Phuket tightens food and safety checks for 2026 Vegetarian Festival

Phuket City Municipality is expanding food-safety, waste-management, traffic and public-order measures for the 2026 Vegetarian Festival, which is expected to attract about 140,000 tourists and participants from Oct 10-18.

Mayor Suppachoke Laongphet outlined the preparations at a press conference at Pud Jor Shrine on Oct 1. The municipality is working with the Phuket Shrine Association, foundations, cultural groups and local businesses, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand forecasts about B1.3 billion in economic circulation during the festival.

Officials will inspect kitchens at shrines, vegetarian-food vendors and other stalls. The checks will cover food-preparation conditions, with random samples of raw ingredients and vegetables collected for contaminant testing.

Vendors are being encouraged to provide rubbish bins, separate organic waste at source and reduce their use of single-use plastics. The municipality is also cleaning nine shrines through its “Lang Aam”, or shrine-cleaning, campaign. The work includes general cleaning, vegetation trimming, solid-waste removal and septic-tank pumping.

The shrines included are Jeng Ong Shrine, Lim Hu Tai Su Shrine, Kiu Thian Keng Shrine at Saphan Hin, Bang Niew Shrine, Sui Bun Tong Shrine, Jui Tui Tao Bo Keng Shrine, Pud Jor Shrine, Sam Se Ju Hud Shrine and Mae Ya Nang Shrine.

For the city-wide deity procession, known as “Iew Keng”, the municipality is setting up an area at Nawamin 72nd Anniversary Plaza on Phuket Rd, where residents and visitors can pay their respects from Oct 11-18.

Security personnel, Civil Defence Volunteers and traffic police will be deployed around festival activities. The municipality is also asking residents and visitors not to use dangerous fireworks or other hazardous items. Temporary vendors and organisations seeking to display promotional or advertising signs must obtain municipal permission, while officials will patrol to prevent sales outside designated areas.

The formal festival programme at shrines across Phuket begins on Oct 9, when the Go Teng poles are raised and nine sacred oil lamps are lit. A “Phuket Vegan Street Food” event will open at 6pm that day outside Public Market 1 on Ranong Rd, promoting local vegetarian food and waste reduction.

Festival decorations will be installed at Surin Circle, the Chartered Bank intersection and outside Nawamin 72 Plaza. The TAT Phuket Office is preparing a bilingual festival guide covering major activities and procession routes, with about 1,800 copies printed alongside an online edition.

A photo exhibition on the festival’s history and origins will run at Limelight Phuket from Oct 6-18. The festival has been celebrated in Phuket since 1825 and is recognised by the Department of Cultural Promotion as an intangible cultural heritage of Thailand.