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Thai Polo for charity

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:08:39 +0000

The Malaysia team won the coveted Princess Cup at this year’s prestigious Thai Polo Open in Pattaya. Competing in the charitable event at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club were nine teams from Malaysia, China, Singapore, Macau and Thailand.

La Sarita, from Malaysia, took the title of BMW-B Grimm Thai Polo Open 2012 in an exciting and close final match against defending champion Thai Polo team.
Proceeds from the tournament went to the H.R.H Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Chitralada Vocational School project. Spectators enjoyed shopping and games at sponsors’ tents. There was no entrance fee, but guests were asked to donate 500 baht for the charity. In return, guests enjoyed a buffet lunch and wine.

Pattaya today newspaper

Thai flood crisis – lasting implications for Pattaya

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:35:19 +0000

by Guy Van Harten

Welcome to 2012, the year the world ends (according to Hollywood). Joking aside, with ever-present concerns regarding global warming as well as a spate of lethal natural disasters throughout the world over the past decade, acts of force majeure are increasingly at the forefront of customer consciousness. More specifically, the recent flooding which left huge swathes of Thailand and its capital city Bangkok completely submerged under water has left an impact on the residential real estate market, with potential buyers avoiding flood-prone areas and low-rise residential housing.

Thailand is a country where flooding is a major issue, which influences the country with varying degrees of risk – with the Central, Eastern and Southern regions generally being affected the most. However, throughout the rainy season the weather in Pattaya is generally drier than most parts of Thailand, with the Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard area receiving the least average annual rainfall. This places Pattaya at a distinct advantage to other regions in Thailand, some of which receive double the amount of rainfall throughout a calendar year.

Certainly, during the height of the flooding, we all noticed the influx of Bangkok ‘refugees’ who brought with them not only terrible gridlock to our coastal city, but also a shortage of food, water and accommodation as well! Although all of these issues have seemingly subsided for now, what are the longer-term implications for the real estate market here in Pattaya?

I believe that the existing trend of Bangkokians relocating to Pattaya or buying second homes here will accelerate dramatically as 2012 begins to unfold. Although this is in part due to the recent flooding, we must also acknowledge existing factors which include:

• The concerted efforts of the Pattaya City municipality to continually draw tourists to Pattaya (both Thai and foreign) by hosting major events and staging large-scale festivals;

• The regular arrival of multinational brands to Pattaya and Thailand including Hilton, Movenpick, Ducati, etc.;

• The continuing strength of the Thai economy as the fastest growing in South East Asia wtih GDP growth of 7.8 percent in 2010 and unemployment of only 1.2 percent–one of the lowest in the world, and

• Continuous improvements to national and local infrastructure including the new Bangkok-Chonburi motorway, inter-city Pattaya monorail and high speed rail link between Bangkok and Rayong.

One of the main factors which will increase demand for residential real estate in Pattaya and other areas which are less flood-prone among Thai buyers will be derived from a significant change in banking policy. The mortgage sector will change significantly as banks readjust their debt approval criteria – with project location, appraisal prices and home insurance to be scrutinised more closely in the immediate future. A recent report by the Bangkok Post indicated that appraisal values in flooded areas will decline by 10-20 percent this year while credit-line approval in these areas will also decline from the current level of 80-90 percent of the home value.

Multinational corporations including well-known giants of the automobile industry such as Honda and Toyota were some of the worst affected by the flooding in Bangkok. Although many industrial estates in Northern and Eastern Bangkok which house manufacturing plants for multinationals have agreed to build floodwater reservoirs as a key defence against future flooding, it is inevitable that many will relocate or choose to build new facilities in less flood-prone areas such as Map Ta Phut industrial estate and Rayong. This will result in an increased number of industrial companies and professionals seeking to rent and ultimately buy property in Pattaya.

Although the flooding in Thailand will have positive implications for residential real estate demand in Pattaya as outlined above, we must temper this view with the macroeconomic ramifications for the country as a whole. Estimates in the reduction of GDP growth have been placed at 2-3 percent, while the total costs associated with residential and industrial sectors could take years to calculate; early indicators place the figure at anywhere between $ 20-30 billion US. A disaster on this scale will lead to the insurance industry reevaluating weather and other natural disaster risks to Asia’s rapidly expanding industrial zones.

Thailand’s worst natural calamity in terms of economic cost is unfortunately part of a global pattern in which weather-related catastrophes have more than tripled in the last 30 years – something even those of us in sunny Pattaya will ultimately have to come to terms with.

Pattaya today newspaper

China keen on investing in Thai high-speed train project

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:00:30 +0000

BANGKOK, 6 February 2012 – China has expressed interest in collaborating financially with Thailand on the construction of a high-speed train as well as the development of alternative energy.

Pattaya Daily News – Pattaya Newspaper, Powerful news at your fingertips

Popular Thai Pub raided by Pattaya Police

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:33:06 +0000

A popular Thai Pub was raided by Pattaya Police in the early hours of Saturday. Police Major General Jumnong, Commander of Chonburi Provincial Police led the raid on the Damnan Chon Pub at the…

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Thai tourism surges in January

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:37:21 +0000

After an 18 percent tourist drop in November owing to the national floods emergency, passenger traffic through Suvarnabhumi airport boomed in the recent holiday period. Anirut Thanomkulbutra, president of the Airports Authority of Thailand, said that January 2 2012 was the busiest day on record with a 24.2 percent increase on last year.
“The extra traffic during the holiday season pushed Suvarnabhumi beyond its 45 million passenger capacity. Some provisional figures suggest that the country might have achieved its tourist arrival target of 19.5 million for the whole year 2011,” Anirut added. He agreed that the closing of Don Muang airport had caused additional pressure at Suvarnabhumi as regards domestic and charter flights.
Meanwhile, marketing experts are urging the government to focus on big extravaganzas this year to maintain tourist confidence whilst avoiding new political conflict which could lead to a return of mass demonstrations. It is being noted that China built up its brand image by sponsoring events at the international level, such as World Expo in Shanghai 2010, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou.
A survey of Pattaya Today readers suggests a number of common-sense approaches to boosting tourism in 2012. The research was conducted on a random sample basis of readers during the period December 24 to January 3. The majority of respondents were British, American and Russian and staying in the Pattaya area.
Surprisingly perhaps, the biggest recommendation – supported by 82 percent of the respondents – was to reform immigration regulations so that those arriving with a 30-day stamp at the airport could simply extend their stay for a further month on payment of a fee rather than having to face a visa run to the Cambodian border. “Many people decide not to extend their stay once they realize the complications,” said 40-year old London-born Anne Walker. “It’s usually said that people should obtain a longer visa at a Thai embassy before they get here, but not everybody is aware of the ins and outs. Make it easy is my recommendation!”
Other suggestions for attracting a greater number of international visitors for a longer time included more sports and music festivals, an end to tourist scams such as the jet ski menace, a police complaints procedure which led to results and an urgent addressing of the problems of grid-locked traffic. Russian tourist Andrei Andropov, 23, said “I have been coming to Thailand for three years but the traffic is definitely getting worse.”
City Hall commented that many facilities for family tourists had been improved in recent years, particularly the opening of first-class malls and premier hotels, and a complaints procedure was in place by phoning 1337 day or night. Massive improvements in infrastructure, including roads, were in the pipeline with the aim of doubling tourist numbers and revenue in Pattaya by 2017.

Pattaya today newspaper