A Thousand Hoteliers Met in Phuket on 7 September. The Message Was Blunt: Sustainability Is Now a Competitiveness Issue.

On 7 September 2026 the ninth PHIST, Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism, took place at Angsana Laguna Phuket with more than 1,000 delegates, 93 speakers and 43 exhibitors. The organisers' framing this year was direct: environmental responsibility is a fundamental requirement for the long-term competitiveness of Thai tourism, not a collection of corporate pledges.

The figures from the organisers were uncomfortable. Thailand generated about 2.88 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2024, according to the Pollution Control Department, and of 2,074 waste disposal sites nationwide only 111 meet proper standards. For an island whose product is the beach, that is not an environmental footnote. It is infrastructure.

The new question is "how do you measure it", not "do you have a policy"

The more useful part of the conversation was about measurement. The question is no longer whether a hotel has a sustainability policy; most do. The question is what the policy actually achieves and how it is measured. The indicators hotels are typically asked about include energy per occupied room, water, food waste, local purchasing and single-use plastics.

Straws are the easiest line on that list. You can count them, you can switch in a day, and guests notice immediately.

The catch is that most alternatives come with a trade-off. Paper goes soft and tastes of paper. Metal needs washing and raises hygiene questions at volume. RECO sugarcane straws sit in the middle: single-use like plastic, individually wrapped for hygiene, and made from sugar-mill bagasse combined with plant-based bioplastic.