"Central Phuket" joins hands with over 100 local tourism businesses launching "Hug Thais Hug Phuket, Central Phuket Hotel Fair"

Central Phuket by Central Pattana Public Company Limited has launched "Hug Thais Hug Phuket, Central Phuket Hotel Fair" to promote Phuket's tourism industry with an aim to help local entrepreneurs. The fair, held until 4 July 2021, will offer discount promotions of up to 70%, with participation of the Phuket Province, Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Phuket Thai Chamber of Commerce, various organisations in the public and private sectors, airlines and over 100 renowned hotels in the province, including Centara, InterContinental Phuket, Banyan Tree, Trisara and Renaissance.

Thailand's Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha; Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Health; Mr. Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy; General Anupong Paochinda, Minister of the Interior; Mr. Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports; Mr. Saksayam Chidchob, Minister of Transport; Mr. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society; Mr. Warawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment; Mr. Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Labour; Mr. Atirat Ratanasate, Deputy Minister of Transport; Mr. Distat Hotrakitya, the prime minister's secretary-general; Mr. Narong Woonsiew, Phuket Governor; Mr. Sanan Angubolkul, the Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Yutthasak Suphasorn, Chief of Thailand Tourism Authority; Ms. Thapanee Kiatpaiboon, Thailand Tourism Authority Deputy Governor, presided over at the opening ceremony which was held on July 1, 2021, at 1st floor, in front of Central Department Store, Central Phuket Floresta.

Mr. Pichai Chirathivat, Executive Director of Central Group, Ms. Wallaya Chirathivat, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Suthipak Chirathivat, Advisory Member, Executive Committee, Central Group of Companies, Executive Director Central Pattana Public Company Limited, were also presented at the opening.

Central Phuket has initiated "Phuket Sandbox" in line with the policy of the public sector and the Thai Chamber of Commerce and in cooperation with the Central Group, Central Pattana and Central Retail. Central Phuket, the first shopping center certified on SHA Plus+ standard of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) with 85% of its employees vaccinated, has implemented "Phuket Model for Safe Tourism City" with a goal to stimulate the economy, promote the tourism industry and support SME entrepreneurs across the country.

The "Phuket Model for Safe Tourism City" will use the following approaches:

1. It will focus on enabling safe public areas on "No.1 Hygiene & Safety Standard" aiming to create places of confidence for Thai and international tourists. Central Phuket will be used as a model as it is the first shopping center with SHA Plus+ certification from the TAT. The shopping center has been implementing strict measures under the Central's Hygiene & Safety master plan, while 85% of its employees have received two vaccination shots since mid-May and are wearing an I'M VACCINATED badge to help build confidence of customers.

2. It will emphasise on stimulating the economy and upgrading the whole tourism industry in a solid manner under the "Thais Help Thais" concept.

2.1 Tourism businesses and services throughout the value chain will be connected, including shopping centers, hotels and local entrepreneurs, in order to create a complete tourism system and raise the capacity of the province. Central Phuket, in particular, will utilise its strength as a world-class attraction that can attract Thai and international tourists with high spending power and those who are looking for long-stay vacations.

2.2 Cross-regional tourism in Thailand will be promoted. The 33 Central shopping centers across the country are the best platforms to entice people from various areas to travel to different locales in Thailand. In fact, Central has already been actively helping cross-regional tourism in many occasions. In one of such events, centralwOrld in Bangkok hosted a venue for tourism entrepreneurs from southern provinces to promote their businesses, which received good responses.

2.3 Marketing campaigns will be launched continuously until the end of the year.

• The Phuket Sandbox project will begin with Hug Thais Hug Phuket, Central Phuket Hotel Fair. The fair, held until 4 July 2021, will offer discount promotions of up to 70%, with participation of the Phuket Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Phuket Province, various organisations in the public and private sectors and over 100 renowned hotels in the province, including InterContinental Phuket, Banyan Tree, Tri Sara and Renaissance. There will be a Phuket's Welcome Pack worth over 10,000 baht, along with other promotions and benefits from shops at Central Phuket.
• Colorful activities and campaigns will be used to stimulate spending until the end of the year. These include the big campaign Hug Thais, Love Thais, Help Thais that offers discounts of up to 90% at 33 Central shopping centers, the WE'RE VACCINATED special promotions for visitors who come to Central Phuket for vaccination, food events that will feature top menus from 200 local restaurants from around Phuket, various sport activities such as bridge, 3x3 basketball, and surf skate national championship events under the Phuket Sport City policy, and festivities such as Halloween, Christmas, and New Year.