Thailand Good Travel: How Thailand’s Green Tourism Plan 2030 Aims to Make It the World’s Next High‑Value Sustainable Travel Hotspot

Published on February 25, 2026

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Under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Department of Tourism has launched the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030, also referred to as Thailand Green Plan 2030, as a nationwide framework guiding tourism development up to the year 2030. This framework is being positioned as a long term roadmap that is implemented systematically rather than as a short, one off campaign. Its central vision is to move Thai destinations into the ranks of the world’s Top 100 green tourism sites by 2030 and to build a durable foundation for sustainable tourism across the country.

Through this plan, tourism is being viewed as a balance between three interconnected pillars: the economy, the environment and local communities. Instead of focusing purely on visitor numbers and revenue, the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 is being implemented with the intention of protecting ecosystems, strengthening community wellbeing and ensuring that tourism growth does not undermine the resources on which it depends. The plan is explicitly branded as Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 or Thailand Green Plan 2030 to signal a long horizon and a clear national commitment.

In future years, this structured approach is expected to help Thai destinations stand out in the global market, especially as more travellers choose destinations that can demonstrate credible, long term sustainability commitments.

Thailand Good Travel: the national mark of responsible journeys

At the heart of this framework lies Thailand Good Travel, a national sustainability standard, mark and insignia created by the Department of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Thailand Good Travel has been introduced as a sustainability certification logo or mark that functions as a national symbol of sustainable tourism. It has been aligned with internationally recognised sustainability standards, so that domestic initiatives can speak the same language as global partners and travellers.

This mark is described as a mark of trust, indicating that journeys carrying this label are designed to be responsible and of lasting value. It supports environmental protection, cultural heritage, fair community benefits and responsible use of resources. At the same time, Thailand Good Travel is used as a public facing platform to inspire travellers to choose greener trips and to draw attention to model projects and regions that embody Thailand’s sustainable tourism vision.

In the long term, this mark is expected to become a familiar signal for both domestic and international visitors, helping them identify destinations and operators that are actively contributing to a greener future for Thai tourism.

Who can carry the Thailand Good Travel mark

The Thailand Good Travel mark has been designed to apply to several key types of tourism players. It covers tourism destinations, community tourism enterprises, small scale accommodations with up to 50 rooms and tour operators. In each case, it recognises balanced performance across environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects rather than focusing on a single dimension.

The mark is explicitly framed as a certification label for destinations, hotels, tour operators and community tourism enterprises that meet Thailand’s sustainable tourism standards or serve as role models. Official text states that the Thailand Good Travel mark is awarded to 30 selected destinations, hotels, tour operators and community tourism enterprises nationwide as recognition of outstanding achievement in sustainable tourism and as an initial step toward international recognition.

In this way, Thailand Good Travel acts as a formal certification and recognition mechanism, designed to celebrate and honour operators and destinations that have demonstrated strong sustainable practices. At the same time, it promotes the strengths of Thailand’s tourism sector to both domestic and international markets by highlighting concrete examples of responsible tourism.

As more destinations and businesses qualify over time, this early cohort is likely to be followed by additional certified sites, allowing the mark to gradually cover a broader share of Thailand’s tourism landscape.

Why Thailand Good Travel was created

Thailand Good Travel grew directly out of the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030. The plan itself was formally launched in 2025, and Thailand Good Travel was introduced as one of its core tools. Both the plan and the mark were unveiled under the theme Igniting the Path to Global Green Success, and the Thailand Good Travel mark was highlighted as a central mechanism for turning that theme into practice.

The new framework was developed in response to the need to shift away from high volume tourism and toward high value, meaningful and more sustainable travel. Years of overtourism in some destinations, combined with the global disruption caused by the pandemic, made it clear that future tourism growth had to be managed differently. The initiative was also created to help balance the economy, the environment and society in tourism development and to position Thai destinations among the world’s Top 100 sustainable tourism sites by 2030.

Several key drivers have been identified for launching Thailand Good Travel. One driver is the desire to give Thai communities, small hotels and tour businesses a credible, nationally managed and internationally aligned sustainability label that helps them compete globally. Another is the need to align Thailand’s destinations and operators with international sustainability standards, notably those of Green Destinations and Travelife for Tour Operators, which themselves work with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria. The plan also aims to prepare Thai destinations to compete for listings such as the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories and other global recognitions that can influence future visitor choices.

