Khao Lak Opens Up a Different Side of Thailand for Meetings

Phuket is one of southern Thailand’s best-known destinations and the main international gateway to the Andaman coast. Khao Lak lies on the mainland in Phang Nga Province, around one to one-and-a-half hours north of Phuket International Airport by road. The low-rise resort destination has beachfront hotels with substantial event space close to rainforest, wellness centres and locally run experiences, giving residential meetings, leadership retreats, incentive programmes and bleisure stays plenty of ways to use the destination throughout a stay.  

 

During the Thailand Innovative Meetings Exchange (TIME 2026), the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and BIC Event brought hosted buyers, media and content creators from Bangkok to Khao Lak. Under the Siam Moment theme, Khao Lak became the Moment of Calm, with business sessions, resort stays, coastline, nature and wellness creating a more relaxed rhythm for the second destination of the programme. HQ explores Bangkok’s Moment of Pulse separately here.

 

Author: Jesús Guerrero Chacón HQ's Deputy Editor

From Phuket to Khao Lak

Phuket International Airport acts as the main aviation gateway, with the journey continuing north. The transfer itself can also become part of a group programme. TIME 2026 made a stop at Beyond Skywalk Nangshi in Takua Thung before reaching Khao Lak. The 180-metre glass walkway rises around 80 metres above sea level and opens onto the limestone formations and islands of Phang Nga Bay. The property has 58 accommodation units ranging from tents and pavilions to villas, and the 114-seat Rub Tawan Restaurant is ideal for group dining.

 

Our lunch featured Southern Thai dishes and seafood sourced through the nearby Khlong Khian fishing community. Beyond Skywalk also operates under its own sustainability policy and has received a five-star Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Rating from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. For incentives or leadership groups, the viewpoint, restaurant and local sourcing give the journey from Phuket a genuine programme stop before arrival at the resort.

 

  

Hotels and meeting venues

Avani+ Khao Lak Resort

Avani+ Khao Lak Resort was our first residential base on the coast. The 272-room resort has seven event rooms and more than 1,000 sqm of meeting space, centred on a 588 sqm pillarless ballroom accommodating up to 550 delegates theatre-style or 600 for cocktails.

 

Much of the resort’s appeal for groups sits outside the ballroom. Spa treatments, Muay Thai, Thailand’s traditional martial art, climbing, yoga, personal training, padel and fitness activities were available during TIME, allowing participants to choose how they used parts of the afternoon without leaving the property. Beach access and outdoor spaces add further options for morning movement, team activities and informal gatherings.

 

The beachfront Beach House hosted the Ocean Soul welcome evening, moving the group from daytime activities into dinner and networking by the sea. Meetings, sport, wellness and a social event could all take place within the same resort, reducing transfers while still giving delegates different ways to use their time.

 

JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa

JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa was our second residential base, with 476 rooms, suites and villas and six event rooms covering 1,281 sqm. Its newly opened 758 sqm JW Grand Ballroom accommodates up to 800 guests, while the 270 sqm Cher Fah Ballroom can host up to 250 and be divided for smaller sessions. Outdoor venues such as the Infinity Lawn add options for receptions and social events overlooking the Andaman Sea.

 

The resort’s 27-acre JW Garden adds a particularly distinctive element to its events offer. The Environment School is led by an on-site environmentalist and introduces guests to topics including mangrove conservation, Nipa palms, reforestation, organic farming and composting. The wider sustainability programme also includes the Bamboo Shark Nursery & Conservation Center.

 

The JW Grand Ballroom and adjoining meeting spaces were also used for Seeds of Tomorrow, a team-building activity that brought together hosted buyers, media, content creators and local hosts around practical challenges linked to sustainability. The session also introduced some of the environmental programmes available through JW Garden and the Environment School, giving groups ideas that can be incorporated into future meetings, incentives and team activities. Produce grown in the garden also enters the resort’s kitchens, creating links between environmental education, food and the guest experience. Group programmes can build on the same infrastructure through garden tours, planting and conservation activities or farm-to-table experiences.

 

The resort also offers plenty of room to adjust the pace around meetings. TIME participants could start the morning with beachfront yoga, a beach run or a cultural bike ride to a nearby temple, while the extensive pool, beach and spa create obvious options for delegates adding personal time before or after an event.

 

The beachfront became an event venue itself for TIME’s final Lasting Moment. Inspired by Thailand’s Full Moon Party culture, the evening took place on a night without a full moon, so production created one through a large illuminated installation, accompanied by neon elements, music, dining and entertainment. The result showed how event production can transform a beachfront setting around a dedicated theme.

