23 Apr 2025

PATA members get a “reality check” on the climate crisis — “Let’s do it for our kids”

The following speech was delivered by Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx Malta, at the PATA Annual Summit in Istanbul on 22 April. His main focus was on the impact of the climate crisis, but his “reality check” message applies equally to the broader, multi-sectoral meltdown taking place at a global level. Prof Lipman, formerly […]

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22 Jan 2025

Launch Webinar: Thailand – The World’s First “Alliance of Civilisations” Destination

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Does anyone know which country was the fastest growing source of visitor arrivals to Thailand in 2024? Saudi Arabia… Yes, that’s right.. Saudi Arabia!! The total of 228,032 visitors was a whopping 660% increase over ju

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8 Oct 2024

A Compendium of Unmatched Lectures on Thailand: The Greatest Story in Global Tourism HiSTORY

Imtiaz Muqbil

I call Thailand “The Greatest Story in Global Tourism HiSTORY”. For many good reasons. Privileged to have covered this dynamic sector since 1981, I have seen it grow from its early formative days to the boom era of mass-tourism. Thail

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1 Feb 2022

35 Years On: How Visit Thailand Year 1987 Revolutionised Global Tourism

Imtiaz Muqbil

The year 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of Visit Thailand Year 1987, the record-breaking marketing extravaganza which revolutionised the Thai and global tourism industry. What lessons can be learned from its successes and failures? How can it he

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2 Oct 2021

Inaugural Global Lecture: “25 Women Who Put Thai Tourism on the Global Map”

Imtiaz Muqbil

As Thailand is reopening to tourism, a look back may help us look ahead more clearly. I am proud to be the first to launch this “Power of History” lecture series. All will be FREE but BY INVITATION ONLY.

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1 Jul 2021

Inaugural “Power of History” Lecture: The Rise and Fall of PATA

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Click here to register Click here to register The same lecture can be given privately at a more convenient time for those interested. For further inquiries and info, please email: travelimpact2@gmail.com

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10 Jan 2020

Unmatched Lectures on Thailand: The Greatest Story in Global Tourism HiSTORY

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways International, the two founding pillars of what is now the kingdom’s largest service economy sector and job-creator. This meteoric ri

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15 Nov 2019

How 1987 Visit Thailand Year Revolutionised Global Travel & Tourism

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One of the world’s greatest tourism marketing extravaganzas, 1987 Visit Thailand Year changed the face of global Travel & Tourism. While establishing Thailand’s marketing genius, it also exposed the kingdom’s management defi

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18 Mar 2019

June 14, 2019: First Forum on The Greatest Story in Global Tourism HiSTORY

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – At 0900 hrs on March 18, exactly 59 years ago, what was then known as the Tourist Organisation of Thailand opened for business. Its duty, in the words of Gen Chalermchai Charuvastr, its first Director-General, was to promote visitor a

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11 Apr 2018

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Next Big Thing – Thailand Outbound Travel Report 2018

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Bangkok — Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has made travel journalism history yet again by publishing the first report on the surging Thai outbound travel industry. The report is being made available FREE, thanks to sup

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17 Jul 2017

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Olive Tree – How Travel & Tourism can Contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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The Olive Tree is the first and only publication designed to help Travel & Tourism become a more committed part of the solution in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Free download. Click on any of the images below. ++++++++++ The

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1 Dec 2016

Call for Entries: The First ASEAN Travel & Tourism Hall of Fame

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By Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire Bangkok – Today marks the launch of the ASEAN Travel & Tourism Hall of Fame (ATTHoF), the first global website to honour the achievements of the many industry veterans and stalwarts

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21 Apr 2025

From Covid to Chaos, Can PATA Find “Timeless Wisdom” at its Annual Summit?