Over time, this alignment is expected to strengthen Thailand’s credibility as a sustainable tourism leader and attract travellers and partners who actively seek verified responsible options.

Institutional backing and expert support

An important institutional milestone occurred on 6 August 2025, when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Department of Tourism, Mahidol University International College, Green Destinations and Travelife for Tour Operators. This MoU formally anchored the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 and the associated certification system. Through this partnership, Thailand established the Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Center of Thailand at Mahidol University International College to serve as a hub for research, training, evaluation and mentoring.

This centre provides the national support structure necessary for implementing the Green Tourism Plan 2030 and Thailand Good Travel. It brings academic expertise into direct collaboration with government and international partners, helping to ensure that criteria are robust, evaluations are consistent and local stakeholders receive technical support as they move toward certification.

By building this institutional backbone early in the timeline, Thailand is laying the groundwork for sustainable tourism initiatives that can endure and scale up over the rest of the decade.

A phased roadmap to 2030

From official and academic partner descriptions, the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 has been designed with a clearly phased timeline. It is intended to run as a nationwide framework through to the year 2030, with implementation ramping up from 2025 onwards.

The years 2025 to 2026 are being used to focus on system design, development of criteria, mentor training, pilot certifications and the public launch of the Thailand Good Travel branding. This phase is about building tools, training people and testing the system with initial destinations and operators.

The period from 2026 to 2030 is dedicated to scaling up certification, supporting local champions and preparing shortlisted destinations for international recognition, including the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories list. In this phase, more destinations and businesses are expected to enter the programme, and the emphasis will be on turning pilots into mainstream practice.

By spreading these steps over several years, Thailand is allowing time for capacity building, adjustment and learning, which increases the likelihood that sustainability commitments will be deep and lasting rather than superficial.

Core goals shaping the future of Thai tourism

The plan’s key goals have been set to reshape Thailand’s tourism model over the long term. One major goal is to raise national standards in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and global sustainable tourism frameworks. Another is to balance economy, environment and community in tourism development so that destinations are not judged only by arrivals and revenue.

Through Thailand Good Travel and related tools, destinations and operators are being encouraged to improve environmental management, preserve cultural heritage, ensure meaningful community participation and secure fair economic returns. Additional goals include increasing Thailand’s visibility as a world leading sustainable destination and using certification and mentorship pathways to compete for major international sustainability recognitions by 2030.

The creation of the Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Center of Thailand provides the research, training and evaluation backbone needed to help destinations and businesses move toward these goals in a structured way.

For the future, these goals suggest that travellers will find more Thai destinations presenting clear sustainability stories, community partnerships and transparent commitments as part of their appeal.

Certified destinations: a growing but not yet fully public list

Within this framework, Thailand Good Travel already exists as an operational certification programme, but the full, official list of certified destinations has not yet been published in a single public English source. Official material indicates that Thailand Good Travel certification is being granted to a set of destinations, community tourism initiatives, small accommodations and tour operators across the country.

Some summaries mention that around 30 destinations, hotels, tour operators and community tourism enterprises nationwide are being selected initially for certification and promotion as models of sustainable tourism and prepared for international recognition. However, public English language pages for Thailand Good Travel and Thailand Green Plan 2030 do not yet provide a complete, detailed list of all certified destinations. The Thailand Good Travel portal highlights themes and partnerships such as Takuapa Creative and Green Plan and the Thailand Sustainable Island Tourism Alliance, but again stops short of presenting a full roster.

Because an official exhaustive list is not openly available, it is only possible to state that a first cohort of roughly 30 destinations and businesses across Thailand has been or is being certified under Thailand Good Travel as role models of sustainable tourism, with more to be added before 2030. As the programme matures, it is likely that more detailed public lists will appear, giving travellers and industry partners clearer guidance on where the mark has been awarded.

Alignment with global sustainable tourism standards

Thailand Good Travel is not itself a certification issued by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, but it has been explicitly designed to align with global norms through partnerships with Green Destinations and Travelife for Tour Operators, both of which apply the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria.

In terms of scope, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria define global standards for hotels, tour operators and destinations across four pillars: sustainable management, socio economic benefits, cultural heritage and environmental impacts. Thailand Good Travel adopts a similar four pillar approach, embedding environmental, cultural, social and economic requirements for destinations, communities, small accommodations and tour operators.

