The MIA has opened expressions of interest for its 2027 International Study Tour to Thailand – four days inside one of the most dynamic marina markets in the Asia-Pacific, every site hosted by the people who own and operate these facilities.
Thailand offers something few destinations can: mature superyacht refit yards, high-density dry stack operations, resort marinas, river-based facilities and a major greenfield marina development, all within a compact touring distance and all operating under a very different cost, climate and regulatory model to Australia and New Zealand.
Across the four days delegates will visit eight marina facilities, four dry stacks and six boatyard and lifting operations – including straddle carriers up 120 tonnes, Roodberg trailer systems, large-scale hardstands and a working solar rooftop installation. It is an unusually direct opportunity to benchmark equipment, layout, staffing and operating models against your own facility.
The tour is co-hosted by the MIA and Scott Finsten CMM, Harbour Master at the 5 Gold Anchor Platinum marina Ocean Marina Jomtien.
Tour Details
Dates: Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 February 2027 (arrival Sunday 21, tour starts Monday 22)
Duration: Four days / Five nights
Start Location: Bangkok
Finish Location: Bangkok
Regions Visited: Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket
Includes: Accommodation, ground transport, lunches and dinners
Excludes: International flights to and from Bangkok, and the two internal flights (flight numbers will be provided so the group travels together)
Pricing: AU$1,900 per person + flights
Expressions of interest close Friday 18 December 2026
Tour Highlights
Day 1 – Bangkok to Pattaya
Riverdale Marina, Bangkok
A river-based marina serving Bangkok’s boating community from the Chao Phraya. Delegates will look at how an inland, urban river facility manages berthing, access, tidal and current conditions, and a customer base very different to a coastal marina.
Siam Watercraft, Bangkok
A combined dry stack storage, service yard and lifting operation. The first of four dry stacks on the tour, and a useful reference point for how the Thai market handles storage, servicing and retail under one roof.
The group transfers to Pattaya after lunch, with an optional afternoon tour by water – viewing Ocean Marina Jomtien from the harbour or taking in Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier – followed by a group dinner at a local seafood restaurant, arriving by boat.
Day 2 – Pattaya to Phuket
Ocean Marina Jomtien, Pattaya
One of South East Asia’s largest marinas and the host facility for the tour. A full morning covering the marina, dry stack, hardstand, lifting operation and the attached resort, walking delegates through the operational and commercial detail of running a mixed marina and resort precinct.
In the afternoon delegates take a short internal flight to Phuket.
Phuket Superyacht Shipyard
A specialist refit and repair yard operating a 100-tonne travel lift. A close look at how Thailand has positioned itself as a superyacht service destination, and at the labour, skills and cost structures that underpin it.
One15 Panwa Marina, Cape Panwa
A new greenfield marina development currently under construction. An opportunity very few operators get – to walk a marina site mid-build, see the staging and site constraints first-hand, and understand the design decisions being made in real time. Particularly valuable for anyone with a development or major redevelopment in the pipeline.
The day closes with dinner at a mountaintop restaurant overlooking the bay.
Day 3 – Phuket
Phuket Boat Lagoon
A large integrated marine precinct combining marina berthing, dry stack storage, extensive hardstand and one of the most interesting lifting operations on the tour – 80-tonne and 120-tonne straddle carriers plus a hydraulic trailer. If you have a lifting equipment decision ahead of you, this stop alone is worth the trip.
Royal Phuket Marina
An award-winning integrated marina and residential development. Delegates will tour the marina, dry stack, hardstand and travel lift operation, and view the facility’s large-scale solar rooftop installation – a working example of marina renewable energy at scale rather than a proposal. Lunch will be held on site.
Phuket Yacht Haven Marina
A well-established deepwater marina at the northern end of Phuket, long favoured by larger vessels and multihulls. A look at berth mix, superyacht capability and the charter and cruising traffic that sustains the northern Phuket market.
Ao Po Grand Marina
A modern marina and hardstand facility running a Roodberg trailer setup – a genuinely different approach to vessel handling and yard layout compared with travel lift and straddle carrier operations, and a valuable comparison point after the earlier site visits.
Group dinner in Phuket to close the day.
Day 4 – Phuket to Bangkok
A deliberately flexible morning has been built into the program – time to return to a site the group wants a closer look at, follow up on a specific operational question, or simply catch breath before the midday flight to Bangkok, connecting with evening departures to Australia.
Who Should Attend
Marina owners, operators, managers and harbour masters; dry stack and boatyard operators; developers, consultants and suppliers working in the marine precinct sector. The tour will be particularly valuable for anyone weighing up a lifting equipment purchase, a dry stack proposal, or a marina redevelopment in the next few years.
Places are strictly limited to keep the group small and the site access genuine, and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The Study Tour is subject to meeting minimum participant numbers and program confirmation.
Register your interest below to secure a place. Expressions of interest close Monday 21 December 2026.
