Thailand Sees Steady Growth

Thailand Sees Steady Growth

By Judy Jacobs

A devaluated baht and political problems in Indonesia have steered convention and incentive business to Thailand's resort destinations, especially Phuket, which saw a steady increase in business in 1998. Banking on hopes for continued success, places like Phuket and Pattaya are improving what they have to offer and adding new facilities to cater to this market.

"Several meeting and incentive groups moved from Bali to Phuket because of an unprecedented series of economic, political and natural upheavals in Indonesia," said Pornpanom Metheekul, director of marketing and sales for Laguna Phuket. Laguna Phuket is part of a 600-acre integrated resort development, which includes five hotels--Banyan Tree Phuket, Dusit Laguna, Laguna Beach Club, Sheraton Grande Laguna and Allamanda Laguna Phuket--and 20 meeting rooms, accommodating between 10 and 350 attendees.

"The average occupancy for Phuket's hotels in 1998 was between 75 percent and 80 percent, up 10 to 15 percent from the previous year," Metheekul said. The meeting and incentive business at Laguna Resort followed a similar trend, with each up about 15 percent over 1997. "Indonesia's political problems are one of the factors for Phuket's success. Other factors are the devaluation of the Thai baht and the Amazing Thailand campaign."

Hoteliers throughout Thailand credit the Amazing Thailand campaign, organized by the Tourist Authority of Thailand, for some of the country's incentive and meeting success last year.

Somyot Yasavudhi, director of sales of Phuket Arcadia, however, said the success is due mainly to the currency situation. "Our incentive business was only slightly increased, but our meeting business increased approximately 47 percent in 1998, compared with the previous year. The main reason is the devalued Thai baht," he said.

Meanwhile, Metheekul predicted Phuket will be even more sought after as a meeting and incentive destination in the future. "Phuket will continue to be a favorite place for meeting and incentive groups, both short and long term. The island is well known, easily accessible by domestic and international flights, and has good meeting facilities and choice of hotels, reasonable prices, a friendly and well-trained staff, and political and social stability. The government also is tightening the control of the land use, building codes and pollution on the island. We are expecting about a 10 percent increase each year," he said.

To further increase its attractiveness for larger groups, plans are in the works to build a 4,000-seat convention center in Phuket, set to open in 2002. Although the site hasn't been selected yet, it likely will be on Surin Beach on the west coast of Phuket, Metheekul said.

The island also is expanding its airport terminal by 75 percent to increase its capacity from three million to five million passengers per year. The project is scheduled to be completed in July 1999.

In Pattaya, the beach resort located two hours south of Bangkok, the Dusit Resort Pattaya has completed a major renovation and expansion of its Napalai Ballroom, which has been renamed the Napalai Convention Hall and now accommodates up to 3,000 attendees. The hall can be divided into five separate rooms and offers 10 small meeting rooms for breakout sessions. The new hall is expected to benefit the resort's meeting and incentive business, which play an important role in its market mix.

"Thirty percent of the business at the Dusit Resort Pattaya is generated from meetings and incentives," said Panadda Kanjanawat, spokesperson for Dusit Hotels & Resorts in Bangkok.

The company also has several other properties that cater to the meetings and incentive market. "The Dusit Laguna Phuket, Dusit Resort Pattaya and Dusit Resort & Polo Club are for the larger and grander incentives and meetings. The Santiburi Dusit Resort Koh Samui and Dusit Rayavadee Resort are for the very small and exclusive groups," he said.