FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

There’s an app for that

There’s an app for that

Siam Commercial Bank, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thammasat University are working to digitalise businesses in historic Rattanakosin Island (Bangkok Old City) and raise the bar in terms of competitiveness for entrepreneurs in the area with a new mobile application.

Entitled “Rattanakosin Guide”, the application aims to provide local and foreign tourists access to useful information about great destinations as well as products and services in the area, plus special promotions offered by entrepreneurs where everything can be reached in one mobile application.
Rattanakosin Guide’s main focus is to add competitiveness digitally to entrepreneurs, allowing them to connect their offline and online worlds seamlessly while building a digitalised experience for tourists who come visit. Interesting features on the app include Online Storefront for stores, hotels and tourist destinations inside the Rattanakosin area; a Digital Map that can lead users to where they want to go in the area with information about interesting places provided; and Suggested Trip where users can create and plan their own trips all around the area. Stores can also offer promotions through the app to boost sales in real-time. In the future, app users will be able to buy trips or tickets to selected destinations in the area directly through the application.
And to help make it easier for entrepreneurs to manage information, update details about their products and promotions, SCB has also come up with Super Seller application .
The Rattanakosin Guide application should help boost the tourism industry . The app was created in collaboration between the government and private sectors and benefits start-ups in the Rattanakosin area, allowing them to offer valuable services and be more competitive not only locally but globally,” says Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Thailand’s tourism industry continues to grow. In the first half of 2018, the foreign tourist segment grew in terms of both quantity and revenue. It is expected that there will be 19.6 million foreign visitors this year, a 13-per-cent increase in numbers but a 16-per-cent increase in terms of revenue to Bt1.16 trillion. 
Revenue is expected to reach Bt2 trillion by year-end, with visitors from other Asian countries as main target. For the local tourist segment, the first half of the year saw 71.6 million visitors, a 3.8-per-cent increase, while revenue rose by seven per cent to Bt489 billion. Total revenue from both local and international markets should pass Bt3 trillion this year.
“Thammasat is part of the Rattanakosin community. Therefore, it is our duty and commitment to preserve the legacy of this community for our country. When Siam Commercial Bank saw the potential of boosting tourism through the making of ‘Rattanakosin Guide’ application, which would allow entrepreneurs to have a digital storefront while tourists would have easier access to information, Thammasat was more than happy to support the project. We sent our lecturers and students to collect information, evaluate business problems, conduct training and give advice to entrepreneurs who needed it. The information we have gathered was genuinely beneficial to the development of this application we have done in collaboration with Siam Commercial Bank and the Tourism Authority of Thailand,” says Associate Professor Gasinee Witoonchart, Chancellor of Thammasat University.
“Rattanakosin Island is a historic area of Bangkok and is visited by Thai and foreign tourists every day. In this digital age where every dimension of products and services are digitalised, SCB sees how we can help bring more competitiveness to entrepreneurs in the area by applying our know-how to their businesses. This led to a collaboration where SCB, which has a business knowledge centre located inside Thammasat University, assigned our own Digital Ventures to develop a digital platform to help them. The app, was created to provide a digital storefront allowing buyers and sellers to connect easier online. All promotions offered by stores or hotels in the area, which currently have 250 stores on app, can also be found here. Any entrepreneur that is interested to join the app can reach out to SCB to gain benefits from it,” adds Pikun Srimahunt, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of SME segment, Siam Commercial Bank.
The “Rattanakosin Guide” application for iOS and Android can now be downloaded. It’s available in Thai, English and Chinese.

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