42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

Laguna Phuket will host the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting – Post Minister Conference – ASEAN Regional Forum Phuket, from 16 to 23 July 2009. Foreign ministers from all ten ASEAN member states are expected to attend, together with ministers from the dialogue partner states of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the European Union, the United States, China, India, South Korea and Russia.

It is estimated that approximately 1,200 delegates and 800 media personnel from both Thailand and abroad will attend the event. The Laguna Phuket hotels have allocated a total of 800 rooms to accommodate this sizeable delegation.

The Thai government has applied its Internal Security Act for the duration of the meeting, which means all of Laguna Phuket is subject to very strict security measures. This may cause some disruption for guests and members at the time.

Summer Family Festival

The Laguna Phuket Summer Family Festival will be held between 8 July and 30 August 2009. The festival is aimed primarily at children, but there will be many screenings of sporting events for adults including The Ashes cricket series between Australia and England, Formula 1 racing, golf and premier league football. While the adults are enjoying sports on 2m-by-2m projection screens in Laguna’s Canal Shopping Village, children will be able to enjoy a bouncy castle, playground, movies and Kid’s Club games.

The kids Summer Fun programme will incorporate a different activity each day from 2 – 5pm including wacky games, ten pin bowling [off site], sports clinics in golf, football and tennis, treasure hunts, mini-golf [off site], rock climbing and outdoor adventure activities.

H1N1 Watch

We want to reassure our members that it is very safe to visit Thailand despite widespread publicity around the world about the H1N1 virus [swine flu] that has affected many, many countries. Phuket has had some cases of H1N1 but no deaths. The island has sufficient quantities of the antiviral drug Oseltamivir to treat anyone exhibiting symptoms.

Also, a vaccine against H1N1 is expected to arrive by the end of July, which means people most likely to come into contact with infected patients – such as medical staff, childcare workers, government officers and members of the media – will receive injections as a preventive measure.

Thailand is one of the leaders in combating pandemics such as H1N1. Thailand pioneered the Surveillance and Early Detections Systems at its airports. In addition, Thai Airways International has adopted the most stringent airline checks in the aviation industry.

While more than 1,000 cases have been found in Thailand, the vast percentage of them have quickly recovered. Amongst the measures the Thai Public Health Authority is taking to ensure the virus is kept in check are:

• Monitoring and screening of inbound international travelers to ensure prompt medical services if required.
• Distribution of Health Beware Cards, health questionnaires and advice on self-care to inbound travelers.
• Co ordination with travel agencies, hotels and airlines to give advice.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is not expecting travelers to cancel their holidays in Thailand because of the sophisticated and highly responsive precautionary measures and network systems in place.

If you feel yourself or can observe someone who may be exhibiting H1N1 flu symptoms while in Thailand, here are the numbers to call:

Public Health Ministry hotline: 02 5902994 [24 hours]
Health Emergency Response Unit: 02 5903333
BMA Disease Control Division: 02 2458106