Bangkok to Host Largest Gathering of the World’s Most Travelled People at ETF III, 2026

David Barrett, host of the industry-focused interview series Trends, met up with Ric Gazarian, aka Global Gaz, founder and organiser of the third edition of the Extraordinary Travel Festival. ETF III will return to Bangkok from 22 to 25 October 2026 at the Ambassador Bangkok Hotel on Sukhumvit soi 12.

David Barrett, host of the industry-focused interview series Trends, met up with Ric Gazarian, aka Global Gaz, on the trade show floor at IT&CMA and CTW in Bangkok earlier this year. I found myself speaking with a man whose ambitions for the global travel community stretch far beyond the confines of a conventional conference. Ric’s latest announcement confirms that ambition: the third edition of the Extraordinary Travel Festival (ETF) will return to Bangkok from 22 to 25 October 2026. If previous years are any indication, the event will again draw a cohort of travellers whose experiences span every corner of the planet, and in some cases, far beyond it.

Ric Gazarin, the festival’s founder defines the gathering with trademark brevity. “The Extraordinary Travel Festival is the world’s largest gathering of the most travelled people,” he said during the Trends interview. “If you want to meet the most interesting, fascinating people, the Marco Polos of the 21st century, this is the event you should be considering.” It is no exaggeration. In a niche yet influential sphere of extreme travel, the ETF has gained a reputation for convening individuals who have visited every one of the UN’s 193 member states, a milestone accomplished by fewer than 400 living people.

Bangkok, then, is a natural backdrop for this convergence of global wayfarers. The Thai capital has already proven its logistical strengths; ETF’s second edition was staged there to notable success. Ric is bringing it back to Sukhumvit Soi 11 and the Ambassador Bangkok Hotel, citing a blend of convenience, transport access and a neighbourhood thick with dining and nightlife options that keep delegates close to the action. The return underlines a wider trend in Bangkok’s ascent as a magnet for international thought leadership events, propelled by its competitive hospitality sector and ease of connectivity.

While ETF is anchored in storytelling, networking and inspiration, Ric is quick to stress its commercial relevance. “These are not your average travellers,” he said. “They’re the ones creating the content and information that lead the next wave of travellers and tourists to your country, your city, your destination or your tour.” The event, as Ric frames it, offers a rare channel for tourism boards, consumer travel brands and tour providers to access a discerning, influential demographic. With mega travel communities such as Every Passport Stamp (30,000 members) and Travel Massive (60,000 members) represented, the festival functions as both meeting place and marketplace.

The 2026 programme is set to expand, with more than 20 speakers offering keynotes, breakout sessions and panel discussions. The line-up reads like a roll call of modern exploration. Among them is Jamie Aleman, who has visited every country on earth, journeyed to both poles and recently travelled to outer space. “He’s an astronaut,” Ric remarked with journalistic understatement. “That’s the grand slam of travel.” Another speaker, Jason Wang, has recently summited Everest to complete the Seven Summits challenge. Meanwhile, Kach Medina Umandap brings a perspective both cultural and symbolic: she is the first person to visit every country on a Filipino passport.

Yet ETF is not simply a procession of superlatives. Ric stresses that the event is designed as much for determined aspirants as it is for elite travellers. For every attendee who has crossed the 193 threshold, there are many more who are charting their own paths across continents, driven by curiosity rather than competition. The festival promises what Ric calls the triad of “community, content and charting a new course”, offering guidance on visas, logistics, safety, storytelling and the shifting geopolitical dynamics that can make or break a journey.

The schedule extends beyond formal sessions. ETF will introduce a fourth day dedicated to travel content creation, including documentary screenings and author talks. Optional excursions will bookend the event, allowing participants to explore Bangkok and its surrounds in ways curated specifically for a community that seeks authenticity over tourism tropes. One such experience takes guests to Koh Kret, where they will spend time with Khun Chit of Chit Brewery, a pioneer of Thailand’s craft beer movement. These activities are shaped, Ric says, around return on relationships rather than return on investment, genuine encounters with local characters rather than perfunctory sightseeing.

ETF’s founder speaks both as organiser and practitioner. He has visited 186 countries, with seven left to complete the canonical 193. His stories, often delivered with wry humour, offer a revealing glimpse into the realities of extreme travel. He recalls arriving in the Central African Republic to find his luggage missing, only to have his phone nearly stolen through a taxi window days later. These anecdotes, rich in peril and perspective, capture the spirit that animates the ETF community: resilient, curious and undeterred.

As the countdown to October 2026 begins, the Extraordinary Travel Festival looks set not only to celebrate achievement but to shape the wider conversation around global mobility in an era defined by shifting borders and evolving travel norms. In Bangkok once again, Ric will gather the world’s most travelled minds. Individuals who have turned the entire planet into their field of experience. For brands, destinations and fellow travellers alike, the opportunity is as vast as the journeys that have brought this community together.