Tourism Minister presents Patong Bay Hill hotel COVID-prevention award

The GBAC STAR accreditation is issued by Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association.

The accreditation is considered the “gold standard of prepared facilities”. According to GBAC, the accreditation means that a facility has:

• Established and maintained a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program to minimise risks associated with infectious agents.
• The proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices in place to combat biohazards and infectious disease.
• Highly informed cleaning professionals who are trained for outbreak and infectious disease preparation and response.

The certificate was presented to the Patong Bay Hill Hotel at a ceremony led by Tourism Minister Phiphat at the Novotel Phuket City Phokeethra hotel in Phuket Town yesterday (Apr 28).

The award comes as the hotel has its White Lagoon nightlife venue ordered closed for 15 days since last Friday (Apr 22) for opening beyond the COVID-mandated closing time of 11pm.

At last report the hotel was also to face further administration punishment for breach of COVID-prevention regulations.

The ceremony was also held to honour two other venues for receiving the GBAC Star accreditation: the Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong and Koh Yao Yai Village, on Koh Yao Yai island east of Phuket.

The awards are hoped to inspire Phuket business operators to improve their operations to international tourism standards and build confidence for tourists around the world, said Mr Phiphat.

“This is a commendable achievement and the ministry is ready to support further expansion in other areas,” he added.

Present at the ceremony was Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, who noted, “Although the crisis of the Phuket tourism situation caused by COVID-19 has begun to unfold, there is a need to adjust the development plan, focusing on the development of tourism with high potential in terms of nature, culture, and conference arrangements by requiring the confidence of tourists to be assessed as well.

“Therefore, this project will help raise the level of international hygiene standards development for business operators. Under the GBAC Star standard, we can show the province’s readiness to become a tourist destination with international standards to the world.”