In governance and benchmarking, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria serve as a baseline used by accredited certification bodies worldwide, while Thailand Good Travel functions as a national mark. The Department of Tourism and the Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Center of Thailand oversee criteria development, evaluation processes and the training of national level mentors. Green Destinations and Travelife for Tour Operators provide methodology and international benchmarking based on Global Sustainable Tourism Council aligned frameworks.

In terms of process, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council does not directly certify organisations, but accredited bodies do. Thailand Good Travel, by contrast, is a nationally managed certification label that localises Global Sustainable Tourism Council principles into Thai regulatory and cultural context through its partnerships. As a result, Thailand Good Travel can be described as a Global Sustainable Tourism Council aligned national certification system that uses globally recognised criteria via partner schemes but is operated under Thai institutions and branding.

For future tourists and partners, this alignment means that Thailand’s sustainable tourism claims will be easier to compare and understand alongside international standards.

Expected economic benefits of a greener tourism model

The expected impact of the Green Tourism Plan 2030 and Thailand Good Travel on Thailand’s economy is multifaceted, even though the programme is still early in its implementation and detailed quantitative impact figures are not yet available.

First, the plan is designed to shift Thailand away from dependence on mass, low spend tourism and toward attracting high value visitors. These visitors are expected to stay longer, spend more, and seek meaningful, lower impact experiences. This change is expected to increase revenue per visitor and reduce strain on infrastructure and natural sites, making the tourism economy more resilient in the long term.

Second, by earning internationally recognised sustainability accolades and promoting the Thailand Good Travel mark, Thailand expects to strengthen its brand appeal in markets that prioritise environmental, social and governance considerations and responsible travel. This is particularly important for long haul European visitors and premium segments that already evaluate sustainability when choosing destinations.

Third, the plan is expected to support local small and medium sized enterprises and communities by providing certification and training that help them access higher value supply chains and international tour programmes. This can diversify local economies away from low margin mass tourism, encourage entrepreneurship and support more equitable distribution of tourism income.

In addition, clear sustainable standards and a strong policy framework may improve investor confidence in tourism infrastructure that meets sustainability expectations, especially in accommodation, transport and nature based attractions. This can attract long term investments aligned with environmental and community priorities.

Environmental and social gains anticipated

On the environmental and social side, the Green Tourism Plan 2030 and Thailand Good Travel require certified destinations and operators to improve waste management, water and energy efficiency and ecosystem protection. These requirements are expected to help reduce pollution and relieve pressure on beaches, forests, marine ecosystems and other sensitive environments.

The plan places emphasis on community participation, fair benefit sharing and protection of cultural heritage and community rights. By doing so, it aims to prevent the over exploitation and commodification of culture and to ensure that local residents are involved in decisions that affect their livelihoods and surroundings.

By embedding sustainable planning into tourism strategies, Thailand also aims to improve destination resilience to climate risks and external shocks. This is particularly important for islands and coastal regions that are vulnerable to climate change impacts such as sea level rise, stronger storms and shifting weather patterns.

Over time, travellers can expect to see more Thai destinations integrating conservation, cultural respect and community partnerships into the core of their tourism experiences.

Early outputs and long term outlook

At this stage, the Green Tourism Plan 2030 is primarily described as a structural reform and long term investment in the future of Thai tourism rather than as a completed programme with full impact metrics. The main tangible outputs so far include institutional partnerships such as the Memorandum of Understanding with Mahidol University International College, Green Destinations and Travelife for Tour Operators, the establishment of the Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Center of Thailand, the development of training programmes and the initiation of pilot certification work through Thailand Good Travel and related schemes.

Financial analysts and banks examining sustainable tourism trends have identified sustainability as a new era and growth driver that is likely to enhance destination image and attract higher quality investment. While these analyses do not yet isolate and quantify the impact of the Green Tourism Plan 2030 alone, they support the idea that destinations that align with such plans are better positioned for future demand.

In the years ahead, as more destinations and businesses become certified and as international recognition grows, the combined effect of Thailand Good Travel and the Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 is expected to be a tourism sector that is more competitive, more resilient and more sustainable. For future travellers, this means a Thailand where high value experiences are closely tied to environmental care, cultural respect and genuine community benefit.