Gov calls closed meeting on tourism

PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday called a closed meeting of high-ranking officials to discuss potential problems for Phuket arising out of the conflict in Afghanistan. At the meeting were district chiefs and senior officers from the Phuket Immigration Office, the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, the Tourist Police, the local branch of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Phuket Tourism Association and a representative of the Islamic Association of Phuket. After the meeting, Gov Pongpayome said, “There’s no need to worry about this meeting. We just wanted to consider the problems that Phuket may face because it is a tourist destination. This means we have to consider the security of both residents and tourists. “[People] at the tourism workshop at the weekend [attended by Deputy Prime Minister Pongpol Adireksarn] considered launching a campaign advertising that it’s safe to travel to Thailand and its beautiful locations,” he said. He also stressed that civil servants must keep abreast of news concerning the current conflict.