BANGKOK, 20 August 2026: World Gym, a global fitness brand founded on California’s Muscle Beach in 1976, announced Wednesday the upcoming opening of its first club in Thailand at Imperial World Samrong. 

The launch will introduce the brand’s world-class fitness experience to Thai members, combining internationally benchmarked facilities, advanced technology and accessible membership options.

World Gym has grown from the golden era of bodybuilding at Muscle Beach into one of the world’s most recognised fitness names, operating nearly 300 clubs across six continents and serving more than one million members worldwide. 

World Gym is today publicly listed in Taiwan (2762.TWSE), where it operates 140 locations, making it the company’s largest market. For Thailand’s rapidly growing fitness sector, the brand’s arrival brings an established international operator and a 50-year brand legacy to local members for the first time.

World Gym’s first Thai club combines internationally benchmarked facilities and equipment from partners including Matrix and Abs Company with advanced technology such as AI Posture Diagnostics, a three-minute assessment providing personalised insights into posture, balance and flexibility, and the MYZONE Switch wearable for effort-based training.

“Thailand is a strategic next step for World Gym. This market has the energy, ambition and rising fitness culture our brand was built on. Our promise here is simple: we’re not just opening a gym, we’re making world-class fitness part of everyday life. And we’re bringing our 50 years of legacy and the technology that defines the next generation of fitness here to achieve this,” says World Gym Corporation Chairman and President John Caraccio.

About World Gym Corporation
World Gym Corporation is Taiwan’s largest fitness chain, operating 141 locations. In 2024, it acquired World Gym International, securing the iconic World Gym brand and global operating rights, establishing itself as a global fitness leader. 

(Source: World Gym)

BANGKOK, 20 August 2026: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is strengthening its 2026 strategy designed around consumer travel interests across eastern, western and northern China. 

Led by TAT offices in Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing, this localised approach targets high-value travellers, highlights fresh travel itineraries and spreads economic benefits to more emerging Thai destinations.

TAT Governor, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, said: “Chinese travellers are becoming more diverse in how they choose destinations and experiences. TAT is responding with a more focused regional strategy that matches Thailand’s tourism strengths with each market’s interests. Wellness, sport, culture, communities and emerging destinations are central to this approach, helping us attract quality visitors while spreading tourism value more widely across the country.”

In eastern China, TAT’s Shanghai Office is targeting premium travellers through wellness and experiential tourism. Under “Healing Is the New Luxury”, TAT is working with LANN Space, a Chinese mindfulness and holistic wellness platform, and leading online travel agency Tuniu.com to promote restorative travel experiences in Saraburi and Khao Yai.

In Jiangsu, TAT has extended its reach through a live Nanjing International Television program, presenting experiential tourism and destinations around Rayong and Hua Hin to over five million viewers.

In western China, TAT’s Chengdu Office is focusing on sport tourism and creator-led content. Together with Zx-tour, a Chinese sports travel company specialising in marathon packages including international running trips, TAT organised an “Offline Sharing Session for Amazing Thailand Marathons” in Chengdu to engage fitness enthusiasts from Sichuan and Chongqing. 

This helped promote marathon and running events in Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Buri Ram, Hua Hin and Songkhla. While TAT also hosted Chinese content creators on a fam trip to Chiang Mai (extended into Chiang Rai) for community experiences, with the initiative supporting future direct flights linking western China to northern Thailand.

In northern China, TAT’s Beijing Office is targeting families for summer holidays while capturing demand in secondary provincial markets. In Changchun, TAT and major tourism partners in Jilin Province staged “Cool Summer Breeze: Long-Lasting Friendship Between Jilin and Thailand” showcasing Thai culture and soft power through Songkran-themed activities, Thai cuisine, handcrafts and contemporary performances.

The event attracted more than 80,000 participants, alongside a 7% increase from 2025 in direct airline seat capacity between Jilin Province and Thailand, supporting further travel demand from northeastern China.

Together, the campaigns demonstrate TAT’s targeted approach to China, with wellness and experiential travel prioritised in the east, sport and lifestyle travel in the west, and family travel and Thai culture in the north. Across all three regions, TAT links consumer interests with Thailand’s wider range of destinations and tourism products.

China remains Thailand’s largest international source market, delivering 3,149,889 arrivals from 1 January to 5 August 2026. Backed by the quality-focused “Trusted Thailand” initiative, which reinforces safety, service quality, and visitor assurance across the tourism experience, TAT expects Chinese arrivals to exceed five million in 2026, underscoring the market’s continued importance in both visitor volume and expenditure.

(Source: TAT)