Pattaya again debates bonking budgets and luxurious alternatives

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Relaxing in luxury is now actively marketed in Pattaya’s top quality venues.

The Tourist Authority of Thailand is again crystal-balling Pattaya to be the highest-end resort for the seriously wealthy. According to TAT, there are four niche markets to exploit for billions and billions more revenue: luxury, wellness, sport and romance attractions. The first three are traditional trumpet calls for marketeers, although the fourth is unfortunately named and has been mischievously dubbed “more bonks for your budget”. However, it seems unlikely that TAT meant to promote promiscuity amongst the citizenry.



Luxury certainly abounds in parts of Pattaya these days. Jomtien in particular sees the annual launching of more five (or six) star condominium projects, mostly developed by Bangkok-based property developers such as Origin Property, Riviera Group, Sansiri and AssetWise. Honour Group has recently launched Once Wongamat, a landmark luxury condominium in north Pattaya with the title “Reserve the Rarest, Deserve the Finest” with the pre-construction smallest units starting at around 6 million baht.

Ladies of the night made Pattaya famous, but what of the future?

New buyer markets are on the rise. The Eastern Economic Corridor has already had an enormous, if largely unnoticed, effect on local property sales. For example, positive sentiment from Chinese entrepreneurs relocating their production base from China to Amata City Industrial Estate, near Pattaya, has resulted in a surge in quality apartment rental rates. Over half the tens-of-thousands of apartments in the Pattaya region are now being sold to foreign buyers who include investors from the Middle East and the United States as well as from Russia and (finally) Europe.


Pattaya now hosts world-class sporting events such as the Top of the Gulf Regatta: the Ocean Marina Yacht Club is the largest marina in south east Asia. Luxury living for the rich in Pattaya means high-end dining, international shopping, pampering spas and rooftop bars in new posh locations as well as traditional ones such as the Royal Cliff or the Hilton Pattaya. Iconic brands such as Louis Vuitton and Carter are encouraged to promote Thailand as the destination of choice offering hospitable luxury and timeless heritage to those who can afford them.

Critics in social media, of course, maintain that new luxury markets are much exaggerated. The heart of Pattaya still lies in budget travel and nightery entertainment even though the overall size may be diminishing. The doubters continue that luxury travellers won’t linger in a resort so famous for scams, pollution, traffic jams and prostitution. The reality is that both TAT and its Facebook critics are right. It is up to you and your wallet whether you pay 50 baht or five times that for the same bottle of beer. Your round I believe.