One of Asia’s leading sports training and coaching facilities, Thanyapura Phuket in Phuket, Thailand, is to invest an additional Baht 300 million (US$10 million) in an expansion plan that aims to significantly further strengthen its status as a leading ‘Sports Hub of Asia’.
The 115 room Thanyapura Sports Hotel is nestled in a peaceful and natural setting surrounded by the lush greenery of the Khao Phrao Taew National Park.
To be scaled over five years, the new investment will see the 23-hectare complex gaining a 100m training pool, four tennis courts, a multi-room Wellness Centre, an international school working towards becoming a UWC (United World College) with enhanced high-performance training programmes and another 115 accommodation units.
The expansion will allow Thanyapura to host a whole new range of sports events and attract more athletes seeking to ‘enhance their mental and physical readiness to compete in the growing number of national and regional sporting competitions across Asia and worldwide.’
Located on Southern Thai beach resort island of Phuket, now the country’s second largest aviation gateway after Bangkok, Thanyapura boasts ‘sports facilities, mindful services and expert coaching designed to boost athletic performance in a highly competitive environment.’
It aims to present a unique and inspiring destination for individuals and groups, from professionals to amateur sports enthusiasts or simply for those looking for a balanced approach to their lifestyle.
Thanyapura is an extensive 23-hectare state-of-the-art facility in the northern part of the tropical island of Phuket. The facility, which first opened in 2008 and has cost Baht 3.5 billion to date, comprises of four centres: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Thanyapura Health and Phuket International Academy School.
Other facilities include a 115-room sports hotel and DiVine Restaurant & Cellar and Booster Daily & Bar, where an extensive range of regionally grown organic food underpins the menu.
The facility delivers a range of academies with competitions, teams and training at all levels and ages, including Aquatics, Tennis, Cycling and Triathlon academies. Thanyapura Health combines a holistic range of treatments such as physiotherapy and traditional Asian medicine plus Aesthetics and Rejuvenation therapies.
Health-conscious individuals from China are a top source of business, generating 31% of the facility’s room-nights in 2014. Others in the top-ten list are athletes from Thailand (15%), Australia (8%), Great Britain (5%), Hong Kong, Hungary, USA, The Netherlands, Singapore and Malaysia.
In 2013, the resort notes that the Phuket average occupancy rate was 49% and Thanyapura was 52%. In 2014, Phuket average occupancy was 51% with Thanyapura at 59%. The goal for Thanyapura Phuket occupancy in 2015 will be 67%.
The new facilities to be covered by the Baht 300 million investment will include:
- A 100m training pool with 5 lanes, ‘the first in the world’, will add to the existing 50m Olympic size pool and 25m training pool. Thanyapura was recently chosen as the first official FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) training centre for Southeast Asia and has signed an agreement with FINA where 19 South East Asian countries were invited to send two swimmers each for preparation for the Kazan Championships and Rio Olympics.
- Four more tennis courts will increase the total number of courts to 10 enabling Thanyapura to hold bigger national and international tennis tournaments.
- A Wellness Center for the Body & Mind with 7 individual spa rooms and two 100sqm large halls for carrying out yoga and mind training programs.
- Phuket International Academy School working towards becoming a UWC (United World College) to be certified by mid-2016. The high performance training academies have hired three more coaches to build training programmes and thus build talent for national and international competitions.
- Fourteen two-bedroom Thai villas to begin construction this year, and another building with 100 deluxe rooms to start next year.
Phillipp Graf Von Hardenberg, President and CEO of Thanyapura said, “Phuket’s pristine environment and great all-year weather provide the perfect natural ‘infrastructure’ for sports training and education for athletes across all age groups.
“We are committed to improve performance and health, inspire the mind, instill well-being to optimize the potential of athletes. Thanyapura’s three-dimensional approach to coaching pays equal regard to the development of the body, mind and soul, benefiting from the complex’s world-class facilities, wide open spaces in a peaceful environment and pace-setting coaches of their respective disciplines.”
He added, “We are working closely with the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the Sports Authority of Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other authorities, associations and clubs to promote Phuket and Thanyapura as the Sports Hub of Asia. We are focusing not only on professionals but also aspiring talents from the young generation in our high performance program.
“From now until 2017, we have 25 International, 15 National, 10 local events already planned, which will attract thousands per event of international, national and local athletes and spectators.”
Amongst the international events planned for 2015-2016 includes the first ‘Swim Around the Island’ competition, national and international tennis tournaments, a youth triathlon race and a Color Run event.
In addition to the sports facilities, Thanyapura also offers unique venues for a variety of events such as meetings, team-building, product launches, weddings and receptions.
