PHIST 2026 calls for ‘Whole Village’ approach to Phuket sustainability
More than 1,000 delegates are attending PHIST 2026 in Phuket, where organisers are urging hotels, communities and government to work together on measurable sustainability goals.
More than 1,000 delegates are gathering at Angsana Laguna Phuket for PHIST 2026, as the island’s hotel industry calls for a collective approach to sustainable tourism.
The event, now in its ninth year, is organised by the Phuket Hotels Association. Its organisers say the “Whole Village” approach should make environmental responsibility a fundamental requirement for Thailand’s long-term tourism competitiveness, rather than a series of corporate pledges.
PHIST — Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism — brings together hotel owners, operators, developers, architects, suppliers, government representatives, environmental organisations and tourism leaders. The 2026 programme includes 93 speakers across 26 panel sessions, workshops and masterclasses, as well as 43 exhibitors and 13 non-profit organisations.
Speakers include KP Ho, founder and executive chairman of Banyan Group; Dr Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources; and Phil Smith, general manager of Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay in Singapore.
Phuket is facing rapid hotel and property development alongside pressure on infrastructure, traffic, water and waste management. The island is also seeing continued expansion at the luxury end of the hospitality market.
The event is focusing increasingly on measurable operational indicators, including energy use per occupied room, water consumption, food waste, single-use plastics, local purchasing, staff accommodation, transport emissions and coastal protection.
PHIST organisers say hotels cannot address pressures such as waste management, infrastructure, coastal protection and transport independently. The “Whole Village” model calls for hotels, government, communities, suppliers, developers and environmental organisations to work together.
PHIST has developed from an annual industry gathering into a year-round platform intended to promote collaboration, share practical solutions and turn sustainability commitments into measurable action.
