Sellers from across the region took the chance to meet with the Aussie contingent in Koh Chang, along with travel industry guests from other core markets, including India, the Philippines and Singapore.
Trat welcomed more than 417,000 foreign visitors in 2024 but numbers declined last year, prompting the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to organise the B2B gathering, also attended by Traveltalk.
Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have been partly blamed for the drop in visitors but Mr Korakot Opas, Director of the Trat Office for TAT, said the situation was now back to normal.
“Today I’m delighted to introduce you to Trat, Thailand’s hidden gem,” Mr Opas added. “I think it is the perfect destination for the meaningful travel that your clients are looking for.”
While Germany is the top overseas market for Trat, Australia is within the top 20, coming in at 16th with just over 4,400 arrivals in 2024.
“Your markets are very important to us and now everything is back to normal we are ready to grow these numbers back together with you,” said Mr Opas.
The three main islands attracting foreign visitors to Trat are:
# Koh Chang, which has more than 203 hotels and 7,000 rooms. Described as an “all-rounder”, it offers something for every traveller, from bungalows to five-star resorts, along with uncrowded beaches, numerous bars and restaurants. Great for adventure and family.
# Koh Kood, offering privacy from its 80 boutique hotels. The island is positioned as a private getaway specifically designed for the luxury market.
# Koh Mak, a small-scale, peaceful sanctuary with only 38 hotels. It offers a quiet retreat focused on maintaining a sustainable, low carbon lifestyle.
“Prices are very flexible, starting from 1,000 ($AU50) to over 10,000 ($AU500) Baht per night. It really depends on the season and special festival, so we have something for every budget,” said Mr Opas.
“Trat is the real Thailand. It is beautiful, sustainable and high value. Let’s work together to bring more meaningful memories to your clients.”
Mr Opas’ comments were echoed by Mr Pichaya Saisaengchan, Director of the TAT Sydney office, who said the trade meet would give the visiting Aussies the perfect opportunity to see just what the destination could offer.
“Seeing is believing,” he told Traveltalk, “because maybe they don’t know what’s here. If they see how professional the Thai suppliers are here they will go home and recommend the destination to their clients.
“It’s an opportunity for the Aussies to explore and to see a more authentic Thai product.”
On a wider tourism issue, Mr Saisaengchan said Thailand was well aware of the competition the country faces from other new and emerging destinations to attract overseas visitors.
“You have new product coming in and we are low hanging fruit – you can come back anytime. It is human nature to want to try something new and we can’t stop that.
“We just have to maintain our standards. We still have 30 million tourists coming to Thailand every year and 800,000 coming from Australia.
“I think we should be happy with what we’ve got right now and just manage it better, with more dispersal throughout the country. Where they go is more important than how many come.”
