It is undeniable that we are in an era of significant adaptation that must be recorded in the pages of world history. Today's business world is no longer a place where big fish eat small fish; instead, it is a realm where the fast eat the slow. This means that those who can adapt the quickest are the 'survivors and winners.'

This has led businesses to focus on digital transformation. However, amidst the overwhelming wave of data and the chaos of managing daily tasks, it can sometimes cause entrepreneurs or real estate moguls to lose their way, missing the bigger picture, and leading to uncertainty about whether to develop or improve their properties and in which direction to take them.

"We once conducted a case study that showed if we are to develop real estate today, we must anticipate the phenomena that will occur in 2030, not just next year. This is because larger projects typically take 5-6 years to open. Most real estate developers tend to use technology to support basic factors, often thinking about cost savings first and only later considering how to generate additional income from existing properties."


"But don't forget that the challenge ahead is to make people want to go to those areas. They must accommodate future demands. Therefore, what we need to do today is prepare for the 'opportunities of the future' that we still do not know about."

“As someone involved in Prop Tech, we must anticipate and identify business 'opportunities.' The role of Asset Activator is to bridge the technology gap because the day we create is today, but the day the building or property becomes operational is 5-6 years from now. This means we must predict what will happen in the future and act on it today,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Porn Virulhak, CEO of Asset Activator Co., Ltd., an expert in Digital Twin technology for real estate management, highlighting the 'key' to determining today's development direction is not just for today but for future living.

This means that forward-thinking entrepreneurs must anticipate future phenomena, not just for the next year or two, but should look beyond that.

As someone deeply involved in the real estate sector, Dr. Porn believes that owners of real estate empires, whether commercial buildings, residential buildings, or industrial buildings, must now predict what will happen in 2030 to prepare for the phenomena that will occur today.

The main trends expected to emerge by 2030 include:

1. Gen Z as Economic Power: In the near future, today's Gen Z will become economic powerhouses. Their behaviors and lifestyles will consist of three main components:

  • Digital Native: They are digital natives, having been born with smartphones and growing up with high-speed internet. They will possess rapid learning skills and the ability to process vast amounts of information.
  • Experiences > Objects: Gen Z will value digital experiences more than tangible possessions, prioritizing experiences over ownership. This leads them to spend on things that can be cherished in memories and showcased to the world about what they 'do' rather than what they 'have.'
  • Individualistic: Gen Z will seek uniqueness rather than conforming to trends.

2. Major Tech Norm: Technology will become the new normal in lifestyle, with technologies expected to emerge 100% before 2030, including:

  • 6G will become the norm: People will be able to interact in virtual spaces in real-time. All types of live performances will be possible through Virtual Space, supported by efficient 6G technology.
  • Electric Rules: The world will shift to electric transportation, with charging points for all devices surrounding us.
  • Augmented Reality: Virtual reality technology will become a product that 'everyone' can own.
  • Drones: Thousands of drones will take to the skies, marking a new dimension in logistics technology. Human drivers for transportation will become unnecessary as the transport industry jumps into this game, with drone service providers developing their own technologies.
  • Robotics + Automation: Robots and AI will become basic services for humans, such as cleaning staff and security personnel, as robots increasingly take over these roles with improved efficiency and accuracy compared to the past.

3. Effective National Policies: In the future, Thailand will become a Last Destination, opening opportunities for foreigners to hold citizenship, welcoming more labor and experts to develop the country.

  • Last Destination: Thailand will be a destination for retirees worldwide due to its excellent lifestyle and healthcare services. The elderly care business will become a major industry for the country for decades to come.
  • Citizenship for Sale: Opening borders will become commonplace, allowing foreigners who have worked in the country for over 10 years to apply for citizenship, facilitating property purchases or certain types of investments.
  • Incentives for Talent Immigration: Countries worldwide will create conditions and incentives to attract talented individuals in various fields to relocate, becoming high-quality human resources and labor for national development, especially for experts like scientists and programmers.

These three main phenomena will significantly impact life as we know it, leading to a transformation of the 'infrastructure for space usage' in six major ways, which Asset Activator predicts as trends that can guide real estate or smart city development to prepare for the 'future' as follows:

1. 100 to 1 - IoT Infrastructure: IoT technology will become the essential digital infrastructure for business operations and smart cities, with IoT networks forming a 'rental space' for digital businesses to connect with smart cities.

In the future, human demand for IoT signals will come from all directions, as human behavior will require processing vast amounts of data. It can be assumed that developers of large-scale real estate complexes or smart cities, designed to accommodate 1,000 users, will need at least 100,000 IoT points to support such high usage.

2. Flight Path Space: The emergence of flight paths for drones and flying robots: As mentioned earlier, when logistics with flying drones revolutionizes the delivery industry, there must be infrastructure to support this change, namely airways similar to those for airplanes, to ensure proper and safe management of drone technology.

3. Architecture as Charger: Charging systems will become a new form of architecture to support electronic and electrical technologies instead of oil. Charging systems will advance beyond just charging; they will become essential parts of buildings, such as charging automatically when parking without needing to connect wires.

4. Authentic Offline Experiences: Because everything in the future will be transformed into the digital world, online experiences will be accessible to most people, leading to a new demand trend: 'offline experiences' will become rare items, a new definition of luxury that society desires. Humans will seek fewer digital experiences and crave analog interactions, yearning for the purity of nature while still wanting comfort in the same space.

This means a desire to be in green spaces, with fresh air and clear skies, but also to have the convenience supported by advanced technology.

5. Robots: Robots will increasingly take over jobs that humans do not want to do, such as household chores, gardening, hazardous tasks, and repetitive tasks requiring high precision. Therefore, future smart cities must have connected devices to support robot operations. Property owners should develop smart cities to function like supercomputers capable of controlling all digital devices within, including robots and drones.

6. Elysium: A new definition of living like paradise will become clearer in the near future. People will be willing to pay for permanent offline experiences, but these experiences will be based on support from advanced technology.

All the elements mentioned will only be possible if real estate utilizes technology as a foundation for building and developing infrastructure to meet demands before projects are completed.

Article by

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Porn Virulhak

Independent scholar in Property Technology

CEO of Asset Activator

Vice President of the BIM Association of Thailand

Expert in Digital Twin Technology in Thailand