The Thai government has announced plans for a mammoth US$22.56 billion tourism and entertainment complex in the Eastern Economic Corridor which encompass the city of Pattaya south of Bangkok, according to local media, with a projected investment of up to Bt700 billion (US$22.56 billion) as part of efforts to revive the country’s ailing tourism industry, which has recovered slowly from the depredations of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tourism earnings fell from US$90 billion in 2019 to US$24 billion in 2020, according to a study by the US National Institutes of Health, and remain in the doldrums. What the complex won’t contain is a casino, and therein lies the wreckage of a grand dream by the now-imprisoned former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to revitalize the Thai economy via grandiose entertainment complexes that had as many as 15 of the world’s multinational gaming combines salivating for what was envisioned as Southeast Asia’s biggest gaming market, eclipsing Singapore, the Philippines and other gaming venues. It was part of an energetic 14-point plan by the billionaire telecoms magnate, who had returned from 15 years in exile, to reorient government planning and spending toward individual Thais and small and medium enterprises, reducing the size of government and civil service and its export-oriented economy to build infrastructure that people will see and directly benefit from. That awakened concerns Thaksin, who ostensibly returned to retire, was back to take over government policy and eventually led to his downfall… This is a preview sent to free subscribers like you. The full content of this article is available exclusively to our paid subscribers. Read the full story here. To enjoy the complete Asia Sentinel experience and access more in-depth, independent reporting, please consider subscribing for just US$10/month or US$100/year. Support independent journalism. Subscribe today. This is among the stories/excerpts we choose to make widely available.If you wish to get the full Asia Sentinel experience and access more exclusive content, please do subscribe to us for US$10/month or US$100/year.
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