Hua Hin's quiet rise to fame in Thailand

Hua Hin

Bangkok

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Located on the Gulf of Thailand, 230 kilometers south of Bangkok, Hua Hin is Thailand's oldest beach resort, yet it has kept a relatively low profile on the world stage, instead slowly carving a niche for itself as a preferred destination for laid-back holidaymakers. It is this niche the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is trying to build on, said Silachai Surai, TAT director for the Hua Hin region.

With its temperate climate and expansive beaches, Hua Hin was an obvious choice to promote as an alternative to the Andaman resort areas hit by the tsunami, said Surai. But while the disaster did indeed trigger an influx of tourists, he says much of this increase can be attributed to "a lot of marketing". "Right now, we are seeing success," he said.

No statistics have been released yet, but preliminary figures signal occupancy levels over the January/February period in 2005 are up 30% from last year, said Surai.

Today, as the tsunami hit zones begin welcoming back tourists, Hua Hin's streets remain packed with foreigners, and the beaches are full of scantily clad tourists. Staff at the recently opened Starbucks - an international stamp of approval for a town's tourism potential - are still busy serving the heavily tanned farangs (foreigners) that stream through the doors.

For years this sleepy town has enjoyed great prestige among Thais. Hua Hin was the original holiday destination for royalty and jet-setters, who would escape from Bangkok's unbearable heat every summer on a procession of elephants. And with the arrival of the railway in the early 1920s, and Thailand's first hotel - the historic Railway Hotel, now under the Sofitel Central banner - the tourists kept coming. Close to the quaint railway station, which welcomes the Orient Express every week, is the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course, Thailand's oldest course, where guests first teed off in 1926.

Today, the TAT puts a lot of effort into marketing Hua Hin's rise as a major golf destination, said Surai. The town features several international standard 18-hole courses, including the Jack Nicklaus-designed Springfield Village.

In recent years, the global resort heavyweights have begun arriving on the scene like clockwork, and Hua Hin now features all the usual suspects, including Hilton, Hyatt, and Mariott, as well as several major Thai chains, including Dusit and Anantara. Major spas include the pricey Chiva-Som Luxury Health Resort, recognized as the best overseas destination spa retreat by Conde Nast Traveller's UK Reader's Spa Awards in 2004. In the past 6 years, Chiva-Som is the only destination spa to have consistently appeared in the top three of Conde Nast Traveller Reader's travel awards. Not surprisingly, the spa has attracted globally recognized names like Elizabeth Hurley, David Beckham and last month welcomed tennis superstar Serena Williams.

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In step with the arrival of these luxury hot spots, the Hua Hin Hotelier Club was formed four years ago to help put Hua Hin on the global travel map. Working in conjunction with the TAT, the club is an unofficial grouping comprising the town's five-star resorts, and its members sponsor various events to draw high-profile guests and raise the town's image. The Anantara-supported King's Cup Elephant Polo tournament, Hilton's Jazz Festival, the Sofitel Vintage Car Show, and Chiva-Som's Save Hua Hin charity run are now annual events that draw huge crowds and publicity every year.

It is this reputation for luxury that the town needs to build on, said Nick Heath, general manager of Hyatt Regency Hua Hin, and he stressed the town should be marketed as a world-class resort, spa and golfing enclave, if it wants to attract more international visitors.

Heath might be on to something. Keeping in harmony with the town's historic royal reputation, SpaAsia's Wellness Summit 2005 will descend on Hua Hin in September. According to the spa publication's website, the summit will "address the wellness community from Asia and beyond" and aims to "provide solutions and a platform for practitioners, professionals, manufacturers, venture capitalists, resort owners, small to medium-sized operators and the general public an opportunity to gain knowledge, spirit and technique from renowned masters of wellness." Delegates will be "fettered by the luxury and proximity of the place to some of the world's best wellness destinations".

As for the December tsunami, Heath says the five-star resorts were impacted little, as the tragedy took place during the high-season, when occupancy levels are already at their highest. For instance, the Hyatt has been experiencing a yearly growth rate of 5-10% on average since the resort opened three years ago, he said, and this year, occupancy rates rose 12-13% over last year. While some of this growth is obviously attributed to the tsunami, Heath says the smaller, lesser-known hotels are more likely to have benefited significantly from the influx of tourists.

And more players are arriving on the scene. Of the more notable, Starwood has announced its Sheraton Hua Hin Resort will be opening in the first quarter of 2006, and will offer 250 rooms.

Too much of a good thing?

Surai stresses the TAT is indeed aware of the pitfalls of over-development, and he said steps are being taken to prevent this seaside town from going the way of Pattaya, overtaken by beer bars and high rises and notorious for its in-your-face prostitution.

Surai said there are already rules in place restricting the height of buildings, and because the king and queen receive many international visitors at the palace, this will ensure the town is kept under control, given the security implications and the Thais' love for the monarchy. (In 1928, King Rama VII built his Klai Kangwon, which means Far From Worries, Palace which today remains an official royal residence. It is still frequently used by members of the royal family.)

"We position the area to be a family destination, we want this area to be different," said Surai.

Heath agrees, and says the secret to retaining Hua Hin's charms is through prevention. "Stop the erosion, learn from some of the other resorts that developed too fast too early," he said. "The TAT's efforts to increase Hua Hin's international profile have all worked very well, but the quality of the town must be controlled, and that includes the civic environment."

Despite boasting of world-class spas, golf courses and resorts, there are a number of obvious reasons why this town hasn't gained the worldwide notoriety its southern counterparts like Koh Samui or Phuket enjoy. The beaches are significantly less stunning, and lack the wide expanses of white sand, turquoise water and easily accessible islands.

And a number of issues still have to be dealt with.

Dusit Resort Hua Hin (formerly Dusit Resort and Polo Club) is scheduled to open in mid-2005 the biggest convention hall - the only one with a panoramic view of the Gulf of Siam - in Hua Hin/Cha-am. Named the Praram 6 Convention Hall, it will cover an area of over 3000 sq.m on 11.86 acres of the hotel's garden area.

"The biggest problem is keeping up with growth," said Surai. On the weekends, a large influx of Bangkok residents causes major traffic snares in the area, however they are working at solving this problem hand in hand with the ongoing developments, he said.

Hua Hin mayor Siraphan Kamonpramot was quoted in the local media recently as saying the town had a long way to go in the way of improvements, noting that Hua Hin faced problems of land encroachment, a lack of public parks and open spaces, traffic congestion, litter and poor wastewater treatment.

Another drawback to Hua Hin is that air traffic is limited to a four-time daily air shuttle service to Bangkok operated by Siam GA, given it only takes between two and three hours by vehicle to get here. A round-trip ticket costs US$135 per person for the 40 minute flight, about the same price – if not more – than a return ticket between Bangkok and Koh Samui through a low-cost carrier. "One thing problematic is the Airport link because the distance from Bangkok is too short," said Surai, but he added this is something they are trying to remedy by attracting low-cost airlines to service locations like Singapore and Malaysia.

Bangkok Airways previously offered flights out of Hua Hin to Koh Samui and Bangkok, however with SARS and bird flu weakening the country's tourism industry, it just wasn't an economically viable route for them so they pulled out in 2003, Surai said, but he is optimistic. "We hope they will come back."

Regardless of the lack in air options, investors think Hua Hin just might have something special. A quick drive through the town and one is greeted with endless construction sites and signs of development, from boutique hotels, guest houses and pricey condos to restaurants, bars, a bowling alley, movie theatre and supermarkets. Provided there are no major upsets – of which one can never be too sure in the travel industry - this town's stock is likely going to keep moving up.