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21 November 08
The sexy issue
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ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE FOR THE EXPAT IN ALL OF US What’s happening, and might be happening, in Hua Hin
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BUDDY, CAN I SELL YOU A HOME?
Is this the future for Hua Hin’s foreign Estate Agents?
tour operator, a mom-and-pop shop or a restaurant,’ he added. Hua Hin had been, until the last few months, a booming Thai and foreign resort, with people from all over the world falling over themselves to holiday and buy property here. The location and the beautiful surroundings make it a wonderful place to either visit or settle, and the huge surge in home building was clearly evident in the last few years. Alongside that surge came a boom in the related services; from pool companies to gardening services to estate agencies, and this last one was the most marked. Story continues on pg. 2
HUA HIN, THAILAND The global financial meltdown may seem to have spared Thailand so far, but the signs are growing that the effects are starting to appear here. Rising fuel costs pushed international arrivals at Bangkok’s main airport down to about 600,000 in August - a 33 per cent drop from a year earlier after a jump of 5.5 per cent in July, Ministry of Tourism figures show. In September, arrivals were down 21
per cent, and industry experts say numbers are expected to remain low as the global credit crunch prompts consumers worried about their jobs and mortgages to stay at home. ‘We will probably have a very bad high season,’ said Mr Oliver Martin of industry body the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). ‘You’re going to have it across the board. It’s going to be everyone - from the luxury resort right down to a small