Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has seen increased connectivity with Europe. Photo Credit: Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
Thailand’s position as a leading global MICE destination has received a significant boost with the launch of new international direct flights to its four primary MICE cities – Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya.
In 2024 alone, eight airlines introduced new routes, with three more set to follow in 2025, connecting Thailand to Europe, Central Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East.
Bangkok: Bangkok has seen increased connectivity with Europe.
British Airways resumed its direct London-Bangkok flights on 28 October, offering three flights a week, increasing to five weekly flights in January and February 2024.
ITA Airways began its Rome-Bangkok route with five flights weekly on 17 November.
Thai Airways International reinstated direct flights from Bangkok to Brussels on 1 December 2024.
Norse Atlantic Airways will introduce a Stockholm-Bangkok route starting 29 October 2025.
Phuket: Phuket, Thailand’s resort island in the south, has expanded its global reach.
Air India launched a second daily flight from Delhi to Phuket on 1 June, with Air India Express adding four weekly flights from Surat to Phuket on 24 December.
Air Astana introduced its Astana-Phuket service on 26 October, tapping into the growing Kazakhstan market.
Saudia Airlines followed suit, debuting flights from Riyadh on 2 December and Jeddah on 4 December.
Chiang Mai: Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai has seen a surge in direct flight connections.
Hong Kong Airlines began operating direct flights on 27 October, joining Thai AirAsia and Hong Kong Express on the Chiang Mai-Hong Kong route.
Looking ahead, Etihad Airways will launch four weekly flights from Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai starting 4 November 2025.
Pattaya: U-Tapao Airport near Pattaya is also enhancing access, with S7 Airlines introducing five weekly flights from Irkutsk, Russia, between March and May 2025.
“The four MICE Cities are prime destinations of Thailand where TCEB is always working with the cities' stakeholders to develop and craft new products to cater to new requirements of MICE planners and travelers, while Phuket and Chiang Mai are our targets where fast-track immigration lane will be provided, apart from the existing ones in Bangkok,” stated Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).