Thailand expands golf tourism links at TGTM 2026 - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Thailand is strengthening its position in the international golf tourism market. At the Thailand Golf Travel Mart (TGTM) 2026 in Bangkok, 49 international buyer companies met with 63 Thai suppliers representing golf courses, hotels, resorts, destination management companies and other tourism businesses.

Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the annual B2B event is designed to connect international golf specialists directly with Thai suppliers. This year’s programme placed particular emphasis on combining golf holidays with wellness, gastronomy, culture, shopping and travel between different regions of the country.

Golf as part of a broader Thailand itinerary

The main trade meeting took place on 15 September at Topgolf Megacity in Bangna. Buyers attended from North America, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Northeast Asia.

“Golf is an important part of Thailand’s Value over Volume strategy because the visitor experience extends well beyond the round,” said Kittipong Prapattong, TAT Deputy Governor for Digitalisation, Research, and Development. Under the concept “Healing is the New Luxury”, TAT wants to connect golf with recovery, wellness, food, culture and Thai hospitality.

The aim is also to encourage longer stays. Rather than concentrating exclusively on individual golf resorts, international operators are being encouraged to develop itineraries linking courses with other tourism experiences and several destinations.

More than 250 golf courses across the country

Thailand has more than 250 golf courses and offers year-round playing conditions. TAT divides the country’s golf product into four broad geographic settings.

Northern Thailand combines courses with valleys and mountainous landscapes, while southern destinations link golf with coastal settings and wellness products. In the Northeast, courses are shaped by reservoirs, waterways and river plains. Bangkok, the Central Plains and the Eastern Seaboard form the country’s largest concentration of golf facilities, ranging from championship courses to resort and leisure venues.

Improving transport connections are also intended to facilitate multi-stop golf holidays. TAT points to road links serving the Eastern Seaboard, Kanchanaburi and northeastern Thailand, while U-Tapao International Airport provides another gateway to destinations along the Eastern Seaboard.

Trade meetings focus on new golf packages

The Bangkok programme combined pre-arranged appointments with open trade meetings. Buyers and suppliers used the sessions to negotiate products and develop potential programmes for international markets.

A parallel programme for the media presented golf technology, driving-range and practice products, green-energy golf carts and wellness services for golfers, as well as information about courses around the country.

TGTM 2026 had opened a day earlier with a networking tournament at The Royal Gems Golf and Sports Club in Nakhon Pathom, around 35 kilometres west of Bangkok. Buyers, sellers and media representatives competed in an individual stroke-play tournament using the System 36 format before attending an evening networking event.

Longer stays and travel beyond established resorts

The wider objective of TGTM is to encourage tour operators to combine golf with other elements of a Thailand holiday and to spread visitors across several regions.

For TAT, the strategy is intended to increase the value generated by golf tourism while distributing tourism activity more widely across the country. Golf therefore becomes not only the purpose of a trip, but also a starting point for itineraries incorporating Thai cuisine, wellness, culture and other experiences.

Image Credit: © AI generated illustration using material courtesy of TAT