels and refurbishing tourist landmarks in hopes of a post-pandemic boom.
With Covid-19 still keeping foreign tourists away from Thailand’s pristine beaches and bustling cities, leaving more than 80% of hotel rooms unoccupied, one would expect the CEO of one of the country’s largest developers of hospitality, retail and office properties to hunker down. Instead, Wallapa Traisorat, CEO of Asset World Corp. (AWC), has mapped out a 100 billion baht ($3.2 billion) five-year growth plan to position her company for a post-pandemic tourism boom. “It’s a short-term impact that we are facing right now,” she says. “We see huge potentia