KBank, SRT join hands to promote Chatuchak Weekend Market, with eye on Chinese visitors

The programme includes world-renowned street art and special promotions for spending via mobile phones, aimed at increasing Chinese tourists’ spending by 20 per cent to benefit merchants using the K Plus Shop application.
KBank President Pipit Aneaknithi said tourism is a major driver of the Thai economy and Chinese tourists constitute the largest visitor group to Thailand. According to Kasikorn Research Centre, the number of Chinese tourists will range between 10.4-10.6 million, rising 6-8 per cent year over year, and tourism receipts from this group will reach Bt580 billion, or a growth of 11 per cent, given their high purchasing power.
To cash in on the large number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand each year, KBank has joined hands with the SRT to make Chatuchak Weekend Market more popular, especially through a facelift for the landscape. This will help increase the incomes of more than 10,000 small and medium enterprises who open their shops in the weekend market, which is among the most preferred shopping venues for Chinese visitors.
More than 90 per cent of Chinese holidaymakers opt to make payments via mobile banking apps while travelling abroad due to its convenience and the attractive promotions offered. These are major supportive factors for their high spending. On the downside, however, the number of merchants accepting payment via mobile banking application is limited. K Plus Shop application, initiated by KBank, can accept payments of both AliPay and WeChat Pay, the most popular apps among Chinese tourists. 
Currently, KBank boasts the country’s highest volume of bill payments made with Alipay and WeChat Pay via EDC QR and K Plus Shop. Their transaction volume has now topped Bt11 billion, growing 20 per cent per month on average, thanks to the growing number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand. 
In addition, application for Alipay and WeChat Pay is easier than before because KBank is the only bank in Thailand that offers more convenience for merchants to apply for Alipay and WeChat Pay on K Plus Shop by themselves. With Alipay and WeChatPay, KBank is able to offer more payment channels for Chinese tourists. The volume of bill payments made with Alipay and WeChat Pay via K Plus Shop at Chatuchak Weekend Market is among the highest in the country.
Assistant Professor Siripong Preutthipan, director of the Land Development Project Administration Department, SRT, said the Chatuchak Weekend Market is an important shopping venue popular with almost all foreign tourists. During the weekend, more than 400,000 tourists, mostly Chinese, come here for shopping.
In cooperation with KBank, Thailand’s well-known graffiti artists Alex Face, Rukkit and Stupidnoobmacc will create street art paintings in contemporary Thai style at Gate 2 and Gate 3, creating exotic and inviting points of entry for the weekend market. As Chinese holidaymakers like to take pictures and share their moments on social media, these eye-catching artworks will likely prompt them to snap photos and share them online, making Chatuchak Weekend Market better known among international travellers.