Thai resorts still attracting investors

The resort investment market remains strong in Thailand despite political unrest and the global downturn.

There were two resort transactions in the first half of 2010 in Thailand. Novotel Beach Resort Panwa Phuket was sold by Natural Hotel Panwa Co Ltd and Koh Samui’s Baan Taling Ngam Resort, which was marketed by Jones Lang Lasalle, was sold in May.

According to Jones Lang Lasalle, US$1.3 billion was invested in hotels in Asia Pacific in the first six months of 2010 – US$748 million or 58 per cent of which was generated in Asia. Japan and China were the main sources of transactions in Asia Pacific.

“Well located resorts in Thailand continue to receive serious interest from both domestic and international investors. This reflects the positive investor’s confidence in the long term prospects for Thailand’s tourism market despite the present challenges facing the industry,” said Tom Oakden, Senior Vice President Investment Sales of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Phuket, for example, experienced a 25 per cent occupancy growth for the first six months of 2010 with a corresponding 2.5 per cent increase in average room rate according to figures from STR Global.

“Resort destinations like Phuket, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Hua Hin continue to attract interest. Investors looking to acquire assets or development land in these markets include Thai and Asian based hotel companies, high net worth individuals or family companies.” Mr. Oakden added that “With the successful sale of the resort in Koh Samui and the sale of other resort properties in Asia over the last six months, this represents a marked difference compared to 12 months ago when sentiments were extremely cautious and investors were adopting a ‘wait see’ attitude. With growing investor confidence and rising demand for resort assets throughout the region, this bodes well for owners who offer properties for sale in the second half of 2010,” said Andrew Langdon, Senior Vice President Thailand of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

By bperry
From : Property Report : August 4, 2010