Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) Bangkok, March 16, 2026 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched the “Amazing Thailand Smiles @ Southern Thailand Grand Exploration Tour,” inviting 25 key opinion leaders, travel bloggers, and industry influencers from Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam to explore the diverse tourism resources of southern Thailand through customized itineraries tailored to their respective target markets.
The exploration tour will be held from March 9th to 19th, 2026, featuring seven meticulously designed customized routes: centering on Hat Yai, radiating to Songkhla, Trang, Satun, Phatthalung, and other southern provinces, with some itineraries also connecting to Bangkok, showcasing the natural landscapes and cultural charm of southern Thailand. On March 13th, a special networking dinner was held, where the event planning team and partners from the southern Thai tourism industry gathered to discuss new opportunities for cultural and tourism cooperation.
The event aims to showcase the diversity of tourism and culture in Southern Thailand through in-depth experiences tailored to the preferences of various source markets—covering local culture, lifestyle, key attractions, and high-quality tourism services—and to gain high-quality international exposure for Southern Thailand tourism in major Asia-Pacific source markets.
Ms. Patharanon Na Chiang Mai, Deputy Director of International Marketing (Asia and South Pacific) at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, stated, “The ‘Amazing Thailand Smiles @ Southern Thailand Mega-Exploration Tour’ is an important component of the ‘Amazing Thailand Unforgettable Experiences’ program in March 2026. The Tourism Authority of Thailand hopes that through this event, it can enhance awareness of Thailand in existing and emerging target markets, further strengthen global tourists' confidence in the future development of Thailand's tourism industry, and deepen close cooperation with various sectors of the tourism and culture industry to continuously consolidate Thailand's core position as a top destination for international tourists.”
This exploration tour also serves as a significant boost to the recovery of tourism and culture in Southern Thailand following the November 2025 floods. Previously, floods affected Hat Yai and several surrounding provinces. Thai government agencies quickly coordinated to provide timely assistance to affected travelers, restore regional transportation, and continuously release verified travel information. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) simultaneously activated its Tourism Crisis Monitoring Center to coordinate support efforts and the latest developments in the cultural and tourism sector, striving to promote regional tourism recovery.
This inspection tour is an extension and upgrade of the TAT's "Smile @ Hat Yai" recovery plan, which also includes initiatives such as the "Smile @ South Malaysia - Thailand Tour" and the "Amazing Hat Yai Happy Bus," aiming to continuously revitalize tourism recovery, inject development momentum into local tourism operators, and comprehensively strengthen the hardware and software preparations for welcoming international tourists in southern Thailand.
The TAT expects that, through content dissemination by participating creators and a series of supporting promotional activities, this inspection tour will achieve approximately 500,000 targeted exposures, effectively expanding the influence and awareness of southern Thailand tourism in core Asia-Pacific source markets and injecting new vitality into the regional cultural and tourism economic recovery. (End)
