Siam Ocean World upbeat for 2012

Launched in the basement of Siam Paragon shopping complex in 2005, Siam Ocean World Bangkok became the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia, covering 10,000 square metres.
Siam Paragon yesterday said the number of overall visitors to its shopping complex dropped significantly by about 10 per cent during October and November because of the floods. The shopping mall said that the biggest drop was in middle-income people and tourists.

Management expects a major rebound in shopper traffic this month as the festive season approaches. However, high-income people had not any physical but emotional impact.
“Due to the festive season, we expect the number of visitors to our shopping mall will rebound significantly in December,” said Siam Paragon(said who?).
The shopping complex’s growth in visitor numbers is expected to reach between 5 and 10 per cent for the full year, down from an earlier target of 10-15 per cent.

“We are quite optimistic about the opportunities for next year,” said Sakolpat Plookjitrsom, director of marketing at Siam Ocean World Bangkok. “We believe that tourism should bounce back quite quickly after the flooding situation is solved. We are confident that the campaigns that we will launch next year should be strong enough to bring customers back to us.”
Sakolpat said the company had conducted a survey of its visitors asking what they wanted to see when visiting Siam Ocean World Bangkok. Most of them wanted experiences with animals especially iconic ones.
“Our campaigns next year will focus on bringing new iconic animals into the aquariums to attract visitors,” Sakolpat said. She declined to disclose how many new animals would be on display next year.
Sakolpat said the floods, which hit Bangkok in October, had directly affected Bangkokians, many of whom had moved upcountry and did not want to spend money on matters that were not a priority.

Ross Werner, deputy general manager of Oceanis Thailand, which owns Siam Ocean World Bangkok, said the aquarium was prepared for any flooding.
“We have back-up generators and worked very closely with Siam Paragon on flood-prevention measures,” Werner said.
“We are looking for a strong Christmas and New Year period. At Siam Ocean World, we will focus on providing entertainment, education and fun. We will continue to promote new and interesting animals at the aquarium,” he said.
Werner said the aquarium had been working with the Fisheries Department in bringing piranhas from the Amazon to be exhibited at the aquarium.

He said Siam Ocean World Bangkok currently had 80 different exhibits with more than 3,000 animals in 280 species. Its visitors are a mix of Thais and foreign tourists, as well as students from preschool up to university age.
“Siam Ocean World Bangkok strives to maintain a world-class aquarium here in Bangkok for all international and Thai guests,” Werner said.