Investigation and Analysis for Pattaya’s Progress in Stepping towards the AEC

Abstract

The study aims to conduct a SWOT analysis as to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Pattaya Municipality in order to trace its trends for the progress toward the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Through a SWOT analysis, research procedures were carried out through various aspects, ranging from gathering information from relevant documents and research studies; carrying out in−depth interviews with experts possessing long experience in the tourism industry; interviewing international visitors; making surveys and collecting data from the entrepreneurs engaged in the Pattaya tourism-related companies; as well as brainstorming all possible stakeholders. As results, major strengths are that the city offers attractive investment opportunities for a variety of entertainment and different types of investments, some of which include the hospitality industry, food and beverage businesses, real estate, department stores, telecommunications infrastructure and logistics options. These factors have affected the steady expansion of Pattaya’s economic development as well as trade and investment growth since 2013. As the city’s tourism industry demonstrates high potential and readiness for competition among the ASEAN and global nations, there seems to be a positive outlook for employment across industries. Therefore, the government needs to boost the efficiency of the Thai workforce so that the group can keep up with rapid technological changes and become ready for entering into competition with the inflow of overseas workers.