Tune Set To Join Phuket Resorts Chorus?

The region's low cost accommodation leader is reportedly set to open on Phuket. If it's a Tune, you may not be able to hum it but you could grow to like the sound of saving money.

INTERNATIONAL resort brands continue to make their debut on Phuket, whether as shiny five-star villa units or as lower-cost accommodation.

Now comes a new surprise: Look out for a Tune.

On June 20 the Malaysian group, Tune, announced a large new low-cost resort locally.

At the ceremony, founder and director Tony Fernandes had this to say: ''The group aims to have 100 hotels up and running within three years and these would include sites outside Malaysia, such as Kuta and Legian in Bali, as well as locations in the Philippines and Thailand.''

Chief executive officer Mark Lancaster told The Star Online: ''In Thailand, there will be a Tune Hotels.com each in Bangkok, Pattaya and possibly in the next week or so in Phuket.''

So . . . we are on the lookout for a Tune, the brand that offers no-frills space including a comfortable bed and bathroom, but leaves the customer free to supply or buy the rest.

Bring your own towel, or buy one. Room rates are incredibly low-priced.

The first Tune in Kuala Lumpur bears strikingly bright red and white colours.

Fernandes is the man who pioneered Air Asia, so the Tune idea definitely has wings.

The likelihood is that the Phuket Tune would work best near the airport, a big bus terminal, or in Patong.

While Phuket continues to target high-end visitors, package tours and charter flights are growing in numbers too, bringing more and more travellers across the whole spectrum.

- Complete report at www.phuketwan.com