The Rose Garden wants to be known as more than just another pretty face when it comes to doing good for Thailand’s environment
The Rose Garden Riverside is blooming, celebrating its 45th anniversary by setting new benchmarks for high environmental standards in Thailand. Suchada Yuvaboon, chairperson of the beautiful complex in Nakhon Pathom’s Sam Pran district, says that the hotel’s main goal is to become a pioneer of sustainable tourism in Thailand.
“The management has been committed to the conservation of both the ecology and the culture of Thailand since operations began in 1962,” she says.
The push is now on, she adds, for local environmental developments to meet worldwide standards. To put the mission plan into action, the Rose Garden has launched a new policy with the theme “Take Good Care of Clients and the Environment”. In addition, she says the hotel will run ongoing activities to foster environmental awareness for local schoolchildren this year, alongside its well-established Thai-culture-themed projects.
Visitors to the Rose Garden Riverside find it easy to become immersed in Thai culture, says Suchada. She explains that this strong point of the hotel is also a key attraction for its clients, both leisure and business types, especially meetings and convention groups, as evidenced by recent visits from the World Orchid, World Allergy, and International Rice conferences.
The hotel has adopted the environmental guidelines of international networks like BlueGreen Meetings and Meeting Professionals International, and these cover not just its conference rooms but also all seven of its restaurants, 188 guest rooms and other areas in the 170-rai complex.
BlueGreen Meetings suggests that the first consideration for any convention organiser is the environmental sustainability ranking of the countries they are looking at. This is measured by the World Economic Forum (WEF) index. In the latest WEF list, which came out on March 4, Thailand is ranked 90th in the world, lagging far behind local competitors like Singapore and Malaysia, in 12th and 27th place respectively.
According to Suchada, the commitments have paid off, with a positive reception from local visitors and overseas guests alike, as well as recognition like the National Culture Commission award, graciously presented by HM Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn representing HM King Bhumibol.
Experts like Prof Thongchai Panswad, former president of both the Environmental Engineering Association and the Thailand Environment Institute, have been brought on board as advisers. He’s been joined by Neungpanich Sinchaisri, a former academic at Kasetsart University’s Department of Entomology, who will advise on gardens and flora, and MR Kasemvisuth Visuthi, a human-resources expert.
The Rose Garden’s director, Arrut Navaraj, points out that environmental issues in Thailand have drawn more and more attention internationally. If the country fails to follow up on its gains in the area, the tourism industry might see a downturn. Consequently, the Rose Garden is cooperating with the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Green Globe programme to develop environmental standards in Thailand in a project that should take a year to complete.
VIPASAI NIYAMABHA
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