June 1, 2011
The Future of Asian Luxury Resorts
In years gone by, an Asian luxury resort was a Phuket retreat that offered massages or a city-based, five-star branded hotel. Today, a new style of resort is starting to appear in China and other parts of Asia: The Nocturno Entertainment City. These large, master-planned developments include everything from theme parks to all types of residential facilities, hotels, themed retail shopping districts, Vegas-style theaters, fashion resorts, sports facilities and vast outdoor garden spaces. Through its acceptance of Western-style gaming offerings, Asia has demonstrated that entertainment architecture will be a key component for people when deciding how to spend their free time.
The master plans aim to encourage the development of themed projects, but those projects need to have an environmental base and need to be designed to appeal to the luxury market as well as to middle Asia. Developers can no longer create an attraction and then sell off parcels to individual investors to build whatever sells. Asian resorts are very interested in creating a total diversionary and active entertainment experience. I believe that Walt Disney would be proud that his planning and entertainment theories are now becoming accepted in China and throughout Asia.
The full article can be found in Casino Enterprise Management Magazine's June 2011 issue.