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — The PATA annual summit due to open in Istanbul, the commercial capital of Türkiye, at the crossroads of East and West, bears the theme “Timeless Wisdom for a Sustainable Future”. Wisdom is in short supply in this era

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7 Apr 2025

Crisis-hit Thai tourism staring down an abyss

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — Led by sharp drops in its two top source-markets, Thailand ended the January-March first quarter with 9.5 million arrivals, an anemic 1.91% increase over the 9.37 million in the first quarter of 2024. Most disturbing is the downwa

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3 Apr 2025

Trump’s “tariffquake” marks the end of U.S. leadership globally

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — The sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have been termed the end of globalisation and free trade. In fact, it marks the end of U.S. leadership worldwide. If trust is the most important criteria of leadership, t

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2 Apr 2025

Thailand Tourism Festival showcases the Power of Peace, Unity and Harmony

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — The Thailand Tourism Festival, the kingdom’s annual celebration of nationwide travel offerings, had a strong focus on sustainability this year. Net-zero, carbon neutrality, recycling, were all the “In” thing. Its

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25 Mar 2025

FREE Webinar: Thailand, The World’s First “Alliance of Civilisations” Destination and Thailand’s first “Peace Tourism” itinerary

Imtiaz Muqbil

Thailand, The World’s First “Alliance of Civilisations” Destination and Thailand’s first “Peace Tourism” itinerary OPEN AND FREE WEBINAR — NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED (Scroll down for zoom link and passcode). In an era of conflict

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21 Mar 2025

The “Land of the Free” is all but dead. The “Land of Fear” is here

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – On 19 March, I spent a scintillating evening at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) listening to Nirmal Ghosh, author of “Backlash: Donald Trump And The Remaking Of America”. He was joined by Keith Richb

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18 Mar 2025

Nirmal Ghosh’s new book “Backlash” reveals why Trump now faces a “Counter-Backlash”

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The first question that came to mind while perusing this brilliant, page-turning book by veteran foreign correspondent Nirmal Ghosh was: Whence the name, “Backlash”? I will come to his response in a minute but before t

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16 Mar 2025

Why every woman leader should read this UN Human Rights Council report

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — International Women’s Day was celebrated with much fanfare on March 8. Widespread speeches and proclamations celebrated the exemplary roles of women leaders in growing their companies and the Travel & Tourism industry. A

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13 Mar 2025

How the booming Arms Bazaar is hurting Travel & Tourism

Imtiaz Muqbil

The pursuit of sustainability is doomed to fail without equal attention being paid to Peace, the 5th and most neglected of the 5Ps (Planet, Prosperity, People and Partnerships) of sustainability. Earlier this month, the linkage gained a higher se

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12 Mar 2025

MICE events in Bangkok to hit new benchmark with bike commute option for FOSSASIA Summit delegates

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Bangkok, Thailand – In a pioneering move designed to promote sustainable urban mobility, leading technology conference FOSSASIA has partnered with Anywheel and the Bangkok Urban Cycling Alliance (BUCA) to launch a bike-sharing service during th

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6 Mar 2025

Another bad month for Thai tourism as arrivals drop 15.9% in February

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Visitor arrivals to Thailand fell precipitously across the board to 3,119,445 in February 2025, a cumulative 15.9% decline over January 2025. Of the 91 source-markets covered by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in the official s

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25 Feb 2025

Where I discovered the REAL meaning of “sustainability”

Imtiaz Muqbil

Johor Bahru, Malaysia — The word “sustainability” invariably conjures up stereotypical images of greenery, fresh air, forests, oceans, mountains. Last week, I discovered its real, deeper meaning. Not in a forest reserve nor a sm

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22 Feb 2025

Bangladesh steps up soft power outreach in Thailand

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Bangladesh is stepping up its cultural activities as part of a strategic policy to showcase soft-power facets of Bangladesh society “that may not always be apparent to Thai audiences beyond certain stereotypes,” says B

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17 Feb 2025

New, improved Encyclopedia defines “Overtourism”, and dozens of other labels and terms

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — What is Overtourism? What is the difference between Responsible Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Regenerative Tourism, Social Tourism, Volunteer Tourism and Wilderness Tourism? How does one define Sex Tourism, Romance Tourism and Wed

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14 Feb 2025

Are global Travel & Tourism leaders inspiring HOPE? Gallup report offers food for thought

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — A report on the future of global leadership by the Gallup Organisation says that inspiring hope is by far the most important characteristic followers seek in their leaders, especially young people. Next come trust, compassion and

