The Thai Shopping Center Association (TSCA) will join the Tourism and Sports Ministry in a campaign to encourage more foreign visitors to shop in Thailand.
TSCA president Wallaya Chirathivat said the group's representatives will meet Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul in the coming weeks to create a marketing drive that will stimulate spending by foreign tourists through the end of the year.
The shopping mood in Bangkok and other Thai tourism destinations has picked up since the Erawan Shrine bombing on Aug 17. Foreign tourists are feeling better about travelling and shopping here, but their confidence is not completely back to normal.
Therefore, the TSCA will ask the government to arrange a big shopping campaign to stimulate spending from foreigners.
At the same time, shopping centres themselves will launch campaigns to draw foreign tourists into stores during the upcoming festive season.
Apart from promotional campaigns, the TSCA will strive to restore confidence in security by adding more CCTV cameras and employing at least 5,000 security guards in the Ratchaprasong area.
"We believe the number of foreign tourists will return to normal by the end of this year," Ms Wallaya said.
"Apart from measures to stimulate tourist arrivals to Thailand, the government should act fast to reduce the import tax on luxury goods and attract shoppers with high spending power, particularly from China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Russia."
In her view, the import tax reduction should start with cosmetics and perfume before widening to other categories.
The TSCA hopes the measures will boost foreign tourist spending in the retail sector by 10% in the last three months of 2015.
Shopping centre space is forecast to rise to 21 million square metres by 2017, up from 18 million now.
Among the TSCA's 10 members, shopping centre space is expected to rise to 14 million sq m by 2017, up from 12 million.
Some 103 billion baht will be set aside by TSCA members to develop shopping centres from now until 2017.
The TSCA's 10 members are MBK, The Mall Group, Siam Retail Development, The Platinum Group, K.E. Land, Seacon Development, Siam Future Development, Rangsit Plaza, Siam Piwat Group and Central Pattana.