The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) organised a roadshow in Mumbai recently. The event witnessed the participation of 76 exhibitors from Thailand, of which 31 were DMCs, 33 were hotels, and the rest were sightseeing companies.
Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor on the sidelines of the event, Vathanachai Chatrirath, Vice President, ATTA, said that Thailand is a safe destination for Indian travellers and that they want a greater number of Indian tourists to visit the country. “Our focus is especially on MICE and sustainable travel. Besides this, we also want to promote Thailand as a wedding destination,” said Chatrirath.
He also said that ATTA has discussed destination weddings with TAT, and TAT is planning a familiarisation (Fam) trip for Indian wedding planners to Thailand soon. “This trip would help them understand the destination and also the catering and food options available there,” he said.
Chatrirath said that ATTA is eager to tie up with Indian tourism associations such as TAAI and TAFI. “We have not given any proposal to them but would like to do so,” he revealed. He added, “If we tie up, it will help in both ways. We do not just want inbound tourism but also want more Thai tourists to visit India.”
He said that ATTA’s mission is to promote two-way tourism. “If we focus only on inbound tourism, in that case we can’t increase the number of flights. If more tourists travel from Thailand to India, it will also help strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries further,” he pointed out.
Chatrirath said that his association will soon send a proposal inviting Indian tourism associations to come to Thailand and organise roadshows there. “If this is done, it will help more tourists from Thailand to visit India,” he said.
ATTA is also targeting Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India for its events. “Our future plan is to go to smaller cities in India,” he revealed.
In 2025, Thailand recorded 2.48 million tourist arrivals from India, and this year, it has set a target of 2.55 million arrivals from India.