Mahidol University International College (MUIC) officials attended the launching of the “Accessible Thailand Wellness Tourism (ATWT)” project on May 8, 2024, at the Siriraj Solutions Preventive Health and Integrative life Balance Care Center.

Prof. Chulathida Chomchai, M.D., MUIC Dean, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Kaewta Muangasame of MUIC’s Tourism and Hospitality Management (THM) Division, and who is also the ATWT Project Manager, represented the college in the launching of the ATWT project of the Program Management Unit Competitiveness (PMUC), an independent funding body operating under the legal framework of the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council.

The two of them also served as speakers in a panel discussion during the event with the topic, “The Development of Health and Wellness Tourism for All” together with Prof. Apichat Asavamongkolkul, M.D., Dean ofFaculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital; Asst. Prof. Theerawoot Tharmviboonsri, Vice Director of Siriraj Hospital; and Mr. Nithi Subhongsang, Managing Director of Nutty’s Adventures.

The PMUC’s project is a collaboration between teams of researchers from MUIC; Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital; College of Music, Mahidol University; King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang; alongside Nutty’s Adventures Co. Ltd. and Pan Pho Co. Ltd. which served as both co-investors and researchers.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to establish Thailand as a leading model in wellness tourism accessible to all people. At the end of the outcomes, a management model for the wellness tourism business for all will be established.

The project’s objectives include the following: 1. integrate marketing development for domestic and international markets by enhancing the potential of Thailand’s health products and services; 2. analyze health and wellness tourism marketing; and 3. develop a data management platform and health and wellness tourism management model.

This project includes a range of creative activities designed to enhance the visitor experience, such as Accessible Wellness Tourism Package targeting visitors with special needs, content marketing with branding strategy, the dissemination of therapeutic food recipes for special needs and seniors, the “Szense Music Festival” (the first-ever concert in Asia for visitors with disability) scheduled for November this year, and the development of a website to compile all service information regarding the ATWT initiative.