The Future is bright

"I guess we got the award due to our outstanding performance, even though we'd been through several challenges over the past few years," he said.

King Power Duty Free hopes to earn Bt20 billion in sales revenue this year, up 19 per cent from 2007. The company recorded revenues of Bt13 billion and Bt16.7 billion in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

"When the government declared a state of emergency earlier this year, we were hit badly as the number of foreign visitors to Thailand dropped sharply.

"Even today, many [South] Korean and Japanese tourists do not come to Thailand because the antigovernment group, People's Alliance for Democracy [PAD], is still occupying Government House.

"Fortunately, some Chinese tourists have returned, so we hope our sales will be on target by the yearend.

"However, the first 18 days of November were pretty bad because sales only stood at around Bt200 million, far less than the amount we got in the same month last year," he said.

In the meantime, King Power is in talks with Airports of Thailand (AOT) about the dispute involving its dutyfree retailing concession at Suvarnabhumi. The previous AOT board of directors terminated this lucrative deal after the September 19, 2006 coup, saying there were irregularities in the concession, which was granted during former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's tenure.

Not to be defeated, Vichai filed a lawsuit against the AOT for ending the concession prematurely.

He also won a court injunction, which allowed King Power to continue operating in Suvarnabhumi.

However, from late 2006 to the end of 2007, foreign business partners were not quite sure if the Thai dutyfree retailer would survive because its key concession was in doubt.

Now though the outlook is much better because Vichai expects an outofcourt settlement with AOT soon.

Another challenge facing King Power is the global economic slowdown, as that might hit the tourism industry.

"Our main targets are not Americans or Europeans, but the Chinese, Indians and Russians. As far as Chinese tourists are concerned, the government should seek cooperation from Beijing in helping to encourage their citizens to visit Thailand.

"We also hope to attract visitors from the Middle East, but safety is a big issue for them.

"In fact, the tourism authority should join hands with hotel, airline and other tourismrelated sectors to launch promotional campaigns that attract more tourists during these difficult times.

"So far, we have not seen any such efforts. The oil prices falling from a record high of US$147 (Bt 5,175) to $50 per barrel are favourable for the travel industry. Unfortunately, the government is weak and there is no key person to take charge of directing tourism and related industries.

"Even the AOT, which oversees Suvarnabhumi and other airports, is pessimistic, because it is forecasting a 5percent to 8percent drop in tourist arrivals for next year.

"It's the first time in decades that I've seen such a negative growth projection.

"However, we're undaunted and will do our best to achieve 10percent annual growth," Vichai said with an optimistic grin.