SMEs join Rattanakosin tourist app initiative
Guide developed by SCB and Thammasat
Hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangkok’s old town are set to take part in a cashless initiative after the launch of the Rattanakosin Guide application developed by Siam Commercial Bank (SCB).
Some 200 SMEs, 50 hotels and 70 attractions in Bangkok’s old town or Rattanakosin Island have already joined the app. The bank hopes to gain about 100,000 entrepreneurs in the area in the future.
The app is expected to drive tourism business, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will promote the initiative to local and international tourists.
Meanwhile, Thammasat University will offer students opportunities to work in business operations, especially in startups and SMEs.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said tourists use smartphones for travel planning and searching for hotels, food and attractions. The app should make it more convenient for tourists to travel in Rattanakosin, which features a historic area in the Phra Nakhon district.
Mr Yuthasak said the tourism industry continues to see strong growth. In the first half of 2018, the foreign tourist segment has continued to grow in terms of both quantity and revenue.
There will be 19.6 million foreign visitors for the first six months this year, a 13% increase in number but a 16% increase in revenue to 1.16 trillion baht.
“We expect total revenue of 2 trillion baht by year-end, with visitors from other Asian countries as the main target,” Mr Yuthasak said.
For the local tourist segment, the first half of the year saw 71.6 million visitors, a 3.8% increase, while revenue rose 7% to 489 billion baht.
Total revenue from both local and international markets should pass 3 trillion baht this year, Mr Yuthasak said.
The Rattanakosin Guide app should help boost the tourism industry to achieve that goal, the governor said.
Pikun Srimahunt, senior executive vicepresident and head of the SME segment at SCB, said the bank is stepping up services for entrepreneurs to improve more competitiveness in the area by applying the bank’s know-how to SMEs.
The bank has a business knowledge centre at Thammasat University and has assigned its subsidiary Digital Ventures to develop a digital platform for it.
“The Rattanakosin Guide app was created to allow entrepreneurs to be digitally competitive, enabling them to join their offline and online world together seamlessly while building a digitised experience for tourists who visit,” Mrs Pikun said.
Earlier, SCB launched the Chatuchak Guide and the Platinum Guide to help tourists search for products in those wellknown shopping areas.
Mrs Pikun said the third edition will be 10 times the size of the Chatuchak Guide, as the new application features a greater number of attractions, shops, hotels, restaurants, tourist boats and shopping malls, as well as promotions and real-time offers.
In the future, tourists will be able to buy package tours in advance before arriving in the areas.
Gasinee Witoonchart, chancellor of Thammasat University, said the university is part of the Rattanakosin community and is acting to preserve the area.
Before launching the application, she said, the university sent lecturers and students to collect information, evaluate business problems, conduct training and give consultations to entrepreneurs.
“The tourism industry drives Thailand’s economy,” she said. “Boosting tourism in this area is something we would like to be a part of. More importantly, tourists will not face scams with this app.”