Banyan Founder: Thailand's Soft Power Is Its Hospitality Edge

 

Banyan Group founder Ho Kwon Ping urges Thailand to combine wellness, medical tourism and its unique cultural identity to strengthen its global standing.

 

Thailand should lean into its unique cultural identity and pair its long tradition of wellness with its strong medical sector to secure a distinctive place on the world stage, according to Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of Banyan Group.

 

Speaking to The Nation in a side interview during the second day of the 17th FutureChina Global Forum at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Friday (September 25), Ho — whose Banyan Tree brand pioneered the tropical spa concept more than three decades ago — said Thailand's private hospitals, doctors and traditional medicine practices give it a natural advantage in medical and wellness tourism.

 

 

"Banyan Tree has been emphasising non-medical wellness for a long time... but we are now cooperating with companies like BDMS on doing more medically orientated services," he said, referring to Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, one of Thailand's largest private hospital groups.

 

"You'll find that Thailand's medical capabilities are actually very strong in the region... marrying those two together, which the government is promoting, and in Phuket, where we have a lot of our businesses, we're promoting too. I think Thailand has a good future in doing medically orientated wellness."

 

 

 

A civilisational confluence

Ho, whose father served as Singapore's ambassador to Thailand and who grew up in Bangkok, argued that Thailand's greatest asset may not be economic at all but cultural.

 

Unlike several of its neighbours, he noted, Thailand was never colonised — a distinction he believes has allowed it to develop a confidence in its own identity that others in the region are still building.

 

"Thailand should double down on the fact that it has truly unique civilisational values, and that you can build upon these more," he said.

 

 

He pointed to Thai cuisine as a living example of the country's position as a meeting point of cultures.

 

"Thai cuisine is the mix of [Chinese and Indian influences]. So Thailand is the confluence of a lot of civilisations in every way, from culture to the people."

 

He also highlighted how Thailand has absorbed its overseas Chinese community more fully than some neighbouring countries.

 

"In Thailand, the Sino ties are already part of Thai [identity]. People don't talk about 'are you Chinese, Thai'... it's all mixed already," he said, adding that Thailand's global cultural exports—from performers who have found international fame to its embrace of LGBTIQ+ visibility—reflect a soft power that punches above the country's economic weight.

 

"I think in terms of cultural and civilisational values, Thailand does set an example to the rest of ASEAN, into the world."

 

 

 

Building brands, not just hotels

Ho's remarks on Thailand's cultural confidence tied into a broader theme he returned to throughout the interview: the importance of Asian companies building their own brands rather than remaining subcontractors to others.

 

Drawing on his own business history across Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, he recalled how many regional firms historically operated as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) — producing goods for foreign brands without ever owning the customer relationship.

 

"When you do an OEM company, you do not control your own fate; you don't own your customer. You're only cheaper than somebody else," he said.

 

He believes that dynamic is changing.

 

"Now you're finding a lot more Asian consumers, including in Thailand, are beginning to respect their own home brands... the rise of Asian consumer brands is a symbol of the confidence that Asia has now in itself."

 

 

For Banyan Group, which now operates in roughly 30 countries, that philosophy translates into what Ho calls a "sense of place" — a deliberate contrast to global chains built on uniformity.

 

"Our source of pride is that when you come to our hotels in India, in Latin America, and in Thailand, you have a sense of that country," he said. "It's completely the opposite of McDonald's in terms of consumption. It's the same as McDonald's in terms of efficiency of operation, but the product must be seen to be very Thai, or very Chinese, or very Mexican."

 

 

 

Resilience born of experience

Asked how Banyan Group maintains operational agility under the forum's theme of "Strengthening Resilience, Rebuilding Trust", Ho said hospitality is uniquely exposed to disruption compared with other industries.

 

"Hospitality, in my view, is one industry which suffers from the greatest event risk," he said, citing the group's own experience with hotels affected by political unrest in Thailand, the 2004 tsunami, and health crises including SARS and Covid-19.

 

"Unlike if you have a steel company, or you are producing noodles, you are much less susceptible to event risk. But with any kind of event risk, people stop travelling."

 

His response has been to build financial resilience and diversify geographically, including the group's recent acquisition of 26 hotels in Africa.

 

"So diversification is important, and financial resilience is very important," he said.

 

 

 

A shifting global backdrop

Ho situated these business strategies within what he described as a broader "civilisational reset" — a period in which long-standing global norms are being reconsidered by a wider range of countries, not only Western powers.

 

He suggested that traditional yardsticks for judging good governance and long-established conventions such as free navigation through international straits are increasingly being debated by countries including Indonesia and Iran.

 

He was careful to frame this as an observation about a changing global conversation rather than an endorsement of any particular system.

 

"I'm not advocating [any specific model]; I'm just saying we all have to start redefining the rules of the game," he said, adding that smaller economies such as Thailand and Singapore should engage actively in shaping emerging norms rather than simply adopting existing ones.

 

"We need to start thinking about what the new rules are we want to have an influence over."

 

 

Looking ahead

Ho's closing message to Thai business leaders was one of self-belief grounded in the same resilience principles that guide his own company: financial strength, organisational flexibility, and — above all — an honest reckoning with what makes Thailand distinctive.

 

While he acknowledged that Thailand's broader economy faces real challenges, he argued that its cultural and civilisational assets remain underutilised on the global stage.

 

"You are creating your own future, and that's something you should continue to do," he said.

 

Photo credit: Banyan Group, FutureChina Global Forum 2026