Old Phuket Town project wins Thailand Tourism Industry award

PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has won a Thailand Tourism Industry 2010 “Kinnaree” Award for its Old Phuket Town redevelopment project.

Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana collected the prize in person at the awards ceremony, held on September 27 World Tourism Day at the Bangkok Convention Center at the Central World shopping complex.

The judges voted to bestow the Phuket project the award after they inspected Thalang Road and Krabi Road on May 7. The city was selected in the category of “Tourism Support and Promotion Organization”.

The awards, initiated in 1996, are held by the Tourism Authority of Thailand every two years.

This year a total of 315 entries were received in five categories, the other four being: Awards for Tourist Attractions; Awards for Tourist Accommodation; Awards for Tour Programs; and Awards for Health Tourism.

“The judging panels have visited and inspected all applicants, and consequently deliberated at their meetings to select remarkable works having eco-friendly management, adopting the sufficiency economy theory, adding value and volume to tourism products and services, and having readiness to promote tourism marketing, as a conceptual framework for judgment,” said a TAT release.

“In this year’s significant event, there are a total of 112 award winners,” it added.

For a list of other Phuket-based winners of Kinnaree awards, as the trophies are named, see the previous report by clicking here.

For previous stories about the city’s on-going work to beautify the old quarter, click here and here.

— Atchaa Khamlo