ไทย
Phuket – February 8th, 2024 at Chao Fa Conference Room, Phuket Provincial Hall, Mr. Sopon Suwannarat – Phuket Governor, chaired the meeting to prepare for the competition of the World Event and Festival City Awards, and the annual international festival event in 2024. Also present were Mr. Pattanachai Singhavara, Director of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Southern Region) or TCEB, heads of government agencies, local government organization executives, representatives from the public and private sectors.
At this meeting, Mr. Pattanachai reported that TCEB is preparing to propose Phuket and Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival to be candidate for the World Event and Festival City Awards, and the 2024 International Festival Event contest, organized by the International Festival and Event Association (2024 IFEA World Festival & Event City Award and 2024 IFEA / Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Competition).
Therefore, relevant agencies will be responsible for supporting detailed information according to the competition criteria to be included in the submission package. TCEB requests cooperation from all sectors in Phuket to collect and compile supporting data, while Dr. Kulada Petchvarun, Head of the Tourism Management Department, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, will lead the data collection team.
For this meeting, the participants collaborated to select the official name of Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival to be used in the international contests. They also collectively brainstormed and selected provincial festivals or events, such as the Por Tor Festival, Phuket Cultural Street, Phuket Lobster Festival, Seafood Festival, Wai Thevada Ceremony, Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year Festival, Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, etc. These festivals or events will be carefully chosen based on their prominence and importance, with the top 10 selections to be included in Phuket’s presentation.
The working committee will proceed to prepare the documents. Subsequently, the first set of documents will be submitted by April 30, 2024. The deadline for applications will be on July 17, 2024. Once the judging process begins, the results will be announced on August 14, 2024.
If Phuket and its tradition of vegetarianism win the awards, it will have a positive impact on tourism in Phuket and Thailand. This will stimulate the economy and enhance cultural tourism publicity, increasing awareness and dissemination.
News and photos: Phuket Provincial Public Relation Office