PHUKET'S new Westin resort, the first in Thailand, will draw its market mostly from China, Korea, Japan and the Middle East, the owner said at the resort's grand opening yesterday.

Vichit Prakobgosoi, President of the CCT Group, told Phuketwan that India would also become important but for now, most eyes were on China.

''The population of both countries are becoming wealthier and beginning to travel,'' he said. ''The Westin brand is very popular.

''Phuket has good service and it's an excellent destination, with an airport that can accept big aircraft.''

He said he chose the Koh Sireh site for the 261-room resort because the views were excellent and at the time he bought the property, the price was much better than elsewhere on Phuket. (Siray is an alternative spelling).

It is the first large branded resort on Koh Sireh, which is on Phuket's east coast, linked to Phuket City by a road bridge. While the west coast has been quick to develop, with one or two notable pioneering exceptions, Phuket's east coast has only become desirable real estate in the past five years.

''People will come here for a real holiday,'' Khun Vichit said. ''You have the beach, you have the sea, you have the mountains, you have the forest.

''Westin will not be the last hotel on Koh Sireh. I expect to see more big brands on Phuket's east coast.''

Khun Vichit said the Westin fitted the upmarket desires of the rising rich of China and India particularly.

He said that if the number of tourists to Phuket increased by 10 percent each year, the number of resorts also needed to grow. But oversupply was a danger if tourist numbers did not increase, he said.

''I would like to suggest to the government to protect the tourist industry by revealing whether numbers balance between rooms and visitors in every holiday destination in Thailand.

''If there is an area where there are too many resorts, it should be made a red area where no additional resorts open for four years or five years,'' he said. ''After that, the number of visitors can be checked against the number of rooms again.''

Wealthy people sometimes invested in resorts without a full understanding of the industry, he said.

Wayne Buckingham, Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Thailand Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore, said in his opening remarks that the opening of the Westin was ''a momentous day'' for Starwood and Westin.

He said Starwood's first venture in Thailand came with the opening of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Towers Bangkok 27 years ago.

''Since then our family has grown to 15 hotels and another 11 are currently under construction in Thailand,'' he said.

Phuket's Westin was the first in Thailand and only the sixth in the Asia Pacific division, he said.

''It is yet another jewel in the Westin crown,'' he said. ''There are now 170 Westin hotels and resorts across 36 countries.

''The opening more importantly serves as a launching pad for 18 Westin properties currently undergoing construction,'' he said.

''Besides the Westin Siray Bay Resort and Spa Phuket, Westin have had five more hotels in 2010 opening their doors in grand fashion.''

Starwood has eight brands in Asia: St Regis, Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, and Aloft.

Special guests for the grand opening included Chumpol Silapa-archa, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Thaword Senneam, Deputy Minister of Interior, Sombat Kuruphan, Director and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Police General Phanupong Singhara, Tri Augkaradacha, Governor of Phuket Province, Gao Zhen Ting, Counsellor and Consul-General of Chinese Embassy, Vichit Prakobgosol, Managing Director of CCT Express and Phuket Garden Cliff, and Sansern Ngaorangsi, Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and South Pacific) Tourism Authority of Thailand.