A record attendance of 1,000 delegates attended this year’s one-day event, held at Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa.

PHIST is the brainchild of the Phuket Hotels Association, C9 Hotelworks and Greenview.

Dedicated to generating fresh ideas and fostering a spirit of cooperation, the forum included a series of expert panels and discussions covering vital topics including destination management, development, ocean health, over-tourism, hotel operations and community tourism.

There was also a series of practical workshops for green champions, hotel developers and social enterprises, plus an exhibition area showcasing green solutions, allowing hoteliers to interact with eco-suppliers.

Speakers included local and international experts like Raini Hamdi, Asia Editor, Skift; Sharry Sun, global head of brand, Travelzoo; Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s area director for the Asia Pacific; Ang Choo Pin, Expedia’s senior director of Government & Corporate Affairs; Guy Heywood, CEO, Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas; and Franck Droin, hotel manager, Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

This year’s PHIST also celebrated the launch of the Great Big Green Hotel Guide, an important collaboration between the Phuket Hotels Association’s 74 members.

Featuring real-life examples of environmental best practices and case studies, this guide serves as a practical user manual for hotels in resort destinations all across Asia.

“PHIST is becoming one of the most important events on the tourism calendar,” said association president Anthony Lark.

“Climate change, plastic pollution, environmental degradation; these are issues that affect us all, and they are felt even more profoundly in island communities like Phuket. The only way to tackle these problems is through a collective approach. By working together we can make a difference. The release of the Great Big Green Hotel Guide is one of the ways the industry is crafting long-term, workable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems,” he added.

“Global tourism is growing at an unprecedented pace, and this is putting unprecedented pressure on resources, communities and the environment,” noted Six Senses COO Guy Heywood. “At Six Senses, we’ve been pushing the environmental agenda for many years, but it’s fantastic to see the hotel industry now taking a proactive approach to these critical issues. By joining PHIST 2019, we want to create a viable future for Southeast Asia’s tourism industry.”

PHIST has already shown it can make a real difference: at last year’s inaugural event, more than 74 hotels agreed to remove plastic water bottles from their properties.

In the 12 months since this pledge was made, the association’s member hotels experienced a 51 per cent reduction, which equates to more than 4.4 million bottles not ending up in landfill sites, or worse, the ocean.

PHIST 2019 also aimed to inspire the next generation, with a series of children’s workshops and activities.

The forum featured the final of Green Beat 60, a film-making contest that invited eco-warriors of all ages to have their say on critical issues. Thai rappers Rattanachot Srikhongmuang and Kanthep Srikhongmuang won for “Refill Not Landfill”.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMUV1p3Advw.

For this visitor, relaxing in the ocean view pool villa of the world-class Ritz-Carlton taking in the tropical blue waters lapping on white sand against a backdrop of coconut trees was a truly memorable experience.

Located on the north-eastern part of the island close to the airport, the 5-star hotel occupies a vast 58 acres of former coconut plantations that stretch from hilltop to beach. The resort’s landscape and architecture have been designed harmoniously with nature and are rich in colour and texture. Concrete walkways link one part of the resort to another though the friendly staff are always on hand to drive guests. That said, more shady trees would be welcome.

The luxury resort features 175 suites and pool villas boast contemporary interiors in soothing tones. Expansive windows and verandahs invite natural light in and the furniture is designed specifically for comfort, the perfect place to admire the panoramic views over the Gulf of Thailand.

Further treats can be found in its gastronomic experiences, knowledgeable chefs, fresh ingredients, service mind and friendly staff. The Sea Salt Shack by the resort pool faces the tranquil beach and offers a healthy and international casual lunch along with Thai favourites and refreshing fruit and coconut juices. Highlights include Tacos Crispy Grouper with chili mayo and green mango slaw, Koh Samui Ceviche with its lime, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaf, Thai chilli and shallots. Yellowfin Tuna Crudo comes with a spicy lime dressing, mint, chilli powder, red shallots, and cracked rice a Margherita Pizza topped with fresh mozzarella, blistered cherry tomatoes and local basil.

At night, the Sea Salt Deck serves freshly caught seafood and grilled specialties to the sound of live music and has a thrilling fire show on selected evenings.

The culinary journey continues at Pak Tai restaurant, which is a colloquial name for the south of Thailand. Pak Tai presents traditional hot and spicy southern cuisine using fine ingredients with lots of herbs sourced from local markets daily and offers views over the swim reef from its private dining alcoves.

Shook is the venue for breakfast and serves innovative Asian and Western creations, from healthy to traditional Thai dishes to freshly baked pastries and homemade Granola, which runs out pretty fast. At night, the restaurant morphs into The Ranch at Shook and dishes out grilled steak and seafood with robust flavors.

