“ RAMAYANA’S RESEARCH REVEALED NINE OUT OF 10 THAIS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY ASPECTS OF BOTH SLIDES AND OF THE WATER, WHILE FOREIGNERS ARE LESS CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY THAN THEY ARE WITH THE TYPES OF RIDES ”
1 million visitors in its first year, and 2 million per year by 2020. The 16-hectare (40-acre) property – which will host events and functions for up to 3,000 people – predicts a visitor split of 60 per cent foreign to 40 per cent domestic. “One-quarter of Pattaya’s overnight visitors are Thai. Ramayana is within the two-hour drive limitation that waterparks normally experience so it’s able to attract the huge Bangkok market,” Pattermann says. Jungle-themed eco-waterpark Vana
Nava Hua Hin, which opened in December 2014, is also targeting the capital’s market. Proudputh Liptapanlop, managing director at developer Proud Real Estate, forecasts about 70 per cent of customers will be Thai, with most travelling from Bangkok. “Hua Hin is a high-end beach town just one hour from Bangkok,” Liptapanlop says. “In recent years, Hua Hin has changed dramatically, with new leisure projects,
AM 1 2015 ©Cybertrek 2015
hotels and residences,” she says. “We’re confident it’ll be the next international tourist destination. It’s a beloved beach town with a strong identity and heritage.” Vana Nava will be a family destination
complex, with a hotel, residences and retail, in addition to the waterpark. “Thailand needs more international-
standard leisure projects to lift our image as a destination,” she says. “Projects like this waterpark increase our ability to attract tourists from around the world.” With inbound tourism numbers to
Thailand more than doubling in the last decade to almost 25 million in 2014, tourism is today worth an estimated $35bn (£23bn, €31bn) annually. Taking this increase and the warm
climate into account, it’s surprising the industry hasn’t established itself more rapidly. This slow start seems to be related to concerns about three
important factors: safety, water quality and international standards.
DEMAND FOR QUALITY Those concerns make safety something to highlight to customers who want to know they’re in good hands, but also to operators and developers coming into the market. As investment is ushered towards manmade attractions, the best quality becomes affordable, which is why reputable partners like WhiteWater West and Polin are finding they’re in demand. As well as reaching international safety levels, areas of operation such as security, ticketing and F&B are being undertaken with more professionalism. As that happens, waterparks are
becoming “something the Thai middle class sees as a form of regular entertainment,” Dhanji says. “Waterparks are a safe activity for Asians,
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