Multi-million dollar upgrade at Thanyapura Phuket to keep pole position in sports tourism

THANYAPURA Phuket is investing US$10 million to build new sports facilities as part of its drive to become the sports hub of Asia.

A new five-lane, 100m swimming pool – double the length of an Olympic pool – is in the works. Other new facilities include four more tennis courts, a wellness centre and 114 accommodation units, doubling the current number of keys.

Philipp Graf von Hardenberg, president and CEO of Thanyapura, said the expansion will help the resort attract more professional athletes and active tourists.

According to him, the pool will be the first in the world of its size. He said: “We’re investing a lot more in sports science too, which plays an increasingly important role in training. In the new pool, there will be under- and above-water cameras every 5m to help (trainers analyse an athlete’s form and technique).”

Guests can rub shoulders with sports celebrities who train at the resort, ranging from Formula One champ Jenson Button to Olympic swimming teams from Australia, France, the Netherlands and Japan.

They can also join group classes or book private sessions with the complex’s 40-odd professional trainers, including the same professionals who train the international sport stars.

“We are also strengthening our sports medicine and wellness facilities to focus on the needs of sporting guests,” said von Hardenberg.

Thanyapura also recently teamed up with the Ministry of Sports and Tourism to strengthen the island’s position as the regional destination for athletic training and active holidays.

“We will also be organising 25 high-level sporting events in Phuket each year to attract athletes and tourists to the island and to Thanyapura,” he said.

The centre, which is already the official Asian training centre for FINA, the world governing body for swimming, trains a number of swimmers from the Thai national team.

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