PHUKET is the front-running candidate for the rescheduled Asean Plus Six summit, according to the organisation's Secretary General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan.
Dr Surin said today that he will talk to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva this evening and recommend that the island be the place for the important gathering of regional leaders.
The Governor of Phuket, Wichai Praisa-Ngob, has backed the island and sees the Asean summit as a great boost for the local tourism industry.
Phuket was originally going to hold the summit but island resorts proved to be too popular over the Songkran-Easter break.
By the time officials came to decide, the island's prime resorts had been booked by holidaymakers to levels that meant there was no space for such a large-scale summit.
The rest, as they say, is history: the Asean Plus Six, already postponed after Bangkok's airports were invaded last November, moved to Pattaya, and so did the red shirts.
Last weekend they invaded the Pattaya resort where the summit was due to take place, and the leaders of 16 nations were soon heading for home.
Dr Surin told the media this afternoon that the shooting of yellow shirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul today in Bangkok was also a consideration that pointed towards Phuket as the most secure destination.
Phuketwan has advocated Phuket for the summit because it is an island, with one bridge on and one bridge off, and a checkpoint where buses and other vehicles all need to pass.
There are certainly some other practical considerations.
The island, deprived of adequate government funding for years, has no large conference centre, even though the benefits of such a development are obvious.
Given the lead time of two to three months before the region's leaders can fit another gathering into busy agendas, it should be possible to come up with a solution to the issue of meeting facilities.
One concern last time was spreading the many delegations over many resorts, which would have been the only was the summit could have been held then on Phuket.
In the low season in two or three months time, it should be possible to block-book plenty of accommodation at one or two leading resorts.
The rest is relatively simple.
As the Governor said today, the summit would be a great boost to Phuket in the low season and an opportunity that the island should be grateful to take up if all goes well in the decision-making process from here.
The Prime Minister has had pleasant things to say about Phuket after previous visits, which probably should see the island emerge with the summit.
A decision is expected shortly.
Source: Phuket Wan 22/04/09
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