Andaman Property Outlook

Listed compoany Sansiri will launch three developments in Phuket in the coming weeks.  The developments are valued at more than two billion baht.   Future plans for Phuket include another development in the upscale market segment. The company is a clear winner at the Bangkok Stock Exchange less than three weeks into 2012 trading. Sansiri generate profit of 2.28 billion baht in 2012. The developer is expecting a good response from Phuket clients following the sell-out success of the first dCondo development in Q3 2011. In addition to launching their second dCondo development, Sansiri will launch two housing developments “Habitia” and “Habitown” in February, in line with the company’s expansion plans on Phuket. Mr. Suriya Wannabuit, Executive Vice President – Project Management and Marketing Department of Sansiri Public Company Limited, revealed that after the company announced its plans to expand into the Phuket market in the last quarter of 2011, Sansiri had a successful launch and sales of its first development in Phuket ‘dCondo Kathu’, with 556 units sold out within half-a-day. The company is confident and committed to expanding the company’s portfolio on Phuket Island further. In the first quarter of 2012 Sansiri is launching its second dCondo development, “dCondo [...]

Thailand was voted the favourite sailing venue and best regatta location in Asia in a new survey .  Thailand was voted as having the best sailing grounds and destinations due to an ideal geography, good weather conditions and beautiful scenery. The sailing survey was undertaken by the Top of the Gulf Regatta (www.topofthegulfregatta.com) in co-operation with the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (www.kingscup.com), with the aim to find out sailing trends in the region, provide useful information in helping to attract more sailors to the region, and to improve facilities and services in the region. The survey found that of the sailors who came to the 25th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, 53% were resident in Asia and 47% lived outside of Asia. Over 27% of the survey respondents were found to have been sailing in Thailand for more than 10 years, while 53% are relative newcomers – sailing in Thailand for only 1-3 years. The survey found that Thailand is a popular sailing destination for international sailors, with many returning numerous times to enjoy the cruising grounds and sailing events Thailand has to offer. There are five major regattas in Thailand that local and international sailors are aware of and have [...]

Hundreds of children from all over Asia, from future world champions to those who just want to have fun, converged on the world’s new Ironman and Triathlon mecca, Phuket, contest the Thanyapura Sports & Leisure Club IronKids Phuket Triathlon. IronKids is one of the world’s fastest growing youth sports movements and provides the perfect antidote to the sedentary habits of the Playstation generation. For these kids, their play stations are the pool, the track and the bike. A total of 228 children registered for the race, including 126 individual racers and 102 children in 34 relay teams. Most were in it for fitness and fun, but some serious future champions put their elders in the sport on notice. The brightest star and overall winner was Kuala Lumpur-based Australian Zoe Bowden, 12, the defending champion and one of the world’s fastest triathletes in her age group. Not only did she beat all the older girls from the 13-15 year old category, she also beat the older boys as well, shaving three minutes off her previous personal best to finish in 39 minutes and 23 seconds. She has been tipped as a possible future world champion by none other than TSLC’s triathlon [...]

Two unique and innovative beachfront charity dinners in the space of a week staged by cutting-edge boutique resort brand Aleenta Resorts raised both consciousness and cash for threatened marine environments and victims of Thailand’s recent devastatingfloods. At Aleenta Phuket-Phang Nga, a glittering crowd of more than 100 VIP guests and dignitaries turned out to support the “Help Save Marine Life’’ charity dinner recently at the resort’s über-groovy beach bar and lounge The Edge, overlooking pristine Natai Beach. And the following week saw sister resort Aleenta Hua Hin-Pranburi host a bespoke banquet for a select gathering of guests, at which the cream of the region’s chefs, including the resort’s own 2 Michelin Star-awarded resident manager and culinary innovator James Noble, collaborated to take guests on a gastronomic journey inspired by the elements. After dinner, a charity auction raised money to help people displaced by the floods. Both events combined raised over THB320,000 which will be go to flood victims as well as continuing the pioneering work of Pure Blue Foundation in supporting damaged marine environments in Thailand. Guests were abuzz with the novel tastes French-born Chef Laurent conjured through clever use of liquid nitrogen and unexpected combinations of ingredients, including Revelation [...]

As we are approaching the 7th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, a new survey suggests that perception of the holiday-destination of Khao-Lak   in Thailand is once again favorable, but that pricing and access challenges remain. The QUO Intelligence survey conducted among 206 tourists, business people and residents in Khao Lak in October 2011 showed that the more knowledge about the tsunami that tourists had, the more positive the perception of modern Khao Lak as a desirable holiday destination. "The Andaman Coast is not perceived as dangerous in terms of the threat of natural disasters. And the more individuals know of the Indian Ocean tsunami of seven years ago, the more favorable is the perception of the Khao Lak area today," said David Keen, CEO of QUO Keen,the tourism strategy consultancy in Bangkok which conducted the survey. Some 80% of the respondents said that the tsunami had ‘low’ to ‘no’ effect on their current travel decisions. Only 4% said that the 2004 tsunami legacy still had a major effect on whether to holiday in Khao Lak or not. Some 93% of Europeans/Westerners and more than 84% of Thais surveyed dismissed the notion that the Andaman coast of Khao Lak is [...]

Jetstar  has ramped up long haul international flights in response to the increasing number of Aussie holidaymakers seeking affordable overseas family getaways. Between 23 December 2011 and 31 January 2012, Jetstar will offer almost 28,000 extra seats to-and-from Phuket, Bali and Honolulu. That’s almost 40 per cent more compared to the same peak period last year. The increased summer holiday schedule is supported by the delivery of the airline’s 11th A330 in late November. Jetstar’s latest inflight entertainment, the iPad, is available for hire from December. Jetstar also continues to grow its domestic network, recently introducing additional flights to holiday destinations such as Tasmania. Jetstar Group CEO Bruce Buchanan said the low cost carrier’s expanding network across Asia was providing more affordable options for Australians. “As well as supporting inbound tourism from places like China and Japan, the growth of our network means Jetstar has more than 40 destinations outside of Australia that people can now fly to,” he said. Jetstar Australia & NZ CEO David Hall said Jetstar was bumping up capacity in response to the strong demand from Australians travelling overseas for holidays, particularly over peak periods such as Christmas and New Year. “Australians are continuing to travel [...]

In the southern province of Trang heavy rainfall has been continuous since Thursday, creating blocked water at low-lying plain in several districts. Flashfloods also flowed from Khao Bantad Mountain damaging over 50 households in the provincial seat and forcing local residents to evacuate for the second time within one month. According to the local disaster prevention and mitigation office, floodwaters in the area are about 30-80 cm high. If the rain stops within 1-2 days, the water will recede to its normal level. Four districts – Huai Yot, Yan Ta Khao, Palian and Na Yong – are now under close watch for landslides in the low plains at the bottom of hills. Local officials were assigned to strictly monitor the situation of flashfloods and landslides in the province’s 10 districts. Until normal situation returns, tourists are prohibited from entering Trang’s 6 waterfalls, particularly Sai Rung Waterfall and Phrai Sawan Waterfall in Yan Ta Khao district, where 38 people were killed by flashfloods in April 2007. Tropical storm Washi, which hit southern Philippines this weekend, triggering flash floods and killing at least 700 people, is moving towards Southern Thailand. It is expected to wreak havoc in parts of the southern provinces [...]