The big wave changed everything. But now new holiday homes are springing up with the emphasis on safety. Graham Norwood reports

 

As important perhaps, Phuket is seeking to re-brand itself as more upmarket.

 

Nowhere is this more obvious than at Barama Bay, an 80-acre private island in sheltered waters a kilometre off Phuket’s east coast. Work has started on 31 top-end villas ranging from £2 million to £6 million, a 73-berth marina and a plush hotel managed by Jumeirah, the firm running Dubai’s flamboyant Burg al-Arab “sail” hotel.

 

“Phuket is a location for wealthy buyers fed up with poor service in locations like the Caribbean,” says Alec Pettigrew, of the TGR Group, the developer behind the scheme. He believes Barama will be a magnet for Britons wanting a chic Asian bolthole.

 

Thailand has well and truly recovered from the tsunami.