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13 Feb 2025

Thailand hosts first batch of 14 Saudi tourism interns

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Fourteen Saudi students of tourism and hospitality management have arrived in Thailand for an inaugural training and internship programme to learn from the Thai tourism experience. Thailand is the first Asian country chosen for th

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10 Feb 2025

Time for Travel & Tourism Leaders to do their job

Imtiaz Muqbil

By Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire Notice how loudly the volume has been turned up on the topic of Peace and Tourism? Like the debate on sustainability, it may turn out to be too little too late. The relationship between t

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9 Feb 2025

The Siam Society boosts culture, heritage links with Saudi Research and Archives Foundation

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia took another small but significant step forward with the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between two of the countries’ leading institutions of culture, history and heritage.

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7 Feb 2025

Thailand arrivals growth slows in Jan 2025 as competitors surge

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — Declines in arrivals from 24 source-markets in January 2025, including countries such as Malaysia, India, Singapore, Japan, USA and UK, slowed what was otherwise turning out to be a strong five-month surge in tourism to Thailand s

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3 Feb 2025

FREE webinar: Why Unconditional Support for Israel is Bad for America and Americans

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — The Donald Trump administration’s growing list of actions disrupting global peace, security and stability are facing increasing resistance and pushback. One of the most controversial ones is the President’s publicly st

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2 Feb 2025

Thai spiritual leaders unite to advance “Peace Tourism” Soft Power agenda

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Thailand’s status as an Alliance of Civilisations Destination took a giant step forward on 01 Feb 2025. Spiritual leaders of the Buddhist, Muslim and Christian faiths declared themselves to be a “Model Multicultural Co

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31 Jan 2025

Uzbekistan, Thailand Forge Alliance of Civilisations via Music, Dance and Cuisine

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The Music Hall at Thailand’s renowned Chulalongkorn University came alive with a colourful fusion of dance, culture and cuisine at the Thai-Uzbek Art Concert organised for the first time on 29 January 2025. The lively perfor

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28 Jan 2025

Powerful book explains why Thailand is the “Coup Capital of Asia”, and what could happen next

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – To visualise Thailand’s development scenarios over the next 10 years, read “The Praetorian Kingdom”, a powerful, detailed account of Thailand’s military from its founding in 1852 up until 2023, its relations wi

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9 Jan 2025

Collapse of World Economic Forum “Peace & Security” index exposes poor decision-making by global business leaders

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — A measurement index of global cooperation in the field of “Peace & Security” has fallen to its lowest level ever. As a result of the growing sense of insecurity and frustration with “the system”, the pa

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6 Jan 2025

Warning signs emerge as Thai visitor arrivals fail to hit 2019 “normalcy” level

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – Preliminary visitor arrivals stats for 2024 show that Thailand ended the year below expectations. In fact, they are fraught with early-warning danger signs about the future growth prospects of Thai tourism in a rapidly changing an

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3 Jan 2025

U.S. military contracts in December 2024 alone nearly equaled the entire U.N. budget for 2025

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — American companies were awarded nearly US$3.5 billion (yes, that’s right, billion) in military contracts just in the month of December 2024 alone. This included everything from drones and spare parts to satellites, military

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1 Jan 2025

“Peace & Tourism” Perspectives sure to reset the industry mindset in 2025 and beyond

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — When the people lead, the leaders follow. That revolutionary shift has taken root as of the last week of 2024 when Juergen Thomas Steinmetz, Editor and Publisher of eTurboNews, sounded out a group of Travel & Tourism visionari

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28 Dec 2024

2025: Year of Thai Tourism History and Heritage

Imtiaz Muqbil

Presenting for the first time… An unmatched series of lectures on the History and Heritage of Thailand, The Greatest Story in Global Tourism HiSTORY. In 2025: The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways International will turn 65. Vi

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25 Dec 2024

Praying for Peace is Meaningless without Action to Build it

Imtiaz Muqbil

The annual Christmas-New Year break is a season for festivity, merriment and exchanging wishes for peace, happiness, health and prosperity. This year, I refrained from extending these perfunctory wishes. Instead, I explored alternative pathways t

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