 

  

Khao Lak Marriott Beach Resort & Spa

While JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa served as our residential base, TIME’s second Business Exchange took place at the separate Khao Lak Marriott Beach Resort & Spa. Hosted buyers met Thai suppliers through one-to-one appointments in the Andaman Ballroom, before the programme took us through different activities including floating meditation, an herbal-bag workshop, sustainable mocktail mixology and craft sessions. Dinner at Lido Beach Restaurant & Lounge completed the evening by the coast, showing how business appointments, smaller group experiences and a social function could all be accommodated within the same property.

 

Opened in December 2024, Khao Lak Marriott Beach Resort & Spa has 283 rooms, suites and villas. Its 531 sqm Andaman Ballroom accommodates up to 560 delegates theatre-style or 550 for cocktails, complemented by smaller meeting rooms, a boardroom, function lawn and beachfront event spaces. That mix gives groups options for conferences, breakouts, outdoor receptions and incentive activities without having to move between multiple venues. 

 

  

Experiencing Khao Lak

A Different Kind of Bonding

Khao Lak’s outdoor programme gave delegates opportunities to try unfamiliar activities together, with Sky Rock Khao Lak and Salt Surf offering two very different versions of the same idea.

 

Sky Rock Khao Lak runs through the rainforest with ziplines, sky bridges, bamboo towers, suspended obstacles and climbing elements. The operator follows internationally recognised safety standards, carries out daily equipment checks and designs the course around the forest without damaging the trees. It was also where I tried a zipline for the first time. The shared nerves, encouragement and sense of achievement became part of the experience itself, which is exactly what can make this kind of activity useful for groups spending several days together.

 

At Salt Surf, the challenge moved to the sea. Beginner-friendly lessons introduced participants to balance, wave movement and the basics of surfing, with some delegates also trying it for the first time. Surfing and ziplining require very different skills, but both create space for people to encourage each other, build confidence and connect outside a conventional networking environment.

 

Nature, Care and Local Connections

Komol’s Corner Bamboo Rafting offers a much gentler way into Khao Lak’s natural environment. Two guests typically share a small bamboo raft poled through a freshwater stream near Wang Kieng Koo Waterfall. The family-run operator has been working in the area since 2004, linking nature-based tourism with local employment and community income. TIME combined the rafting with a waterway clean-up, adding an environmental action to the experience. 

 

Another route visited Khao Lak Elephant Home, where BIC Event and TCEB framed the activity around elephant welfare, nutrition and conservation. Participants prepared natural vitamin balls for the elephants and learned about their care, offering a different kind of connection with the destination through nature and animal welfare.

 

  

Wellness and Recovery 

La Vita Sana Wellness Center sits within the wider La Flora Group, a family-owned Khao Lak hospitality collection that includes several beachfront resorts and villas. This gives groups the possibility to combine meeting space, accommodation and structured wellness programmes within the same local portfolio, with options ranging from larger resorts such as La Vela and La Solaya to the 34-villa Casa de La Flora for smaller executive or premium incentive groups.

 

La Vita Sana itself combines traditional Thai medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine with contemporary wellness treatments and two event spaces. The 160 sqm Vanilla Sky Meeting Room accommodates up to 80 theatre-style, while the 875 sqm Marquee Grand Hall can host around 600 theatre-style or 800 for cocktails. Multi-night wellness programmes can also be incorporated into stays at several La Flora Group properties, creating scope for retreats where meetings sit alongside nutrition, sleep and stress management, movement and treatments.

 

During TIME 2026, our programme began with a Food as Medicine lunch and a workshop making Ya Dom, the herbal inhalers commonly used in Thailand. Participants then chose between sound healing, hot-and-cold contrast therapy or a consultation combining Thai and Chinese medicine followed by a head and shoulder massage. The range showed how wellness can be built into a group programme at different levels, from a single afternoon to a multi-day retreat, without asking every delegate to follow the same path.

 

An active morning, a focused business session, time to reset and dinner on the beach can all fit into the same day. In Khao Lak, the Moment of Calm came from having the freedom to change pace.

 

  

Explore more from TIME 2026

• Discover Bangkok’s Moment of Pulse: HQ’s picks for meeting hotels, venues and experiences in Thailand’s capital.
• Read our interview with Dr Jaruwan Suwannasat: Thailand’s meetings economy, source markets, personalisation and the thinking behind MaxiMICE Thailand.
• Coming in HQ127, November 2026: our print feature looks deeper into the TIME 2026 Knowledge and Business Exchanges, TCEB’s wider strategy and the role business events can play in Thailand’s destinations and communities.