Hotels and restaurants in Chiang Mai have been hard hit two rounds of serious flooding in as many months, with damage estimated at 8 billion baht, according to Akom Suvankantha, president of the Thai SME Confederation.
Previously, the economy of Chiang Mai was valued at 300 billion baht, with around 100 billion of that coming from SMEs.
One restaurant owner mentioned that they had reopened for just two days following the first flood when the second flood hit, bringing water levels of over one meter deep and costs of about a million baht to repair the restaurant.
Ten hotels in the area have also been affected by the floods.
La-iad Bungsrithong, advisor to the Thai Hotel Association, added that the high season, over the next two months, could bring new hope for businesses, raising hotel occupancy rates to as much as 80%.
She noted that rehabilitation of the area could, however, take until January or February of next year.