The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and key partners from both the public and private sectors, recently took the stage in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to showcase Thailand’s tourism attractions and cultural strengths. The events titled “Friends of Thailand Networking Day” and “Amazing Thailand: A Glimpse of the Land of Smiles” were organized to boost Thai tourism in Kazakhstan, leveraging the country’s soft powers and a visa-free scheme to promote Thailand as an attractive destination all year round.
The “Friends of Thailand Networking Day” saw participation from a wide array of delegates from Thailand, including representatives from TAT, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), and the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), alongside officials from the TAT Moscow Office. The day provided an opportunity to engage with Kazakhstan’s local tourism operators and media. The “Amazing Thailand: A Glimpse of the Land of Smiles” event offered a cultural showcase with performances that gave attendees a taste of the Songkran festival and Muay Thai.
Kazakhstan has emerged as a rapidly expanding market for Thai tourism, currently standing as the second largest source of tourists from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) after Russia. The year 2023 saw a remarkable 190% increase in visitors from Kazakhstan to Thailand, with the trend continuing into early 2024, showing a 14% rise in arrivals compared to the same period in the previous year.
Travelers from Kazakhstan, mainly families and couples, typically enjoy stays of around 14 days, favoring Thailand’s beach resort destinations. Flight connections between Kazakhstan and Thailand are robust, with Air Astana and Sundays Airlines (SCAT) offering regular and charter flights to Bangkok and Phuket. The air route between the two countries has a high load factor, indicating strong interest and connectivity, with the seating capacity between Thailand and Kazakhstan expected to reach 153,620 seats from October 2023 to March 2024. (NNT)
