Contender for Innovation of the Year 2008
A 35-METRE helium balloon offering sky rides is set to become an iconic showpiece as the Laguna Phuket resort group moves to provide a broader range of activities for its guests and other visitors to the island.
Once the plan receives official approval, the balloon, capable of carrying up to 25 people, will begin taking passengers on trips as high as 300 metres. It will be the first of its kind in Thailand.
The 60 million baht balloon should be rising up over the resort sanctuary well before next high season, even offering diners the chance to have meals in the sky.
It's a novel idea that should give Phuket's ''high'' season a new meaning, one that applies all year.
Within weeks, the resort's new Laguna Tours brand will also be attracting customers with its fleet of purpose-built speedboats and land-based vehicles.
The innovations are part of Laguna Phuket's move to extend its quality image beyond tourist accommodation and property, Mark Breit, Senior Manager of Tour Operations, told Phuketwan.
''We want to ensure that Laguna Phuket standards go everywhere that Laguna Phuket guests go,'' he said.
While Laguna is expected to offer a broad range of destinations among its tours, the sky trips at the resort will be the stand-out new attraction.
The balloon with be 35 metres tall and, it is anticipated, offer flights to 300 metres. For the sake of comparison, the statue of the Big Buddha, now being built in the south of the island, sits on a 380-metre hill and is 45 metres tall.
The views from the base of the Big Buddha are spectacular, taking in both east and west coasts. Great views of the island can also be expected from the gondola of the Laguna balloon.
Once approved, the Laguna Phuket balloon and the Big Buddha will provide Phuket with two major tourist attractions that are for the first time not linked to the natural beauty of the beaches, the coral reefs or jungle activities.
Mini-golf in Karon still ranks among the top attractions for a holiday island that appealed to more than five million visitors in 2007, so it's hardly surprising to see Laguna Phuket creating its own activities for tourists.
''The balloon is definitely coming, pending approval from the authorities,'' Mr Breit said.
''We will have a variety of activities, including sunset cocktail trips. Throughout the day, the balloon will rise to different heights.
''We think the general starting height will be 120 or 150 metres. People will not want to go to 300 metres straight away.''
Trips to lower heights will take about 20 minutes, including a four minute ride up and four minutes to come down, at a cost of about 850 baht for adults.
Approval has yet to come from the Airport Authority of Thailand, but talks about the proposal are said to be proceeding as planned.
Although the balloon is tethered and rises above the same spot each time, it is categorised as an aircraft. As the first of its kind in Thailand, there are no regulations or a permit system in place.
Helium gas will carry the balloon upwards. An electric winch will bring it down.
Mr Breit said there are four other helium balloons in the world that go to 300 metres, but the Laguna balloon will the the first to offer dining facilities.
The gondola beneath the balloon will be capable of holding 25 people, however that number may be reduced if a breeze is blowing. The balloon will not operate if wind speed becomes too great.
''Helium is an inert gas so it's perfectly safe,'' Mr Breit said. ''There are about 70 helium balloons around the world and they have a 100 percent safety record.''
In practice, dining on the balloon gondola will be similar to dining on the Laguna lagoon, except that balloon diners will be floating on air.
It's envisaged that diners will go up to perhaps 80 metres for their first course, then come down to take each new course on board before ascending again, perhaps to new heights.
Marriage proposals are likely to be a regular event.
''We are hoping it will bring people to Laguna Phuket from the outside,'' Mr Breit said. ''This is something that everybody will be able to enjoy.
''It's going to be a unique experience, that's for sure. Things are changing, with the Laguna wedding chapel and Laguna Tours.''
A 32-million baht investment in six new speedboats, four mini-buses and two larger 20-seat buses will enable the new Laguna Tours to offer a greater variety of day and half-day excursions to guests and outsiders.
The boats, all designed and built in Thailand to Laguna Phuket's specifications, have sophisticated navigation systems, safety features and the lowest-emission four-stroke engines available.
Mr Breit, who has lived on Phuket for 10 years and worked in the tour business before joining Laguna Phuket, said the new cultural tours nave so far produced enthusiastic feedback from the pioneering passengers.
