The northern Thai province of Chiang Rai, best known for misty mountains, golden temples, and an aura of timeless calm, is preparing for a turn in the global spotlight.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has officially chosen the city to host the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2025 (PDMF 2025). The event will run from 1 to 3 December 2025 at the Heritage Chiang Rai Hotel & Convention.
The announcement was made with due ceremony at the closing of this year’s forum, sealing Chiang Rai’s place as the next stage for Asia-Pacific tourism professionals to gather, talk shop, and importantly sip the local tea while at it.
A Theme Rooted in Tradition and Wellness
The 2025 forum theme is poetic and purposeful: “Steeped in Tradition, Rooted in Wellness: Weaving the Meaningful Narrative of Travel.”
The idea, in short, is to remind the travel trade that tourism isn’t just about footfall and hotel occupancy. It’s about telling a story, curating an experience, and — dare one say — ensuring visitors leave with memories deeper than a social media post.
The event’s co-hosts read like a who’s who of Thai tourism: the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Chiang Rai City, and the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), with robust support from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
PATA’s Take: Showcasing the Unsung
“PATA is thrilled to partner with Chiang Rai in hosting next year’s PATA Destination Marketing Forum,” enthused PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid. He reminded delegates that PATA had graced the province with an event in 2016, and he was delighted to return.
In his words, the gathering will “offer destination marketers and tourism professionals practical insights, actionable strategies, and emerging trends to boost their destinations’ appeal.” He was also keen to underline the blend of field experience and conference wisdom that has become the forum’s calling card.
And in a nod to the enduring Thai-Asian tradition of partnerships, Noor added, “We’re equally delighted to once again join forces with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), one of our most valued partners.”
Chiang Rai’s Leaders Weigh In
Chiang Rai’s Governor Charin Thongsuk spoke proudly about his province’s moment in the sun. “We are honoured that Chiang Rai will co-host the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2025,” he said. For him, it’s not just about showing off temples and tea plantations. It’s about sustainable tourism and community engagement, buzzwords that, in Chiang Rai’s case, come with substance.
Dr Supawan Teerarat, President of TCEB, described Chiang Rai as “a destination with high potential as a MICE City”. She cited the province’s winning blend of “nature, culture and creativity”, pointing out that Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang Garden is already a PATA Gold Award laureate.
Meanwhile, TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool clarified that Thailand’s tourism leadership sees this as a chance to press forward with value-based tourism, blending distinctiveness with sustainability. “We are pleased to support the PATA Destination Marketing Forum 2025, which will highlight Chiang Rai’s unique potential,” she said.
DASTA Director-General Siripakorn Cheawsamoot waxed lyrical on Chiang Rai’s UNESCO status as a Creative City of Design. He promised that the technical tours arranged for delegates would be excursions and immersive journeys into culture, heritage, and sustainable practice.
Why Chiang Rai?
For those unfamiliar with Thailand beyond Bangkok and Phuket, Chiang Rai is the country’s northernmost province, famed for its cultural tapestry, art, and landscapes that blend serenity with grandeur.
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Cultural icons include the dazzling Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), the moody Baan Dam Museum (Black House), and the golden grandeur of the Great Buddha at Wat Huay Pla Kang.
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Natural wonders stretch from tea plantations to waterfalls, with Doi Pha Tang’s misty peaks drawing photographers at dawn.
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History and community shine in initiatives like the Royal Project at Doi Tung, which famously turned an opium-growing area into a model of sustainable forestry, horticulture and cultural tourism.
Let’s not forget its position in the fabled Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. It’s the kind of place where travel brochures almost write themselves.
More Than Just Talk
The PATA Destination Marketing Forum isn’t just another talkfest. It is designed as a hands-on, minds-on event where destination marketers from across the region roll up their sleeves and come away with strategies they can use.
This is why the event is split into a day of destination immersion, delegates will be out and about, experiencing Chiang Rai for themselves, and a day of expert-led conference sessions.
It’s a model that ensures participants don’t just hear about best practices in tourism; they experience them firsthand.
Sustainability at the Core
PATA has promised that PDMF 2025 will be carbon neutral. Registration is free (with PATA members first in line). Still, attendees will be asked to pay a modest USD 10 carbon offset fee, which will go to a local environmental initiative in Thailand.
PATA insists that this isn’t just a token gesture but a serious contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration.
A Province Ready for Its Close-Up
When all is said and done, Chiang Rai may be the quintessential “emerging destination” that PATA loves to spotlight: steeped in tradition, brimming with creativity, yet humble enough to welcome the world with open arms and hot tea.
The Heritage Chiang Rai Hotel & Convention will be the venue, but the real stage will be the province itself, where mist, monasteries, and modernity will share the limelight.
Delegates, mark your diaries. Chiang Rai is ready to host a forum that will live up to its lofty title.
