Medical services, beauty and e-commerce are expected to see the brightest growth prospects in 2021, driven by changing consumers' behaviour in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), said the crisis has triggered off massive demand for medical services and online shopping, while demand for beauty remains strong as Thais continue to prioritise their health and beauty.
More importantly, Thailand's medical treatment remains affordable and internationally recognised, he said.
The university has identified medical services and beauty as the top business sector with the brightest prospects, followed by online platforms, mainly content developers, YouTubers and product reviewers.
Insurance, both life and non-life, food and beverage, are still tipped as businesses with promising outlooks in the year to come.
"Consumers' changing behaviour and the spread of infections have prompted Thais to shop more online, while business operators have shifted to developing online services because of the virus crisis," said Mr Thanavath. "There are also a number of distribution channels with lower operation costs and people have gained easy access to the internet."
According to Mr Thanavath, the government played a key part in boosting online shopping through various schemes: the co-payment scheme, PromptPay and a scheme to promote small and medium-sized enterprises to go online to boost their sales.
Other positive factors that boosted sunrise businesses include the government's economic stimulus measures, the recovering global economy, the higher purchasing power of local consumers, higher exports and returning foreign tourists, he said.
Mr Thanavath said myriad negative factors persist, including the outbreak in many countries, the fragile political and economic situation, the strong baht and an expected rise in bad debts, especially in the first half of this year.
The UTCC projected book rentals; basic phone and fax manufacturing; storage medial distribution (CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, external hard drives, and memory cards) and printing and journals will face gloomy prospects next year.
The university warned businesses categorised as sunset careers are expected to face continuous and greater risks in the future, especially from the entry of high-end technology, automation and robots.