Thailand Shines at World Tourism Awards 2025 with Dual Wins for Smart Tourism Excellence
Honoured for AI-driven innovation and digital transformation in global tourism
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has once again positioned Thailand at the forefront of global tourism innovation, securing two major accolades at the World Tourism Awards 2025, held on 20 October at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels. These recognitions underscore Thailand’s leadership in Smart Tourism and its continued drive to integrate advanced digital and AI technologies across the travel ecosystem.
TAT triumphed in two prestigious categories — “Best Use of AI in Travel” for its groundbreaking TAT-AI (Thailand’s Tourism Intelligence Powered by AI) initiative, and “Most Innovative Tourism Campaign” for the highly acclaimed Half-Half Thai Travel campaign. Both honours highlight TAT’s forward-looking strategy in leveraging data intelligence and AI to elevate Thailand’s tourism competitiveness on the global stage.
Representing TAT Governor Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Mr. Kittipong Prapattong, Deputy Governor for Digitalisation, Research, and Development, accepted the awards and remarked,
“These achievements reflect TAT’s dedication to building a fully digital tourism ecosystem — one that empowers communities, enhances traveller experiences, and ensures sustainable growth across all regions of Thailand.”
Driving Thailand’s Smart Tourism Revolution
The TAT-AI Project, launched in fiscal year 2025, marks a new era in Thailand’s digital tourism transformation. It consolidates scattered data sources into a unified National Tourism Data Warehouse and integrates AI technology through a strategic partnership with Google, encompassing Google Cloud, Gemini, and Google Maps.
Through this intelligent platform, travellers can access real-time, personalised travel recommendations on TAT’s official website, while TAT leverages advanced analytics for data-driven marketing and destination planning.
Equally transformative, the Half-Half Thai Travel Campaign revitalised domestic tourism through a 50% co-payment model, offering over 500,000 travel privileges and supporting nearly 10,000 SMEs nationwide. The initiative also introduced the “Amazing Thailand Platform,” a fully TAT-owned digital infrastructure fostering a cashless tourism ecosystem. This campaign alone generated an estimated 35 billion Baht in economic activity and significantly boosted travel to secondary destinations across Thailand.
Global Recognition for Excellence and Innovation
Organised by the World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI), the World Tourism Awards 2025 stands as the world’s most prestigious platform celebrating excellence in travel, tourism, and hospitality. Held as part of the Global Tourism Forum Annual Meeting 2025 (20–21 October), the event honoured the top 100 global performers across more than a hundred categories, from sustainability and aviation to digital transformation and destination branding.
These dual victories reaffirm Thailand’s commitment to digital innovation, sustainable growth, and inclusive tourism development. Moving forward, TAT aims to strengthen Thailand’s position as Asia’s leading Smart Tourism Hub, seamlessly integrating technology with culture, community, and creativity to redefine the future of travel.
