Colliers International Thailand, a leading property consultancy company, has released a report on Scandinavian investment in Thailand’s property sector. Mr. Patima Jeerapaet, Managing Director of Colliers International Thailand, reported that in recent years Scandinavians have been active investors in Thai property.
“Previously, people from these countries tended to buy resort properties in Spain and France,” reported Mr. Patima. “The increasing interest in Thai real estate from the Scandinavian market is directly connected to the upsurge in tourism to Thailand. The flow of Scandinavian interest in Thai property started from Sweden and later spread to Denmark and Norway.”
Miss Risinee Sarikaputra, Head of Colliers International Thailand, said that Scandinavia, especially Sweden, is a particularly interesting region when looking at the total number of visitors travelling to Thailand, since, according to the Gini Index that measures levels of income distribution, Sweden has an extremely high level of income equality, at 25%.
Also, the number of Scandinavians visiting Thailand represented 3.08% of the total Scandinavian population in 2007, higher than for practically any other country or region. “These factors point to the strong market penetration and growth potential of the Scandinavian market,” said Miss Risinee. Miss Risinee reported that the annual number of Scandinavian tourists has been on the increase between 2003 and 2007, growing 17.4% since 2006 to 757,734 visitors.
The majority of Scandinavian tourists travelling to Thailand are from Sweden, with over 374,000 people, followed by Finland, Denmark and Norway, with 138,000, 135,000 and 110,000 respectively. Visitors from Norway have the longest average length of stay in Thailand, at more than 16.42 days in 2007, followed by visitors from Sweden at 16.20 days, Denmark 14.81 days and Finland 14.11 days. Scandinavian tourists peak in December and start to decline in January and February. The high season recommences in October and November.
The popular Andaman Sea beach resorts of Phuket and Khao Lak remain prime destinations for Scandinavian visitors. Mr. Patima said that Scandinavian interest in Thai real estate has been growing since 2003 when the Scandinavian Village Project near Chonburi rolled out the carpet for Scandinavian investors and created an interest in living in Thailand. Miss Risinee explained that the number of residential units developed by Thai-Scandinavian joint ventures is highest in Rayong, with 809 units, followed by Hua Hin with 468 units and Pattaya with 259.
2 comments
It’s good news for Thailand, simply because, in europe there are still very quite in property sector, thats why a lot of european companies decided to move to Asia, China particularly.
I just thought I would mention that in December 2008 the Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce released a guidebook for Swedes thinking of investing in real estate in thailand – google for their contact details.
Those considering Thai investments might also like to obtain my book which is called “Your Investment Guide to Thailand” (Silkworm Books, 2011)