Kids in Charge! To Rule Thistle Port Dickson

images by Veronica Ng

World’s first kids in charge! advisory board search kicks off at Thistle Port Dickson

Ten kids to be inducted into special Advisory Board with a mission to make

children’s stays at the resort an unforgettable experience

Port Dickson, Malaysia has for decades been a holiday haven for families. This is in part due to its appeal to both young and old alike. However, one particular resort has taken an unprecedented bid to improve its offerings to young ones and to make their experience at the resort a truly unforgettable one. 

To do this, the Thistle Port Dickson Resort has taken on an initiative to designate ten children into a provisional Advisory Board whose main task will be to deliberate and suggest exciting and fun activities that can be implemented just for kids. 

“Children today are more astute than ever before. Looking after them and meeting their needs is serious business. Very often hotels tend to focus on being hospitable to adults, but in our efforts we neglect to take in the expectations of this very important demographic of guests. As grownups, we can very easily lose sight of their needs. This is why we’re taking this very seriously at Thistle Port Dickson Resort, to ultimately allow kids to decide what they want. This whole initiative is about them and we’re very excited to launch this pioneering project,” said John Murphy, General Manager of Thistle Port Dickson Resort.

As part of Thistle’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, some 65 children from 6 local schools and homes, including Agape Home School and Home of Peace were invited to be part of the campaign launch.

The nationwide search is open to all children aged 7 to 12 years old residing in West and East Malaysia, including children of expatriates. Kids interested in participating just need to get their parents/guardian to download the entry form from Thistle’s website (www.thistle.com/portdickson), answer three questions and obtain the consent of their parents/guardians to participate by way of their signature on the form.

All entries received will be reviewed by a panel of six judges and narrowed down to 10 finalists who will be inducted into the board. Each of the 10 board members will be provided with four 3D/2N stays for a family of four at Thistle Port Dickson, during which the respective board meetings will convene. In all, four board meetings will take place over a period of four months until December 2013, after which the board will be dissolved. 

Each board member will receive a special “creative kit”, complete with drawing tools, sketch pad, a Thistle T-shirt, a cap, suit and tie, amongst other items. The first Board Meeting will commence with a guided tour of Thistle Port Dickson Resort. 

Over the four board meetings, each member will have to propose and develop original ideas towards enhancing kids’ experiences at the hotel, and creatively discuss the implementation of these ideas.  The board will be working closely with John Murphy and Chinthaka Weerasinghe who are part of the judging panel to study the creativity and feasibility of the ideas proposed. The most creative and feasible ideas will be implemented at the resort.

At the end of the four months, the board member with the most creative idea and best overall performance, as determined by the panel, will be rewarded with a 6D/5N stay at the Thistle London for a family of four including return air tickets, courtesy of SriLankan Airlines.

Entries for the Kids in Charge! project will be accepted until July 31, 2013. Interested participants may download the entry form from Thistle’s website atwww.thistle.com/portdickson. Entry forms will also be distributed to international and local schools around the country, to encourage as many kids as possible to participate.

Parents/Guardians who wish to find out more about the contest can contact GO Communications Sdn Bhd at +603 – 7710 3288 (Edward Chin / Elsy Tan)