- Tourism News
Koh Samui is looking to the skies, an island tethered to an airline
by Bill Barnett “I’m looking to the sky to save me. Looking for a sign of life” There is much to be said about the Thailand’s phenomenal rise in tourism over the past decade and that trend has eclipsed the borders of the Kingdom into other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Fueled by a rising Asian consumer…
- Property
New hotel and condo developments flood Phuket’s property market
by Bill Barnett The continuing wave of developers bringing hotel investment grade real estate to the Phuket real estate market is escalating. Notable new entries include 74 units at the Melia Phuket Karon Residences that are now for sale. Pricing for one and two bedroom units starts at 8.4 million baht. A 7% three-year guarantee is offered with 30 days owner usage. Meanwhile,…
- Tourism News
Japan’s Okinawa takes on Bali and Phuket
by Bill Barnett While Okinawa is often called the Hawaii of Japan, a changing Asian travelscape driven by low-cost airline carriers is seeing the resort destination attract a rising number of regional tourists. Last year, arrivals hit 9.84 million which is now elevating the market to the likes Asia’s twin resort icons, Bali and Phuket. Summing up the current shift…
- Tourism News
Thailand’s Koh Chang by numbers, another island on the rise
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Despite being one of the country’s biggest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Chang has remained somewhat off the mass tourism development footprint. C9 Hotelworks has taken a look into what makes the island tick in their newly released Koh Chang Tourism Market Review. Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat in far…
- Property
Amnesty program for unlicensed Thai hotels finishes September 9
PHOTO: We needed a photo of a small hotel. So this is The Small Hotel in Krabi (already licensed!!) The Thai government has issued guidelines for unlicensed hotels under their amnesty program. Hotels must submit applications and complete improvements before September 9, so time is of the essence. Baker McKenzie Thailand has outlined the process and guidelines which we are republishing…
- Expats
Potential for retirement properties in Thailand
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com While a number of property offerings in Phuket, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and more recently in Bangkok have promoted themselves as retirement-centric offerings, the jury is still out on the broad success of the sector. Despite retirement communities and assisted living being mainstays in Western countries like the US, UK and Australia, these are…
