Bangkok, 16 September 2026 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) brought together 49 international buyer companies and 63 Thai sellers at Topgolf Megacity in Bangna for the main trade meet of the Thailand Golf Travel Mart (TGTM) 2026. Combining business appointments, a tourism product update and media product testing at one venue, the programme connected overseas golf travel specialists with Thai golf and tourism businesses from across the country.
As TAT’s annual B2B marketplace for golf tourism, TGTM supports Thailand’s positioning as a world-class sports, health and wellness destination while encouraging longer stays and wider travel. Today’s programme highlighted opportunities to combine golf with Thai massage, wellness, gastronomy, culture, shopping and other experiences across destinations.
Mr. Kittipong Prapattong, TAT Deputy Governor for Digitalisation, Research, and Development, said, “Golf is an important part of Thailand’s Value over Volume strategy because the visitor experience extends well beyond the round. Under ‘Healing is the New Luxury’, we are showing how golf can become part of a broader journey through recovery, wellness, food, culture and Thai hospitality. TGTM 2026 gives our trade partners direct access to the courses, resorts and operators that can turn those possibilities into itineraries for their clients.”
During his product update at the trade meet, held on 15 September, Mr. Kittipong presented Thailand through four distinct golf settings. The North offers highland golf amid valleys and mountain landscapes; the South combines coastal and links-style characteristics with strong wellness offerings; the Northeast presents valley golf shaped by reservoirs, waterways and river plains; and Bangkok, the Central Plains and the Eastern Seaboard form Thailand’s most concentrated golfing heartland, combining accessibility with a wide choice of championship, resort and leisure courses.
Thailand has more than 250 golf courses, with year-round playing conditions and options across the country. Improving transport links are also expanding possibilities for multi-destination itineraries, including road connections serving the Eastern Seaboard, Kanchanaburi and the Northeast, together with U-Tapao International Airport as a gateway to the Eastern Seaboard.
The trade programme brought together buyers from North America, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Northeast Asia. The Thai sellers comprised golf courses, hotels and resorts, destination management companies and golf-related tourism businesses.
The afternoon combined pre-arranged appointments with free-flow trade meetings, enabling buyers and sellers to develop programmes, negotiate products and explore opportunities across Thailand’s golf destinations. Running alongside the trade sessions, a dedicated media product-testing programme introduced golf technology, practice and driving-range solutions, green-energy golf carts, golfer wellness services and information on golf courses throughout Thailand. The programme concluded with an evening networking function at the same venue.
TGTM 2026 opened on 14 September with a Networking Golf Tournament at The Royal Gems Golf and Sports Club in Nakhon Pathom, around 35 kilometres west of Bangkok and approximately an hour’s drive from the city centre. The tournament, held ahead of the trade meetings, brought together buyers, sellers and members of the media for an individual stroke-play competition using the System 36 scoring format. This was followed by an evening networking programme attended by Mr. Kittipong Prapattong. The programme concluded with a prize presentation, with awards supported by Bangkok Airways, Golfdigg, LEBORN, Alpine Golf Club, Springfield Royal Country Club and Pattana Sports Resort.
Through TGTM 2026, TAT is encouraging the travel trade to develop golf itineraries that extend across regions and incorporate complementary Thai experiences. The approach supports longer stays, wider geographic distribution of tourism activity and greater opportunities for tourism businesses across the country.
