HOLLYWOOD red carpet glamor will be the style as Phuket's resort industry leader, Laguna Phuket, opens its spacious new permanent multi-function venue, Latitude, on Saturday.

The first event will be the Phuket Table Top Session of Connections Plus 2010, organised by Thailand Conventions and Exhibition Bureau, with a delegation of international MICE (Meetings & Incentive) buyers attending.

But the best is yet to come. Phuketwan can reveal that Laguna Phuket is about to ink a deal that will bring the largest-ever corporate gathering to Phuket - and boost tourism numbers by an astonishing 11,000 to 12,000 visitors in one hit.

So significant is this event that intense planning is already underway for making it a surefire success in April and May of 2012. We are not at liberty to name the corporation involved but we can say that it is based in China.

The brand involved is regarded with such awe as a pacesetter by other corporations in China that the commitment to Phuket for its annual incentive rewards-based event is already bringing other inquiries.

This is the first time the corporation has selected a destination that is not one of the world's large international cities: Los Angeles, London and Sydney have been previous choices for gatherings.

''It's a huge coup for Phuket and the island should see many benefits,'' an insider told Phuketwan. The Governor of Phuket and officials at Phuket International Airport have yet to be told of the coup.

Logistically, this ''invasion'' will require careful planning. The thousands of Chinese visitors will descend on the island in waves each four or five days - along with the regular tourists who come and go through Songkran and Easter at that time of the year.

So Laguna Phuket will be at full stretch, organising specific events and catered meals for the corporate visitors at the same time as it caters in normal fashion for regular tourists.

Dinners for 500 people at four outlets will be required, day after day - a real test for Laguna Phuket's recent decision to allow natural attrition to take its course on staff numbers and rely on a casual pool instead.

''It's the biggest piece of business ever from China,'' our source at Laguna Phuket told us. To ensure the success of the project over up to six weeks, Laguna Phuket will be embracing local businesses and Phuket partners.

Such issues as special Immigration counters at Phuket airport are likely to be considered as the charter flights come pouring in, along with the need for signage in Chinese around the whole island.

Suddenly and positively, Phuket has all the latitude it needs to look to a coming boom in both corporate business AND business from China.

Laguna Phuket, a destination resort among lagoons and forest glades on the shores of Bang Tao beach, now includes seven resort brands: Banyan Tree Phuket, Sheraton Grande Laguna, Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Vilas, Laguna Beach Resort, Best Western Allamanda Laguna Phuket and Laguna Holiday Club Resort.

A deal for the sale of the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket to the existing brand managers was announced earlier this month.