The new trips are yet to be finalised but Mr Breit says that being able to provide tours will mean greater variety and the certainty that Laguna Phuket's standards are applied.
For the first time, guests will be able to visit Patong by night without concerns about the return trip back to Laguna.
''Going to Patong is quite daunting for people who have arrived on the island on their first holday,'' Mr Breit said.
''It's not a safety thing, just having someone who can show them around and give them more support.''
Mr Breit does not see the establishment of Laguna Tours as a threat to other tour operators.
''We've done our figures,'' he said. ''Something like 280,000 people come through Laguna Phuket each year.
''We could only cope with about 300 people a day, so that still leaves thousands who will be doing other things. It's not as though we are going to monopolise everyone.''
Strong emphasis will be on complete training for 80 guides and other staff. Laguna Tours will offer five scholarships each year to promising candidates at Prince of Songkla University.
Two days a week, Laguna Tours will have exclusive access to a beach and facilities at Coral Island.
There will be cultural tours taking in less well-known aspects of island life, or trips on new luxury sports cruisers up to a cost of more than 100,000 baht a day.
In an interview with Phuketwan last month, Laguna Phuket managing director Michael Ayling called for more attractions for tourists on Phuket, along the lines of Australia's tropical Gold Coast.
Top theme parks there include Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild water world, Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Laguna Phuket, a spacious combination of resorts and gardens and lagoons developed on an old tin mine, celebrated 20 years on Phuket in 2007.
The brand recently revealed plans to build its seventh resort on the island and the simultaneous development of seven new resorts at a Laguna-style sanctuary on Vietnam's central coast.
.. Laguna Holiday Club Ltd, a subsidiary of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc, plans to spend 360 million baht building time-share condominiums in Hua Hin and Pattaya, the Bangkok Post reports.
A substantial proportion of the club's 4000-plus members are Thais. The Laguna Holiday Club Resort opened at Laguna Phuket in 2006.
Related Article:
Laguna Rolls Lucky Seven for Vietnam
Disclosure: Phuketwan's print partner, Big Island Media, provides copy, photographs and an editor for the 'Laguna lifestyle & travel' magazine.
A 35-METRE helium balloon offering sky rides is set to become an iconic showpiece as the Laguna Phuket resort group moves to provide a broader range of activities for its guests and other visitors to the island.
Once the plan receives official approval, the balloon, capable of carrying up to 25 people, will begin taking passengers on trips as high as 300 metres. It will be the first of its kind in Thailand.
The 60 million baht balloon should be rising up over the resort sanctuary well before next high season, even offering diners the chance to have meals in the sky.
It's a novel idea that should give Phuket's ''high'' season a new meaning, one that applies all year.
Within weeks, the resort's new Laguna Tours brand will also be attracting customers with its fleet of purpose-built speedboats and land-based vehicles.
The innovations are part of Laguna Phuket's move to extend its quality image beyond tourist accommodation and property, Mark Breit, Senior Manager of Tour Operations, told Phuketwan.
''We want to ensure that Laguna Phuket standards go everywhere that Laguna Phuket guests go,'' he said.
While Laguna is expected to offer a broad range of destinations among its tours, the sky trips at the resort will be the stand-out new attraction.
The balloon with be 35 metres tall and, it is anticipated, offer flights to 300 metres. For the sake of comparison, the statue of the Big Buddha, now being built in the south of the island, sits on a 380-metre hill and is 45 metres tall.
The views from the base of the Big Buddha are spectacular, taking in both east and west coasts. Great views of the island can also be expected from the gondola of the Laguna balloon.
Once approved, the Laguna Phuket balloon and the Big Buddha will provide Phuket with two major tourist attractions that are for the first time not linked to the natural beauty of the beaches, the coral reefs or jungle activities.
Mini-golf in Karon still ranks among the top attractions for a holiday island that appealed to more than five million visitors in 2007, so it's hardly surprising to see Laguna Phuket creating its own activities for tourists.
''The balloon is definitely coming, pending approval from the authorities,'' Mr Breit said.
''We will have a variety of activities, including sunset cocktail trips. Throughout the day, the balloon will rise to different heights.
''We think the general starting height will be 120 or 150 metres. People will not want to go to 300 metres straight away.''
