PHUKET — Blue Tree Phuket announced over the weekend that it will cease operations of Blue Tree Lagoon, its water park, and lay off more than 70 percent of its current staff. This comes after about five years of operation and raises questions among those unfamiliar with the Phuket business landscape, especially considering that Phuket’s tourism industry is thriving.
The Phuket Tourism Business Association reports that the province’s tourism business is booming, with revenue expected to exceed 400 billion baht (10.9 billion USD) by the end of 2024, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels.
Prachachat Business delved deeper into the situation and discovered even more intriguing information. Blue Tree Phuket announced on June 22, 2024 that the decision to cease operations of Blue Tree Lagoon, the company’s main business segment, on 1 August 2024, was made to meet changing customer demands.
The company emphasized that other areas within Blue Tree Phuket will continue to operate as usual and announced plans to open newly designed facilities in the Lifestyle Village Zone as part of a strategic business shift.
The company will introduce a range of family-friendly activities, including shopping, dining and other recreational areas. These include clothing stores, fitness activities such as judo and Muay Thai, and outdoor concert events that will make Lifestyle Village a new destination for everyone.
“The company is preparing to transition its business model to a new concept that focuses on healthcare services and includes the promotion of physical and mental health as well as social connections to improve the quality of life for both locals and tourists,” the statement reads.
Even if outsiders might assume that the company is in financial difficulties, this might not be the case.
Several sources in Phuket told “Prachachat” that the group behind the project is “Pirate Girl”, the daughter of the owner of the world’s most expensive watch brand, Patek Philippe. Liquidity problems can therefore be ruled out.
“As far as I know, the project started because the daughter of the famous watch brand owner visited Phuket, liked it and told the driver that she wanted to buy land for investment. The investment of 1.2 billion baht is not worth mentioning because the sale of a few watches would cover the cost. But the ultra-rich are not stupid. When they calculate investments, they must be worth every penny,” said a source.
The exact reasons for the closure are still unclear, but it is known that Blue Tree has been struggling with “internal management problems” for some time, with the management team having changed several times.
There is also an attractive factor: selling the business now would bring significant profits as the value of the land has increased many times over. The 140 rai plot alone could be sold for billions, as land prices in the area currently stand at 30-40 million baht per rai.
Another source suggested that there may be plans to shift investment to the hotel business or other ventures. As for the 300 employees, don’t worry because Blue Tree has made arrangements and many hotels and tourism businesses in Phuket are still short staffed and ready to hire.
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