On 21 June 2023, H.E. Mr. Chatchawan Sakornsin, Ambassador of Thailand to Kazakhstan, together with Mr. Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Deputy Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for International Marketing in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas, participated in the event “Amazing Thailand Roadshow to Astana, Kazakhstan” at Sheraton Astana Hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event was organized by TAT, Moscow Office, which covers Kazakhstan, and brought together 29 representatives of Thai hotels, resorts, and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) from Phuket, Krabi and Pattaya. As part of the event, different activities were organized such as the briefing on interesting tourism destination in Thailand, a business matching session with 63 Kazakh tour operators and travel agencies (such as, Kazunion, Selfie Travel Head Office, Kompas Kazakhstan, Pegas Touristik Astana, Fun&Sun Astana) that resulted in over 900 matchings, and the lucky draw where Thai entrepreneurs sponsored prizes for Kazakh tour operators and travel agencies.
     During the “Networking Lunch with Air Astana” as part of the event, Ambassador Chatchawan held discussion with representatives of Air Astana on the possibility of increasing its international fights with Thailand in order to increase the number of Kazakh tourists to Thailand. It is expected that Air Astana will increase daily flights between Bangkok - Almaty and Phuket - Almaty from the 3 flights per week as being currently operated.
     In his opening remarks for activities held in the afternoon, Ambassador Chatchawan emphasized the commitment of the Royal Thai Embassy in Astana in promoting relations between Thailand and Kazakhstan in all dimensions, including the people-to-people contact. He also underscored Thailand’s readiness to welcome Kazakh tourists, who normally visited Thailand at the amount around 50,000 people a year. However, for only the first 4 months of 2023, about 80,000 Kazakh tourists had already visited Thailand; and if this pace continues, the number may even double by the end of the year.
     The “Amazing Thailand Roadshow to Astana, Kazakhstan” event has helped enhance awareness regarding the current situation of tourism in Thailand. The event has also served as a platform where Thai and Kazakh entrepreneurs could exchange contacts and build networks, which will lead to tourism promotion in the future as well as in the post COVID-19 tourism recovery in Thailand.