Malls bet big on New Year blowout

Large malls are ramping up investments in New Year countdown events across Bangkok and nationwide to spur year-end spending among locals and foreign tourists, with leading players Central Pattana Plc (CPN) and The Mall Group aiming to attract a combined audience of 1.6 million at their flagship celebrations.

- MOLPASORN SHOOWONG

Retail and property developer CPN is spending 500 million baht on its countdown events across 13 malls, including the highlight at CentralWorld, and is expecting 1.5 million visitors.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, chief marketing officer at CPN, said “centralwOrld Bangkok Countdown 2026 The original” has become a top five global landmark for year-end celebrations, recording at least 250,000 visitors per event.

Highlights for this year include concerts by top Thai artists, such as PP Krit, Billkin, Palmy, Nont Tanont, The Toys, 4EVE and PERSES.

Around 70% of visitors are expected to be locals, with the remainder foreign tourists, he said.