A co-investor in UD Town shopping mall in Udon Thani will open a new hotel next to the mall with an investment of 500 million baht, aiming to achieve 80% occupancy during the country's reopening to visitors from 46 countries.
Mr Passkorn (left) and Ms Apicha in front of Hotel Moco in Udon Thani.
Passkorn Weerachatyanukul, managing director of Tanatip 456 -- a co-investor in UD Town -- said Hotel Moco, a new hotel featuring 68 rooms and room rates ranging from 3,556 to 15,000 baht per night will open on Nov 4.
"Thailand's reopening on Nov 1 will help boost the number of foreign tourists in Udon Thani as many of them are waiting to come back," he said. "Some of them have a family in Udon Thani but cannot travel easily as usual."
The colonial-style four-star hotel is situated on a two-rai plot next door to UD Town on Thongyai Road in Muang district. With an investment of 500 million baht, the hotel is expected to break-even in 10 years.
Mr Passkorn said there are currently around 30-40 hotels with a total of 4,000 rooms in Udon Thani.
However, there's only one hotel that is operated by a hotel chain. In general, 70% of tourist arrivals were Thais and 30% were foreigners.
Apicha Weerachatyanukul, managing director of Udonplaza Co, which operates UD Town, said the number of visitors to the shopping mall was on the rise.
During weekends, the number was close to levels seen prior to the pandemic, while weekday traffic was 70%.
"Thailand's reopening on Nov 1 will help boost the number of foreign tourists in Udon Thani as many of them are waiting to come back with a food festival to welcome tourists back to the province as we expect more of them after Nov 1," she said.
During the pandemic, Udonplaza spent 30 million baht to renovate UD Town shopping mall and UD Town Food Center to capitalise on a new lifestyle trend.
At present, the occupancy has resumed to 80% which is close to the pre-pandemic period, said Ms Apicha.
Tanatip 456 also has a convention centre, Montatip Hall, located about six kilometres from Udon Thani International Airport.
Opening in late 2019, Montatip Hall has a total space of 24,000 square metres which can support up to 4,000 participants.