The owner and founder of Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel and shopping mall in Songkhla's Hat Yai says he is undaunted by Saturday's insurgent bomb attack and is determined to soldier on.
Wanchai Leelasithorn, 74, also known as Sia Hong, insisted that he will not give up despite the severity of the attack.
"I want the insurgents to know that we are not deterred by their actions. We have to continue to live a normal life in Hat Yai, though we will not let our guard down. Security must intensify," he said.
A car bomb exploded in the hotel's underground car park killing three people and leaving several hundred wounded.
Mr Wanchai said he will encourage Hat Yai residents to join forces to get through the crisis and that he will reopen the hotel as soon as possible.
The hotel structure was not damaged in the bomb attack, but the whole underground area and the shopping mall above would have to be inspected thoroughly, he said.
Mr Wanchai is a self-made man who started out as a factory worker before becoming a leading businessman in Hat Yai. He turned to the hotel business 24 years ago and built the 200-room Lee Gardens hotel.
He went on to invest 1 billion baht to construct the 33-floor Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in the commercial centre of downtown Hat Yai.
The hotel has experienced several ups and downs. It was hit by severe floods back in 2000 and has been affected by insurgent violence which erupted on Jan 4, 2004, and which has continued to plague the lower South.
Achara Leelasithorn, Mr Wanchai's daughter, admitted the blast would have a psychological impact on tourists and said the lost business opportunities in the town would be inestimable.