Why Bangkok sits at the centre of an emerging global travel geography

Thailand’s tourism sector has been hit hard by impacts from the war and oil crisis in the Middle East. But, according to Rafat Ali, founder and CEO of Skift, a leading travel industry intelligence company, Bangkok sits at the centre of a new global travel geography set to emerge in the wake of a restructuring world order.

Ali, who will be in Bangkok for the 2nd Skift Asia Forum, says the global travel industry was built on a transatlantic axis that is now breaking apart along three fault lines: demographic demand shifting south and east, AI fragmenting who controls travel distribution, and a Middle East corridor expected to emerge stronger from war than Western analysts expect.

On April 27, Rafat Ali will provide a snapshot briefing on this outlook. He will connect the dots between these forces and explain how Thailand can take advantage of this rapidly shifting travel landscape. Hotel revenue is surging across the Asia-Pacific region, while Vietnam is drawing a wave of global capital. Chinese outbound tourism is reshaping regional routes. And the Iran conflict has thrown Middle East transit hubs into flux, disrupting travel flows for nearly half of the operators in Southeast Asia.

The Skift Asia Forum 2026 will be attended by CEOs and senior industry leaders from Hilton, Agoda, the Trip.com group, Grab, Booking.com, Traveloka, IHG, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and many other global and regional corporations in aviation, hospitality, online travel, and destinations on the dynamics reshaping the region – and what they mean for the decisions ahead.

This is a great opportunity for stakeholders in the Thai travel industry to get up to speed with the latest research, forecasts and trends.

Time: 3pm to 4.30pm.

Moderator: Imtiaz Muqbil, executive editor, Travel Impact Newswire.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.