Old Town Phuket
The Heart of Phuket Island
Andaman Discoveries staff Pi Tui and Lindsey headed to Phuket Old town with University professors and researchers to look at the local community group doing half day community based tourism programs in Old Town Phuket.
It was immediately clear that this proud and historically rich community group understands how community based tourism can protect cultural heritage and also create a clean, sustainable environment for their local community. When speaking with our local guide, a third generation Thai-Chinese descendant, he said that if the atmosphere of a tourist destination is destroyed by pollution and garbage, then nobody will want to come…that the future of tourism in Old Town Phuket depends on the community coming together and putting sustainability policies in place to ensure the local recourses are protected and kept clean. This was extremely inspirational and positive to hear community based tourism groups are taking action and setting up sustainability policies independently. The Old Town Phuket community group has a zero waste policy and do not use single use utensils.
The half day program that is led by a local guide, allows people to get off the main track and see the historically rich, hidden treasures of Old Town Phuket. We are extremely excited to offer this program that allows people to step back in time and see the heart of Phuket.
