Tourexpi
Club Med has officially started work on its new resort
on Koh Samui, marking the next stage of its expansion in Thailand. A
groundbreaking ceremony for Club Med Koh Samui was held on 25 August 2026
together with Central Capital Group, following the signing of a hotel
management agreement earlier this year.
The new property will join Club Med’s Exclusive
Collection, the company’s upscale resort portfolio. It will be the first resort
of this category in Thailand and the third Exclusive Collection property in the
East and South Asia and Pacific region.
A second Club Med resort in Thailand
Club Med Koh Samui will also become the group’s second
property in Thailand. Its existing Club Med Phuket resort opened in 1985 and
has now been operating for more than four decades.
The groundbreaking included a traditional ceremony and
the symbolic planting of native Samui coconut seedlings, intended to reflect
the resort’s connection with the island and mark the beginning of construction.
Representatives of Club Med and Central Capital Group
attended the ceremony, including Rachael Harding, CEO Southeast Asia and
Pacific at Club Med, Deputy CEO and Chief Growth Officer Andrew Xu and Central
Capital Group co-founder and Managing Partner Phoom Chirathivat.
Exclusive Collection expands in Asia-Pacific
The Koh Samui development forms part of Club Med’s
strategy to expand its higher-end portfolio following the completion of a
global upgrade programme in 2024.
Since then, the group has shifted its attention
towards developing new Premium All-Inclusive and Exclusive Collection resorts
in destinations around the world.
The Exclusive Collection represents the upper end of
Club Med’s portfolio and includes resorts and accommodation concepts aimed at
travellers seeking a more exclusive version of the company’s all-inclusive
model.
Club Med targets major global expansion
Club Med aims to double the number of resorts in its
global portfolio by 2030. Several new properties are already contributing to
that expansion.
Club Med South Africa opened in July 2026, while a new
beachfront resort in Borneo at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, is scheduled to open
towards the end of this year.
Further projects are planned in Canada, Italy, Oman
and Indonesia over the coming years. The development on Koh Samui adds another
Asian destination to this pipeline while strengthening Club Med’s presence in
Thailand more than 40 years after the company first entered the country.
Image Credit: © AI generated illustration using material courtesy of
Club Med
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