Phuket to host ‘half-Thai’ beauty contest

Phuket resident Maria Giulietta Consentino, of Thai-Italian parents, represented

Thailand in the Miss Italia nel Mondo pageant in Veneto, Italy, in 2009.

PHUKET: -- A bevy of half-Thai, half-foreign beauties will descend on Phuket in October for the inaugural Miss Euro Asia 2011 beauty contest.

Kritphanat Patwarasit, Managing Director of ND Productions, floated the idea to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday.

The governor gave his vote of approval.

“We can put this event on Phuket’s tourism-activity calender. It will attract people to visit Phuket during the low season and help keep Phuket ‘alive’ all year,” he said.

Coming on board with organizing the pageant, which is expected to cost 10 million baht to host, will be the Phuket Provincial Office and Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Phuket Town.

“There are two major beauty contests held annually in Thailand, but none are for half-Thais only,” Mr Kritphanat said.

Known in Thai as luk kreung, half-Thais are renowned throughout the Kingdom as the beautiful darlings of the Thai celebrity scene.

Among the currently most popular luk kreung stars are actress Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn (Thai-Australian) and Marion Ursula “Marsha” Vadhanapanich (Thai-German).

The pageant in Phuket will be open only to half-Thai women 18 to 25 years old.

“With the mix of nationalities living here, Phuket is well-qualified to host such an event,” Mr Kritphanat said.

Although the contest will be held in October, a confirmed date for the event had yet to be set, he added.

The winner will represent Thailand in two international beauty pageants: Miss Italia nel Mondo, to be held in Italy; and the Miss International beauty contest in the USA.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-04-29

Reenforces the point that Thais are quite racist. In any other country if you are born in the country you are naturalised to that country regardless of your ethnic origins. Thais need to be a little more open minded about people with different coloured skins to themselves.

This kind of contest could backfire PR wise and send out the wrong message.

The winner will represent Thailand in two international beauty pageants: Miss Italia nel Mondo...

It looks like they have already decided that the winner will be half Italian, as otherwise she could not participate in the Miss Italia nel Mondo contest. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Italia_nel_Mondo

According to the OP that was in 2009

Phuket resident Maria Giulietta Consentino, of Thai-Italian parents, represented

Thailand in the Miss Italia nel Mondo pageant in Veneto, Italy, in 2009.

According to the OP that was in 2009

Phuket resident Maria Giulietta Consentino, of Thai-Italian parents, represented

Thailand in the Miss Italia nel Mondo pageant in Veneto, Italy, in 2009.

Yes, but the news article talks about the next winner of the ‘half-Thai’ beauty contest representing Thailand in the next Miss Italia nel Mondo pageant, a competition in which only "women of Italian heritage" are qualified to participate:

The winner will represent Thailand in two international beauty pageants: Miss Italia nel Mondo, to be held in Italy...