Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said discussions on building a Disneyland theme park in Thailand have entered an “economic diplomacy” phase, with projections of an additional 10 million visitors annually and more than 150 billion baht in revenue.
He was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying the country has both the market size and the infrastructure capacity to support a major theme park development, as he oversees matters related to Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
Phiphat was commenting on a Jan 30 Facebook post by the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC, which said Thailand was “positioning itself as a key contender to host Southeast Asia’s first Disneyland”.
He said Thailand is equipped with international airports, high-speed rail systems, deep-sea ports and extensive road networks capable of handling large visitor volumes.
According to Phiphat, the proposed concept envisions a large-scale entertainment hub comprising a theme park, a concert hall and an 80,000-seat stadium, designed to attract global events and international artistes.
He stressed the project would exclude casinos and “grey” businesses, focusing instead on modern tourism trends to drive growth across related sectors such as hospitality and transport.
If realised, the development is projected to create more than 100,000 jobs, bring in 10 million additional visitors annually and generate 150 billion baht in revenue, potentially lifting Thailand’s GDP by about 1%.