Trips to lower heights will take about 20 minutes, including a four minute ride up and four minutes to come down, at a cost of about 850 baht for adults.
Approval has yet to come from the Airport Authority of Thailand, but talks about the proposal are said to be proceeding as planned.
Although the balloon is tethered and rises above the same spot each time, it is categorised as an aircraft. As the first of its kind in Thailand, there are no regulations or a permit system in place.
Helium gas will carry the balloon upwards. An electric winch will bring it down.
Mr Breit said there are four other helium balloons in the world that go to 300 metres, but the Laguna balloon will the the first to offer dining facilities.
The gondola beneath the balloon will be capable of holding 25 people, however that number may be reduced if a breeze is blowing. The balloon will not operate if wind speed becomes too great.
''Helium is an inert gas so it's perfectly safe,'' Mr Breit said. ''There are about 70 helium balloons around the world and they have a 100 percent safety record.''
In practice, dining on the balloon gondola will be similar to dining on the Laguna lagoon, except that balloon diners will be floating on air.
It's envisaged that diners will go up to perhaps 80 metres for their first course, then come down to take each new course on board before ascending again, perhaps to new heights.
Marriage proposals are likely to be a regular event.
''We are hoping it will bring people to Laguna Phuket from the outside,'' Mr Breit said. ''This is something that everybody will be able to enjoy.
''It's going to be a unique experience, that's for sure. Things are changing, with the Laguna wedding chapel and Laguna Tours.''
A 32-million baht investment in six new speedboats, four mini-buses and two larger 20-seat buses will enable the new Laguna Tours to offer a greater variety of day and half-day excursions to guests and outsiders.
The boats, all designed and built in Thailand to Laguna Phuket's specifications, have sophisticated navigation systems, safety features and the lowest-emission four-stroke engines available.
Mr Breit, who has lived on Phuket for 10 years and worked in the tour business before joining Laguna Phuket, said the new cultural tours nave so far produced enthusiastic feedback from the pioneering passengers.
The new trips are yet to be finalised but Mr Breit says that being able to provide tours will mean greater variety and the certainty that Laguna Phuket's standards are applied.
For the first time, guests will be able to visit Patong by night without concerns about the return trip back to Laguna.
''Going to Patong is quite daunting for people who have arrived on the island on their first holday,'' Mr Breit said.
''It's not a safety thing, just having someone who can show them around and give them more support.''
Mr Breit does not see the establishment of Laguna Tours as a threat to other tour operators.
''We've done our figures,'' he said. ''Something like 280,000 people come through Laguna Phuket each year.
''We could only cope with about 300 people a day, so that still leaves thousands who will be doing other things. It's not as though we are going to monopolise everyone.''
Strong emphasis will be on complete training for 80 guides and other staff. Laguna Tours will offer five scholarships each year to promising candidates at Prince of Songkla University.
Two days a week, Laguna Tours will have exclusive access to a beach and facilities at Coral Island.
There will be cultural tours taking in less well-known aspects of island life, or trips on new luxury sports cruisers up to a cost of more than 100,000 baht a day.
In an interview with Phuketwan last month, Laguna Phuket managing director Michael Ayling called for more attractions for tourists on Phuket, along the lines of Australia's tropical Gold Coast.
Top theme parks there include Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild water world, Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Laguna Phuket, a spacious combination of resorts and gardens and lagoons developed on an old tin mine, celebrated 20 years on Phuket in 2007.
The brand recently revealed plans to build its seventh resort on the island and the simultaneous development of seven new resorts at a Laguna-style sanctuary on Vietnam's central coast.
.. Laguna Holiday Club Ltd, a subsidiary of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc, plans to spend 360 million baht building time-share condominiums in Hua Hin and Pattaya, the Bangkok Post reports.
A substantial proportion of the club's 4000-plus members are Thais. The Laguna Holiday Club Resort opened at Laguna Phuket in 2006.
Related Article:
Laguna Rolls Lucky Seven for Vietnam
Disclosure: Phuketwan's print partner, Big Island Media, provides copy, photographs and an editor for the 'Laguna lifestyle & travel' magazine.