Tides is an ideal spot for sun-lovers to unwind with a refreshing cocktail from the poolside bar and a citrus-cured specialty from the cevicheria. Tides Upper Deck offers great views of the sunset that are best enjoyed with one of the many inventive cocktails. Afternoon Tea and dinner meanwhile are served at The View Dining at The Peak, the highest area of the resort. It is said that on a clear day, guests can see nearly Koh Pha-ngan Island. Here, handcrafted sandwiches and pastries are offered with a choice of tea, tea-inspired cocktails or champagne. A full menu is available for dinner and on Saturdays, guests can enjoy “Baan Talat”, a weekly outdoor dining experience that serves an authentic street food.

For the little ones, there’s a Ritz Kids programme featuring a playroom, beach activities, snorkeling discoveries in the unique swim reef and fish-feeding experiences. The latest addition to the beach is the first Ocean Pool in Samui, which offers a deck on the floating barricade in the ocean. For sport enthusiasts, there are two floodlit tennis courts.

Total relaxation for mind and body can be enjoyed at Spa Village, which offers uplifting traditional Thai healing practices that incorporate coconut, herbs, water therapy and fresh flowers. There are eight treatment salas, three massage pavilions, a yoga pavilion, a lap pool with cabanas and a Health Bar. The signature experience is the Songkran shower, which is inspired by the traditional Thai New Year involving the joyful throwing of water, followed by a body scrub with herbal exfoliation and a Thai massage with a hydrating coconut oil.

Find out more or make a reservation at www.ritzcarlton.com/kohsamui.

A large bamboo tower stands in the middle of the market and is said to be the largest in the world. It was built from bamboo by the villagers and offers a 360-degree-view of the surrounding area.

The market is open daily and bargains are up for grabs over the weekends and bank holidays.

The temperature at the national park fell to 18 degrees Celsius, park chief Bancha Ramsiri said on Tuesday. It is therefore a good time to enjoy the spectacular sea of mist at the park’s Doi Kiew Lom viewpoint, he added.

The Huai Nam Dang National Park, which features scenic mountain viewpoints, waterfalls, and hot springs, covers Mae Taeng, Wiang Haeng and Chiang Dao districts of Chiang Mai as well as Pai district in Mae Hong Son.

It’s an amazing extension of the chain’s custom of presenting guests at check-in a warm DoubleTree Cookie as a welcome and part of its CARE (Creating A Rewarding Experience) service culture.

Available only until the end of this year, the Cookie Suite package includes a range of benefits ensuring that guests are fully immersed in the new tropical resort.

Guests stay in the cookie-theme King Deluxe Suite, which has a separate living area with a dedicated “cookie bar” decked out with freshly baked cookies, a neon cookie sign and a flat-lay photography corner for photo enthusiasts.

Cookie-scented candles and body-scrub bath amenities extend the experience to the bathroom, and for the young ones there are customised cookie bathrobes and cookie plushies.

Guests in the Cookie Suite also receive a beach kit with a cookie-design beach umbrella and towels to take to Patong Beach, directly across from the resort.

“More than just a delicious treat, the DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie represents our constant dedication to our guests and the thoughtful touches that ensure they feel special and cared for throughout their stay in Phuket,” said general manager Tim Tate.

The Cookie Suite Experiential Package offer is subject to availability when booked before December 30, with a minimum stay of two nights.

In response, Phuket is making a move to focus on the city’s “Old Town” to attract more tourists, along with an “Endless Discovery” branding campaign to highlight the variety of local tourist options.

Don Limnantapisit, the president of the Phuket Old Town community, says most tourists have visited just about everywhere in Phuket – except for the Old Town.

Though the Old Town area has for 15 years encouraged tourist visits so that it wouldn’t disappear from Phuket’s map, only in the past two years has it seen much success in attracting tourists – thanks to the power of social media.

As well, CNN recently included Old Town on its list of Asia’s 13 most picturesque towns. In addition, Thailand’s Fine Arts Department and Phuket are working on a plan to register Old Town as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The new “Phuket Endless Discovery” branding aims to tease the curiosity of travellers, said the president of the Phuket Tourism Association, Bhummikitti Ruktaengam

Statistics show a significant growth in travellers for meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions in Phuket. The figure for 2018 showed an increase to 2,216,230, up 167.94 per cent from 2017, bringing in Bt19.5 billion.

Office director Kietipong Kochawong said tourist spending in Loei this year is expected to be around Bt10,000 per person.

Loei is reputed for its tourist attractions, rich culture and nice environment, with one of the main magnets being Phu Kradueng National Park.