Indigo Pearl Phuket cashing in on big-spending tourist market
INDIGO PEARL Phuket has added unique products, developed sales channels and worked with quality agents as part of its strategies to capture the high-spending market. The hotel is the flagship property of a long-established hospitality firm, Pearl Group,
Wichit Na-Ranong, owner of the hotel, said that since the group rebranded from Pearl Hotel at Nai Yang Beach to Indigo Pearl seven years ago when it marked its 20th anniversary, the hotel has been able to reach out to high-end markets all over the world.
The 27-year-old hotel had an average room rate of just Bt2,000 in 2004, but now charges up to Bt5,000 during low season and as much as Bt20,000 during peak season.
The hotel took several years to shift from a medium-price-range property to an exclusive resort as it saw rising demand from the international market.
“We have invested a lot to upgrade this hotel to serve the high-end market. We also repositioned as a unique resort under the ‘tin mining’ theme and strengthened our marketing strategies,” Wichit said.
It began with reducing its hundreds of rooms to just 170 suites with better facilities and amenities. Moreover, it began to work with only quality travel agents in order to attract big-spending guests.
Pearl Group has joined various overseas luxury and niche-tourism trade shows as well as global events like the International Tourism Bourse in Germany and the World Travel Mart in Britain.
Wichit said key markets for Indigo Pearl were Scandinavia, Britain, Germany, Australia and France.
The group’s first hotel in Phuket Town, the Pearl Hotel, is undergoing major renovation set to be complete soon. However, key markets for that hotel remain regular locals and groups travelling from China and Asean nations.
Phuket has been developed for tourism for several decades and is slowly becoming one of the most popular destinations on the global map. In 2004, 5 million foreign tourists visited the island. The number jumped to 12 million last year.
Businesses on the island have faced many crises, including political problems and the current tough competition, but many operators believe Phuket could become even more popular with tourists in the long term.
Also seeing such a bright future, many airlines are operating direct flights to Phuket, mostly from the Middle East, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, mainland China and Singapore, and Phuket International Airport is being expanded.
