Central in Phuket eyes ‘quality tourists’

It would boost growth in tourism in Phuket by over Bt30 billion. It is targeting “rich Asian millennials”, “European high spenders” and “bluxury” with “super magnets”. It also wants to create a conference hub. 
Wallaya Chirathivat, a deputy CEO of CPN, said: “CPN sees the strength of Phuket as a city that represents Thailand in welcoming tourists from all over the world and it is expected that in the next few years, the number of tourists will reach 20 million. Therefore, we have created our new luxury flagship brand, Central Phuket, with project investment worth Bt20 billion, applying the strategy of world elite tourism with Bt3 billion to meet the needs of tourists who are currently influencing global trends and are considered ‘quality tourists’. 
“We believe that Central Phuket will become a world-class destination and help to boost the number of quality tourists and their spending in Thailand’s tourism industry, pushing growth in both the economy and tourism of Phuket, creating a circular economy throughout the province with over Bt30 billion in cash flow per year through the shopping centre, convention hall, hotel, attractions and logistics system, providing a stable and sustainable income for the country,” Wallaya added.
“The target groups for the shopping centre are rich East Asian millennials such as from China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. They are of working age and are likely to have rapid growth in income and become successful at a young age. 
“Asian millennials account for 60 per cent of millennials in the world. Currently, there is a population of 70 million millennials in the world aged 20-35 years old who are willing to spend money on travel, purchase a different lifestyle experience, prefer to be noticeable and love to shop for well-known brands. 
“European high spenders from Russia, Germany and the UK focus on long stays and are fond of Thai products and souvenirs as well as Thai culture and “Bluxury [business luxury] are people who travel for meetings, seminars or incentive trips. They generate a high income, enjoy a premium stay and may travel on their own or with their family. 
“They tend to extend their stays for leisure in addition to business purposes. These three groups are considered trend leaders for world tourism for the next few years and they will help to push the global tourism industry towards major growth, ” Wallaya said.