Associations

IWTA speaks with Sumi Soorian – Phuket Hotels Association

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-681271" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2021/11/TDiwta-logo.png" alt="" width="600" height="200" /> <p style="text-align: left;">We are delighted to introduce you to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumitha-sumi-soorian-ba29a31/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sumi Soorian</strong></a><strong>– Executive Director at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/phuket-hotels-association/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phuket Hotels Association</a></strong></p>   <img class="aligncenter wp-image-685255 size-full" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2022/01/Sumi-1.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427" />   Sumi is a great example of how careers can grow and develop over time.  She has a business management background and has worked in education before joining the Phuket Hotels Association about 5 years ago.     <strong>Background</strong> A Malaysian by nationality, educated in the USA, worked in China, spent a couple of years in France, now living in Phuket since 2012, Sumi is Executive Director of the Phuket Hotels Association, Business Development Director at Delivering Asia, and co-owner of a restaurant in Phuket.   <strong>Venturing into Travel </strong> Initially struggling to find a job in Phuket, Sumi threw herself into helping her children’s school in various fund-raising projects.  Her activities caught the attention of principals of the local Hotel Association and she was invited to work with them on fund raising activities.  That began a 5-year journey of activities based around the Phuket Hotel Association Core Pillars of Education, Environment, Sustainability and Destination Marketing.   <strong>Fund-Raising Activities</strong> Over the 5 years of Sumi’s involvement, the association has supported 35 local Thai students with financial difficulties in continuing their education, with 5 of those having completed their education and currently benefitting from internship opportunities in the hospitality industry on the island. COVID brought fund raising activities to a standstill, but as the pandemic subsides 2022 will once again see more events and activities designed to raise funds to continue supporting Thai students in need, as well as projects based around the environment and sustainability.   <strong>What’s Next</strong> Sumi would like to do even more for the local community she calls home, with the introduction of hospitality educational programmes on a more formalised level becoming available for local students on the island of Phuket.   <strong>Advice to her Younger Self</strong> Try everything and be open to changes and opportunities.  Seek out mentors within the industry you want to excel in & learn whatever you can.   <strong>Advice to Young Generation</strong> Have an open mind, and always challenge yourself.  Don’t fall into a comfort zone – your next career move needs to be challenging for you to grow.  It’s never too late to do something new, there are always opportunities if you are a positive thinker.     <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://anchor.fm/tds-inspiring-women-in-travel-asia/embed/episodes/IWTA-speaks-with-Sumi-Soorian---Phuket-Hotels-Association-e1dfj4q" width="400px" height="102px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Listen to this Interview on your favourite RSS Platform</strong></p>

  <center> <u></u></center><center><img class="aligncenter wp-image-681271" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2021/11/TDiwta-logo.png" alt="" width="600" height="200" /></center>If you know of any female leaders or up and coming superstars in the Travel and Hospitality industry you would like to nominate, please visit our page and complete a nomination form!   <p style="text-align: center;"><a class="btn btn-default btn-md" href="https://share.hsforms.com/1p7WMfUpXSCm5UN8Up6TLEw2ckvv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NOMINATE SOMEONE</a></p>   <p style="text-align: center;"><a class="btn btn-default btn-md" href="https://share.hsforms.com/1p7WMfUpXSCm5UN8Up6TLEw2ckvv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NOMINATE YOURSELF</a></p>

Associations

PHIST: Phuket gets a helping hand cleaning up for the future

<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-482955 aligncenter" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2023/01/PHIST-PR-Image-5.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" />With some of Phuket’s biggest hospitality players in attendance, the very first Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism Forum 2018 (PHIST), one of Thailand’s most popular destinations, set its stall for the future prosperity by signing the “Phuket Pledge”.</strong> The pledge is a commitment by participants to reducing, reusing and recycling single-use plastic in Phuket with the aim to eradicate it in all hotels and resorts, as well as agreeing to set up a community project aimed at educating the island’s youth on critical problems surrounding plastic usage on the island. <img class="size-full wp-image-482958 aligncenter" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2023/01/shutterstock_306226703.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" /> The PHIST event -- organised by Phuket Hotels Association and supported by the Thai Ministry of Sports & Tourism -- was led by C9 Hotelworks’ MD Bill Barnett and Greenview CEO Eric Ricaurte and saw more than over 550 delegates from countries including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong gathered at the JW Marriott Mai Khao in Phuket to debate key issues. <img class="size-full wp-image-482956" src="https://www.traveldailymedia.com/assets/2023/01/PHIST-Bill-Barnett-Managing-Director-of-C9-Hotelworks.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" /> Bill Barnett Bernhard Bohnenberger, president of Six Senses Hotels Resorts and Spas, discussing the ambitions of PHIST said: “Plastic reduction has been at the core of our company sustainability efforts for over a decade. The industry is finally waking up to this issue, but we need coordination and action to make a tangible change and see results. This is what we hope PHIST will go a long way to achieving.” <blockquote>“We need to fight for Phuket. It is as simple as that."</blockquote> Thoughts echoed by Anthony Lark, Phuket Hotel Association president and managing director of Trisara, who said: “We need to fight for Phuket. It is as simple as that. And we can’t do it alone. We need to do it together. We have worked to build an inclusive coalition of public and private sector tourism groups who understand the critical need to act and think long term. We hope the Phuket Pledge will be a start and ultimately become a model for us and other islands regionally to come together for the sake of sustainable island tourism in Asia.” Along with Ministry of Sports and Tourism events partners included the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT); Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau; Thai Hotel Association, Central Phuket; BMW, Blue Tree Phuket;  C9 Hotelworks; Greenview; AmCham; QUO and Delivering Asia Communications.