Held at the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Chao Fah Hotel in Wichit from 9am to 5pm, the event attracted over 400 delegates from public and private sector entities and saw a cooperative framework to develop sustainable tourism data intelligence signed.
Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan chaired the occasion and was joined by: Thelingsak Petsuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Senator Weerasak Kowsurat; Namfon Bunyawat, Deputy Speaker of Policy and Planning from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT); Associate Professor Dr Teeranee Ajalakul, Director of the Big Data Institute; Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, President of the Phuket Tourism Business Association; and Phumkit Raktaengam, President of the Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation.
Also present were: Pracha Asawatheera, Director of the Southern Region Digital Economy Promotion Agency; Jaruwan Suwannasat, Director of MICE Intelligence and Innovation Department from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); Pittaya Pramotewaraphan, Deputy Director General of the Pollution Control Department; Thada Warunchotikul, Manager of the Low Carbon Business Certification Office of the Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation; as well as a range of heads of government agencies, private sector organisations and tourism operators.
Mr Amnuay emphasised how there is currently a huge focus on the importance of environmental management and sustainable and responsible tourism, adding that Phuket has begun to design a strategy to become a a sustainable tourism city by 2026 in collaboration with the Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation.
He pointed to a ‘Chef’s Table’ event that took place on Wednesday at the Tin Baron restaurant in Phuket Town that strived to promote sustainability in relation to zero food waste where two Michelin-starred chefs created a top quality menu from food discarded from selected hotels and supermarkets across the island.
Wednesday’s event was just the start and something that he believed would help spark further tangible efforts to commit to a sustainabilty approach to enhance Phuket’s ultimate objectives.
Further topics discussed at length during yesterday’s forum included ‘ESG Sustainability Dimension and Thai Tourism Development’ and ‘Wake Up for Sustainable Tourism in Thailand’ which included a presentation on ‘Carbon Footprint in Tourism’ in Thailand, with a specific focus on the current situation of plastic waste in Thai seas.
In the afternoon, sessions focused on ‘Turning Thailand into a sustainable MICE destination’, ‘Tone from the top’, ‘Showcases and suggestions to policy makers’ and a ‘sharing ideas session’. Furthermore there was an interactive workshop session focused on assessing the carbon footprint of an organisation.
For more details visit the Phuket Tourist Association and Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation websites.