Phuket has a new face and on first impressions it appears celebrity Keith Floyd is the island’s latest ambassador. Dressed in a white tuxedo, champagne glass in hand, the television chef beams from a billboard near the airport welcoming visitors on arrival – to his signature restaurant Floyd’s at Burasari, in Patong.

With such an international profile, it is little wonder the island now attracts such global entrepreneurs and luxury brand investors.

In just a few short years, Phuket has transformed from a popular holiday retreat to a world renowned tourism destination with a new profile to match. From branded hotels and resorts to luxury residential projects, mega malls, concept spas and entertainment complexes, the island’s image is changing rapidly.

“Phuket is among the world’s most beautiful islands and most popular getaways. Tourism continues to grow there,” said Thai AirAsia chief executive officer Mr Tassapon Bijleveld, on the announcement of the airline’s new daily Singapore-Phuket route beginning November 5, 2007.

Other budget airlines such as Jetstar and Tiger Air added to a significant rise in visitors from around south-east Asia and Australia contributing to the island’s growth and economy in normally quieter times. This past green season has seen multitudes of projects sprouting all over the island at full speed ahead. Behind the scenes, a hive of activity is shaping Phuket’s new image.


Facelift Patong

This high season will welcome a bevy of brand new hotels in Patong adding hundreds of rooms – from large resorts like the 249-room Mercure Patong and Millenium Resort & Spa with 421 rooms (due to open in November 2007), to boutique-style hotels like the 43-room Rayadhevi planning a December launch celebration at its rumoured brand-name restaurant.

Tourist central now offers some of the island’s best high-end eateries, bars and clubs. Popular for contemporary food and music, relative newcomer to the island scene Jean Pierre’s restaurant at BYD Lofts is helping to lift the culinary profile of Patong while Mercure’s funky rooftop Moon Bar provides an astronomic telescope with their sunset cocktails.

Patong is taking its partying seriously, and tourists and islanders are being offered more than the standard Phuket discotheque. Club Lime on the beachfront hosts some of Bangkok’s best as well as international celebrity Djs, raising the clubbing standards. Seduction on Soi Bangla provides a very Bangkok-style upmarket ambience with some very stylish settings.

Patong’s shopping and entertainment district, in a few short years, has evolved far beyond the beach and side soi’s.

Jungceylon now hosts a legion of national and global brands including Robinson’s department store, Carrefour supermarket and internationally acclaimed luxury ladies footwear and accessories label Stella Luna.

The long awaited SF Cinema City and entertainment complex is due to open shortly. Singapore-based IndoChine Group also plans to make their Thailand debut at Jungceylon with the opening of a concept restaurant, bar and lifestyle centre followed later in 2008 with The Reef concept resort in Patong.

Venturing into the unexplored territory of hotel development, the IndoChine Group’s project The Reef will be a fully-fledged 140-room resort facing the beachfront of Patong Beach, inspired by the natural modular form of a coral reef.

“We are extremely pleased about this exciting opportunity to expand the business further overseas and offer the IndoChine experience through different IndoChine brands on a global platform,” said Mr Michael Ma, Chief Executive Officer and founder of IndoChine Group.



Party time!

Kicking off on the eve of Phuket’s 2008 tourist high season, the inaugural Phuket Film Festival premieres at the gala opening of SF Cinema compex in Jungceylon, Patong.

Screening 34 international films from fifteen countries, the festival will launch on October 20 with a host of Thai celebrities, festival VIPs, international film makers and actors.

The week long event includes a feast of movies, documentaries, short films, workshops and entertainment at Jungceylon until the festival close on October 27. According to a recent article in Hollywood Reporter, Tinsel Town will be watching.

Hot on festive heels, the 20th Phuket Carnival officially launches high season with a riot of colour and entertainment from November 1-3. A reported budget of 30m baht for the island’s biggest ever carnival, the entertainment will centre around two stages on Patong’s beach road and Soi Bangla. Look out for Thai hip-hop stars DJ Joey Boy and Kan Kho Club on the Bangla stage alongside the “girls” from Simon Cabaret while the beach area will feature Thai and international performances from Phuket Fantasea, flamenco dancers from Spain, fashion shows and nightly contests from 7pm-10pm.

On the marine scene - in celebration of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 80th birthday, the 21st King’s Cup Regatta – December 1-8, 2007 – is set to be a gala of yacht racing and fabulous parties on Phuket’s west coast.
Asia’s biggest regatta, the annual event attracts thousands of sailors and fans from across the globe.
From December 6, Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) will be host to PIMEX 2007 - Phuket’s 5th international boat show - with a heat of the Dragon Boat World Championships held during the event.

Phuket living
Thailand’s property market has boomed since 2004, with price increases of up to 20% annually on islands like Phuket.

