PHUKET: The Central Group revealed a 20 billion baht plan at the weekend to make Phuket a shopping and lifestyle paradise to attract visitors from all over South East Asia.
The 111-rai project includes the largest aquarium in the region, a botanical gardens to rival Singapore's, a luxury hotel and a luxury lifestyle mall aimed at becoming the ''playground of South-East Asia.''
Keen competition can be expected, though, from The Mall Group's Blu Pearl Plaza project, announced last year across 150 rai just down the road from the existing Central Festival Phuket.
Both projects include international-standard conference and exhibition centres.
According to Central at the weekend, Phuket can be expected to attract 20 million visitors within the next five years.
Both the high-end projects may be based on over-exuberant estimates of the number of travellers that Phuket can attract and absorb.
For years, Phuketwan has kept tabs on the Airports of Thailand figures for Phuket International Airport. At the end of the year, the total number of arrivals and departures will amount to about 12.5 million, which is about as many as the one-runway facility can handle.
Cut that total passenger coming-and-going figure in half and you have approximately the number of people arriving on the holiday island by air this year - 6.25 million.
Now, it could be that Central knows something Phuketwan doesn't about Phuket's future.
But even if Phuket attracts an extraordinary number of tourists arriving by car, by bus and by cruise ship, a figure of 20 million tourists within the next five years seems to stretch credibility.
If both these extraordinary projects go ahead, we predict a very intense struggle between the big players for customers with money to spend.
Plainly, existing outlets such as Jungceylon in Patong would need to reinvent themselves to hold and grow market share among high-end shoppers.
What Wanlaya Jirathiwat, the Deputy Chairman of Central Development, revealed about the group's plan for Phuket is mouthwatering, if shopping is your thing.
Phase I involves the renovation of the existing Central Festival Phuket into the island's ''Dining Destination.''
Phase II brings construction of the new Central Phuket on the 111 rai opposite the existing building. To be completed in 2018, that part of the project includes luxury lifestyle shopping, with high end international brands, the biggest aquarium in South-East Assia, and a botanicial gardens to rival Singapore's.
Phase III includes a five or six-star hotel and an international standard high-capacity conference and exhibition centre.
Such a facility was also proposed last year for the Mall Group's development, which will spill across 150 rai down from Billionaire Plaza, just a stone's throw from the Tesco-Lotus supermarket, which before the turn of the century was the biggest innovation for the island's shoppers.
If neither of the big groups backs away or modifies its plans, resident shoppers and visiting tourists can expect some great bargains.
And the addition of two luxury lifestyle complexes, extending over kilometres, can only be good for Phuket's tourism prospects . . . even if present calculations on numbers are unlikely to be fulfilled in a hurry.
The 111-rai project includes the largest aquarium in the region, a botanical gardens to rival Singapore's, a luxury hotel and a luxury lifestyle mall aimed at becoming the ''playground of South-East Asia.''
Keen competition can be expected, though, from The Mall Group's Blu Pearl Plaza project, announced last year across 150 rai just down the road from the existing Central Festival Phuket.
Both projects include international-standard conference and exhibition centres.
According to Central at the weekend, Phuket can be expected to attract 20 million visitors within the next five years.
Both the high-end projects may be based on over-exuberant estimates of the number of travellers that Phuket can attract and absorb.
For years, Phuketwan has kept tabs on the Airports of Thailand figures for Phuket International Airport. At the end of the year, the total number of arrivals and departures will amount to about 12.5 million, which is about as many as the one-runway facility can handle.
Cut that total passenger coming-and-going figure in half and you have approximately the number of people arriving on the holiday island by air this year - 6.25 million.
Now, it could be that Central knows something Phuketwan doesn't about Phuket's future.
But even if Phuket attracts an extraordinary number of tourists arriving by car, by bus and by cruise ship, a figure of 20 million tourists within the next five years seems to stretch credibility.
If both these extraordinary projects go ahead, we predict a very intense struggle between the big players for customers with money to spend.
Plainly, existing outlets such as Jungceylon in Patong would need to reinvent themselves to hold and grow market share among high-end shoppers.
What Wanlaya Jirathiwat, the Deputy Chairman of Central Development, revealed about the group's plan for Phuket is mouthwatering, if shopping is your thing.
Phase I involves the renovation of the existing Central Festival Phuket into the island's ''Dining Destination.''
Phase II brings construction of the new Central Phuket on the 111 rai opposite the existing building. To be completed in 2018, that part of the project includes luxury lifestyle shopping, with high end international brands, the biggest aquarium in South-East Assia, and a botanicial gardens to rival Singapore's.
Phase III includes a five or six-star hotel and an international standard high-capacity conference and exhibition centre.
Such a facility was also proposed last year for the Mall Group's development, which will spill across 150 rai down from Billionaire Plaza, just a stone's throw from the Tesco-Lotus supermarket, which before the turn of the century was the biggest innovation for the island's shoppers.
If neither of the big groups backs away or modifies its plans, resident shoppers and visiting tourists can expect some great bargains.
And the addition of two luxury lifestyle complexes, extending over kilometres, can only be good for Phuket's tourism prospects . . . even if present calculations on numbers are unlikely to be fulfilled in a hurry.
What about that 6 years old concrete skeleton in front of present Central Festival, at the traffic junction?
Anyone who can shine light on that?
Posted by Kurt on August 10, 2015 15:21