So What's New?
A monthly round-up of the latest Samui information.
Lexoos Agents
Lexoos, the worlds only real-estate specific search engine and directory has improved its service with the introduction of the Lexoos Agents search engine. This new addition concentrates solely on property listings and, among the many available features, it allows customers to chat directly with agents on-line.
Being a user-friendly system, Lexoos Agents is easy to navigate and basic details of properties are provided to all visitors. For full information on the properties people can register for free and browse each property in more detail. The registration has been put in place for security and anti-spam reasons.
Each property listing can have as many as 15 separate photographs, two 15-second video clips and five floor plans attached to the written descriptions.
For an agent, the advantage of Lexoos Agents is that, after signing up to be a part of this search engine and paying the annual fee of Bt15,000, the agent can post unlimited listings throughout the year at no extra cost.
Searches can be directed to suit your personal circumstances. For example, you can search for a buyer, a seller, a property for rent or for sale and so on, and the system will soon be covering Thailand, France, Monaco, India and China. All information is available worldwide and the aim is to spread into other markets in the future, providing an international network of property listings.
Lexoos Agents is purely an internet marketing tool allowing agents to obtain customers who search the internet. The annual fee and unlimited listings make this a potentially attractive option for agents hoping to reach a worldwide market for their properties.
Samui in Top Ten
Liam Bailey is a Media Relations Executive for overseas property specialist David Stanley Redfern Ltd. who have just started a new overseas property rentals company. Despite many knowledgeable people forecasting that investors will stick to established markets this year, in his opinion, recent research suggest otherwise.
Statistics from the investment property portal, The Move Channel, reveals that the vast majority of visitors are actually buying in emerging markets. And Liam believes that the world’s top ten real-estate investment hot-spots for 2008 are Brazil, Cambodia, Philippines, Canada, Argentina, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Albania and the Thai islands – Samui and Koh Pha-Ngan,
As you can see, Thailand is the only country with two specifically highlighted areas, Samui and Koh Pha-Ngan. Not only is this an excellent sign for the Thai market in general but it’s an obvious boost for this area which is usually in competition with the market in Phuket.
Lynx on the move
Lynx Developments is moving to a more spacious locale to enable it to better meet increasing demands and to accommodate new staff that have joined the company.
Rod Howe, Joint Managing Director, stated, “With all the new projects that we are now either starting or planning, and the new staff that have joined Lynx to make it happen, we simply outgrew the previous office space. The new offices, which are double the size, will greatly enhance our capacity and allow all departments to work together under one roof.”
This expansion has come at a time when most developers on the island have been through a difficult period. Lynx, however, has experienced consistent sales, specifically on the Amara Gardens project where 28 houses out of the 29 houses available have been sold during the last year.
Having several other ongoing projects and more exciting announcements to come in 2008, the future is looking very positive for Lynx Developments. The brand new office provides over 300sq.m of space spread over three floors and allows room for all the staff, including the new in-house project management team. The new office is situated in Choeng Mon and can be found next to the entrance of SALA Samui Resort.
Samui’s international flight hub
Over the next one to two years Bangkok Airways plans to transform Samui Airport into the country’s second international air hub next to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
This will be achieved by launching more direct international flights on medium-haul routes through Samui as part of the growth plan and the mandate of the Samui Property Fund. Also proposed are plans to offer direct Bangkok Airways flights from Samui to Dubai, Shanghai, Bali, and Kuala Lumpur. The airline already has scheduled international flights to Hong Kong and Singapore.
The recent acquisition of six additional A319 aircraft will boost the capacity for such direct international flights. The exact dates for starting the new routes has yet to be decided, but are all part of the company’s four-year marketing plan. At present, despite some international flights, Samui Airport is classified as a domestic airport. But in the near future it’s hoped that will be changed to international status.
Bangkok Airways’ wish to make Samui Airport such a hub is very positive and important for the future of the island. The new terminal is four times larger than the old one and can now handle 16,000 passengers a day; it was specifically constructed to cope with surging numbers of foreign tourists over the next 10 years.
A direct flight from Samui to Dubai could have a major impact on the number of European visitors to the island, as a large number of tourists currently stop at Dubai en route to Bangkok before having to then take another flight if they wish to visit Samui. Being able to fly direct would open Samui up to a large number of tourists who will appreciate a less-complicated flight itinerary.
Thai presence vital for future
The Malaysian-based Sunway International Hotels & Resorts is expanding into the Thai hospitality business in an attempt to become the leading regional player in the industry, according to Chief Executive Officer Hanley Chew. The Sunway Group has two hotel brands, Sunway for premier properties and Allson for economy customers and already has 20 hotels in Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore. It’s targeting the 50-hotel mark in the Asia Pacific region in the next 5 years.
Mr Chew said the group wanted to be a strong regional player and it realised that Thailand was a must-have missing location from its portfolio. Thailand is now poised to become a strategic location linking customers with Sunway’s other hotels in the region. “We always recognise that, geographically, Malaysia is not a good gateway in Asia as we are sandwiched between Thailand and Singapore. Therefore, we believe that Bangkok is a very important gateway in order to grow in this region. Thailand is too important for us to ignore so we must have our presence here, too.”
Sunway is likely to start with a property in Bangkok but it wants to spread to other important resort areas in Thailand such as Samui in the future.
Thai Airways promotion
The arrival of Thai Airways flights at Samui Airport has finally begun. Starting on the 15th February, Thai began operating two flights a day on the Bangkok – Samui route.
Flight times from Bangkok to Samui are 07:45 and 16:00. With the return flights leaving Samui at 09:35 and 17:50. The journey time is 1 hour 10 minutes.
Each flight is capable of carrying 149 passengers, inclusive of 12 business class seats. And up until the end of March 2008 you can enjoy special promotional prices on this new route.
The special Economy Class fares start at Bt2,450 (one way, excluding taxes and surcharges) and promotional Business Class fares will start at Bt3,600 (one way, excluding taxes and surcharges).
To support the new route, Special Royal Orchid Holidays will be offering a range of special packages to travellers. Customers can choose from a selection of 20 hotels on Samui and 2 hotels on Koh Pha-Ngan as well as a number of optional tours.
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