Thailand brings 40 Gulf travel trade buyers to Pattaya, Hua Hin and Bangkok

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hosted a combined familiarisation trip and trade meeting for travel companies from the Gulf between 27 September and 2 October 2026. The programme, called Amazing Journeys Through Thailand, brought 40 travel trade representatives from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to Pattaya, Hua Hin and Bangkok.

The group started on the coast. The Pattaya route covered Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, the Ocean Marina Yacht Club, island-hopping with snorkelling, and the Sanctuary of Truth. A separate Hua Hin route took in seaside resorts, heritage areas, wellness experiences and the Vana Nava Waterpark. Both ran from 27 to 29 September.

On 30 September the buyers moved to Bangkok for a discovery day: riverfront hotels, wellness clinics, spas, shopping destinations and a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River. The Trade Connect session followed on 1 October at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit, where the visitors met 80 Thai tourism businesses.

Wajanan Silpawornwiwat, TAT's Executive Director for the Americas, Middle East and Africa region, said the programme gives partners first-hand knowledge of products they can develop for their clients. In line with the "Healing is the New Luxury" direction, TAT encouraged the buyers to combine wellness and nature, healthy dining and halal cuisine in the packages they sell. Green Season travel and family-friendly accommodation also featured in the pitch.

The market numbers are mixed. Middle East arrivals reached 531,743 between 1 January and 20 September 2026, down 11.53% from a year earlier. The recent quarter looks better: 321,304 arrivals between 1 July and 20 September, up 11.82% on the same period of 2025. On the air side, TAT's release notes that Air Arabia operates 21 weekly flights on each of its Sharjah-Bangkok and Sharjah-Phuket routes.

For a family arriving from the Gulf, the practical questions come quickly after landing. How do we get between Pattaya, Hua Hin and Bangkok? Where is halal food nearby? How do we arrange a car or a scooter without surprises at the counter? Those details rarely make it into a package brochure, but they shape how a trip feels.

Balm Rentals is a marketplace for renting bikes, scooters and cars from legal, verified local owners in Thailand. The price, deposit and rental terms are shown before payment, the interface is localised into the traveller's own language, and everything is booked in one place in the iOS and Android apps or on the web. For guests who arrive through Gulf operators, that kind of clarity sits alongside the work of local rental shops and tour companies, who still know their roads best.

TAT's trade programmes tend to show their results in itineraries rather than headlines. If the visiting buyers turn what they saw into winter packages, the 2026/27 high season will show how the Gulf market responds.