Industry sources now report that uncertainty in the future of Thailand’s governance and confusion about proposed amendments of the Foreign Business Act shows a marked affect on investor confidence. As a result, investor focus leans toward freehold condominium resort projects with quotas of 49per cent for sales to foreign buyers.

According to Raimon Land’s March 2007 Condominium Report, Phuket accounted for 38% of condominiums sales in Thailand. Resort markets such as Phuket target mainly overseas investors, explains Asia Property Report publisher Duncan Worthington. “A large percentage of buyers are lifestyle investors [who] want some kind of return on their purchase but they are also looking to enjoy time in their unit and the Phuket lifestyle,” Worthington says.

Property industry executives expect a democratic government election will bring a return of foreign investor confidence to most market sectors by year end. “Buyers want to see something happen with a resolution of government, the constitution finalised and new elections,” confirmed director of Phuket One Real Estate Larry Cunningham, also CEO and developer of The Chava at Surin Beach on Phuket’s popular west coast - who reports strong interest at present for managed luxury apartments in prime locations.

“We launched The Chava in May last year and have achieved sales of over 65% in fifteen months,” says Mr Cunningham. “Even though the Phuket property market has experienced a recent slow down, we continue to receive interest and positive feedback from potential buyers”.

According to marketing expert Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks, Phuket’s property market is still growing and will become more sophisticated with a broader range of niche players.

International brand hotels are now competing in the property market with hotel-managed villa and condo estates attached to luxury hotel properties offering all services and amenities to residential buyers as well as annual rental returns of around seven per cent.

“There are great new property offerings in the lifestyle investment market with international brands such as Shangri La, Dusit, Jumeirah, Taj and Raffles to name a few,” says Phuket-based Barnett

Phuket property investors now have more choices and benefits than ever before. Boutique condominium resorts are one of the fastest growing sectors in Phuket’s property market. Now under construction overlooking magnificent Kamala Bay on the west coast, Kamala Falls is a residential resort of six leasehold villas and 102 freehold, sea view apartments. Due for completion at the end of 2008, the beachside estate will offer residents a clubhouse, restaurants and a host of nearby facilities.

A sophisticated boating crowd is shaping the new face of Phuket's property on the east coast of the island, leading to high-profile waterfront lifestyle developments like Royal Phuket Marina’s award-winning Aquaminiums.

Lauded as the ‘Best International Design’ at the 2007 International Property Awards in London, RPM was given the award for the lavishly designed Aquaminium Condos and Royal Villas, the Auqaminium property introduces on Phuket, the world's first condominium project to offer berth boats inside the residence.

Old town

Phuket is renowned for multi-ethnic influences with a long history of global trade and intercultural marriage.

Phuket Town is a perfect reflection of the island’s spicy history and, today, the fascinating Sino-European architecture and local cultural landscape is enjoying a revival as loving hands restore the area to its former glory and combine exciting new elements of modern style.

Phuket Town’s early shop houses and historic mansions are referred to as Sino-Portuguese and Sino-European design. Modernized with the rest of the island, a movement is underfoot to reclaim and restore the pre-second world war streets. Phuket City Municipality reportedly will renovate two Sino-Portuguese buildings with the aim of preserving the town’s cultural past.

A 100 year old bank building on the corner of Phang Nga and Phuket Roads will be converted to “Old Phuket” cultural museum while the Treasury building opposite, with its well-known historic clock tower, is to be restored and re-opened as a tourist information centre. Restoration plans are expected to be final by year’s end.

“The town’s architecture must be preserved for the next generation, “said Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana.

Ecstatic with the attention Old Phuket is now receiving, organisers of the Creative Island Art Fair are happy to see the historic streets come alive on the first Friday and Saturday evenings of each month, with a host of arts and culture displays.

The sunset festival attracts crowds from 6pm to exhibitions of art, photography, handicrafts, live music and stage performances at Queen Sirikit Park - beside Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office, Thalang Road.

Renaissance

A fusion of post-modern architecture and Thai tradition, world-renowned architect, interior and landscape designer Bill Bensley’s latest addition to Asia’s architectural landscape is a cracker box of sleekly polished cement floors, exposed wooden beams, swaying Punka Wolla fans, wire-framed mirrors and blackened stainless steel laden with brass rivets balanced with the softness of raw Thai silk and floral art.

Indigo Pearl Resort at Nai Yang Beach, in Phuket’s north, is a US$21 million beachside tribute of Asian design inspired by the historic 100-year-old Phuket tin mining industry

Meanwhile, a spiritual face of Phuket- already visible from all points south on the island, is well under construction. Follow the signs on Wat Chalong road to view the work in progress. Soon to be an internationally recognised icon for this island paradise, the 45metre Mingmongkol – a white marble-clad image of Lord Buddha – sits atop Nakherd Hill meditating Phuket’s horizons.