Banyan Group Announces Visionary New USD 2 Billion International Lifestyle Community in Phuket as Demand for Real Estate Soars to New Heights

Tourism Pioneer K P Ho Moves From Creating Asia’s Largest and Most Iconic Integrated Resort to Developing Phuket’s Largest International Residential Community 

Laguna Lakelands

Tourism Pioneer Ho Kwon Ping (KP Ho), the creator of Asia’s biggest and most iconic resort destination Laguna Phuket, has unveiled visionary plans for an ambitious and expansive new eco-friendly international lifestyle community, Laguna Lakelands, which will be located adjacent to the iconic resort.

The development comes as the Phuket real estate market is booming, fuelled by an increasing desire for families from all over the world to not just enjoy a second home in Phuket, but relocate there.

Spanning no less than one million square metres (700 rai or 276 acres) of botanical gardens, parks, rainforest, tranquil lagoons and rolling hills, Laguna Lakelands will be Phuket’s largest private residential community, and a self-contained green sanctuary designed for a new community of global citizens seeking high quality lifestyle balanced by nature.

Interconnected by 15km of walkways, foot bridges and cycling trails, and with its own dedicated residents’ Beach Club and Country Club, it is an enchanting natural retreat of respite and relaxation where nature is the star, in Phuket's prestigious Bang Tao district on the Central West coast of the island. The nature trails and botanical gardens at Laguna Lakelands will also be open to the wider community of Phuket.

KP Ho’s flagship Banyan Group, now in its 30th year, started in Phuket in the 1990s as a tourism-focused endeavour and has been a significant part of the development of tourism in Phuket. Its flagship integrated resort, Laguna Phuket, draws about one million visitors a year or around 10% of all visitors to Phuket. But due to the shift in demand from visiting to living in Phuket, the company has now evolved into a hospitality-led real estate entity.

The reason behind the shift is that worldwide migration is at a record high, driven partly by recent geo-political events but also propelled by global post-Covid lifestyle trends such as urban flight, remote working and a return to multigenerational living. All of this has led to a signifcant increase in demand for luxury homes in Phuket.

"As well as being the most visited resort destination in Asia, Phuket has now also become the most desirable place in Asia for families to settle and achieve a balanced lifestyle,” said KP Ho, founder and Executive Chairman of the Banyan Group. “It has an attractive year-round climate, 13 international schools, 4 marinas, great hospitals and is within 5 or 6 hours direct flight to over 40% of the world’s population. It has become like the Mallorca of Asia, a sought-after lifestyle destination for people from all over the world.”

Where Laguna Phuket remains by far the biggest and defining destination resort of Phuket, catering to the huge increase in visitors over the years, Laguna Lakelands is poised to become the definitive destination residence, as global citizens flock to Phuket. Over the next 5-10 years, up to 5,000 residences are expected to be built there.