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Laguna Phuket – one of Thailand's premier destination resorts spanning 1,000 acres of parkland and beachfront on Phuket’s west coast -  is celebrating the return of international events and sports tourism as it hosts three major beach volleyball championships

Athletes and officials from five continents head to Phuket’s leading integrated resort for a trio of tournaments, held at Angsana Laguna Phuket, the five-star beachfront resort that specialises in outdoor activities

The recent AVC 2021 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships ran from 23rd-27th November 2021, gathering athletes, coaches and officials from 10 countries in Asia Pacific – Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Iran – to compete on the soft sands outside Angsana Laguna Phuket.

Organised in partnership between Laguna Phuket, the Sports Authority of Thailand – Phuket province, Thailand Volleyball Association (TVA), Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and PPTV HD, the occasion highlighted the ability of Laguna Phuket to stage exceptional events and accommodate international visitors for safe, seamless and salubrious seafront stays.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship is being held from 6th-11th December 2021, with the FIVB Beach Volleyball U20 World Championship following from 14th-16th December 2021. These two global events will feature 28 male teams and 28 female teams from 48 countries and five continents. The FIVB, event organiser and Thailand Volleyball Association jointly decided to reschedule the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 and U21 World Championships to these December dates from those originally scheduled for September in view of recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Thailand and subsequent restrictions implemented by the Government of Thailand to mitigate risk.

Angsana Laguna Phuket is considered the ideal location to host these beach volleyball championships. This five-star resort specialises in creating outdoor lifestyle experiences, with a wealth of sporting facilities and nature-inspired activities. Surrounded by freshwater lagoons, the resort features a 300-metre-long free-form resort pool, fully-equipped fitness centre, water sports, mountain bike hire, island tours, diving and snorkelling excursions, award-winning golf and more.

Sports tourism has helped to put Phuket on the global map in recent years, and it will play a key role in the island’s recovery in the post-pandemic era. The recent SMASH IT webinar, co-produced by C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications, learned how the Phuket Sandbox initiative gave the island “first-mover advantage” and allowed it to capitalise on the return of sporting events.

Phuket will also host Asian Tour golf tournaments this year, and the Laguna Phuket Marathon and Laguna Phuket Triathlon are set to return in 2022. With many of these contests being televised in multiple countries, Phuket is likely to become even more attractive to global guests seeking healthier ways to live and travel.

Phuket was the first Southeast Asian destination to safely reopen to international visitors when it launched the Phuket Sandbox programme in July 2021. Laguna Phuket was instrumental in the success of the initiative, creating a series of ‘Safe Haven’ packages at its collection of seven SHA Plus-certified hotels and resorts, and partnering Bangkok Hospital Phuket to open a PCR test centre in its Canal Village.

“Phuket is a global hub for sports tourism. With the island’s outstanding infrastructure, year-round outdoor climate and world-class hospitality, we have proved that we can stage any size of event, from small groups of active travellers to major international competitions. Laguna Phuket is at the heart of this sector, so we are delighted to have been able to welcome the AVB and FIVB back to the island for these important tournaments. I am confident that this will help to kickstart the recovery of Phuket’s tourism industry in 2022 and beyond,” said Ravi Chandran, Chief Executive of Laguna Resorts and Hotels.

For more information about Laguna Phuket go to www.lagunaphuket.com. 

Image top: The AVC 2021 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships saw athletes, coaches and officials from 10 Asia Pacific countries compete at on the beach outside, Angsana Laguna Phuket

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