Changing strategies from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3

Being a Sales and Marketing manager of a resort in Thailand has been a very interesting experience for the past three and a bit years, and the past year has possibly been the most extreme.  From captain credit crunches to red and yellow shirts, Thailand is a roller coaster ride that always seems to delight and frustrate at the same time.

Although personally I hate roller coaster rides, which stems from a scout trip to Holland when I was a kid where I was forced on a pirate ship, and not a cool one like in pirates of the Caribbean. Anyway, enough of my issues, let’s think about the current issues within the resort markets in Phuket.

We here at the Village Coconut Island Resort  have taken the key decision to change our strategy for where we are marketing. In the past, the European markets have been near the top of the list but now things are changing (like the England World Cup squad should). We are taking the approach to look closer to home and bring in more business from the countries around Thailand, and targeting those with direct flights to Phuket.

It’s hard for Phuket at the moment with the exchange rate being so bad and the cost of living here not as attractive as it was three years ago. OK, yes the tourists are still coming to Phuket – and if you look at the stats this is proven year-on-year – but the amount they spend here is the interesting statistic. Holiday makers are paying less to come here and spending less when they do come. Is this good sign?

You can look at it in two ways. Firstly it’s good that people still have confidence in coming to Phuket for their holidays – but the second way to look at it is to question whether these are the right type of customers for the luxury resort markets. It can be positive for the more bucket and spade resorts but not so good for the middle to top end markets.

We here feel it’s time to look at new markets and there’s a buzz around many resorts that this could be the way to go. We all are aware that the Korean honeymoon market is always going to be strong so perhaps you can sell his and her clothes in your resort shops. But there is also the new emerging markets within South East Asia that will assure the continued growth of the Phuket tourism market.

Also look for India, China, and possibly Japan all to have a huge impact on the future of Phuket. The world is changing and Phuket has to change with the world, the Western tourism markets are now like its football teams – not doing the best – and new teams are emerging and getting better, quicker, and faster and leaving the old teams behind in their wake.

---

About the Author: Jay Walker is marketing manager at The Village Coconut Island Resort. Located on a small island five minutes off the east coast of Phuket, the resort offers holiday villas for sale and rental.