Green Shoots For Phuket Hotels

Thailand’s largest resort island Phuket was center stage for a large-scale island-wide clean-up last Wednesday 21^st October. Led by the 78-hotel strong Phuket Hotel Association over 2,000 hoteliers and community volunteers took to the beaches and streets in 14 strategic locations. A single day tally of over 6 Tonnes, (6,000 kilos) of mostly plastic trash was picked up, which is the approximate average weight of seven motor vehicles.

Phuket Hotels Association President, Anthony Lark said, “This is a great achievement and it shows how local communities and hotels can collaborate to make our island a more beautiful place, in addition to giving our staff something positive to do, and helping lift spirits in these worrying and stressful times.” We had the full support and cooperation from the Phuket Vice Governor, Khun Phichet Panaphong, and his local councils and municipalities and schools.

A time-out in the wake of closures of international travelers to Phuket has provided an opportunity for the island’s travel and hotel sector to more clearly understand the mounting importance of sustainable long-term recovery. Over the past few years concerns over the negative impact of mass tourism are now resulting in a rallying call for one of Asia’s leading resort destinations to rethink its priorities and work towards changes that must come at the local community level.

Highlighting the main areas of the clean-up in Karon which was overseen by Phuket Hotels Association members from Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, Laguna Resorts, Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket, Club Med Phuket, Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa, Kata Rocks Resort & Residences, Mövenpick Resort Karon Beach Phuket, The Boathouse Phuket and The Shore at Katathani.

Comments from the member hotels about the cleanup reflect optimism in the wake of adversity as “This initiative has set a great example, and the Phuket Hotels Association plans on sharing this success with all its 78 member hotels in the hope that we can do this island-wide, using these difficult times to do some positive for the community and the growing number or domestic tourists.”

To find out more about the award-winning Phuket Hotels Association and its key missions and objectives, please visit www.phukethotelsassociation.com