Workshop on Enhancing Skills in “Nuad Thai” Thai Massage for Health in Austria and Slovenia 1–6 September 2026
Workshop on Enhancing Skills in “Nuad Thai” Thai Massage for Health in Austria and Slovenia 1–6 September 2026
The Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna, in cooperation with the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, organized workshops to enhance the knowledge and skills of Thai massage practitioners for health and wellness and entrepreneurs in Austria and Slovenia from 1–6 September 2026. The project aimed to equip Thai massage business owners and practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to provide quality services in accordance with appropriate standards, while strengthening confidence among clients abroad.
The workshops were held on 2 September 2026 in Ljubljana, Slovenia; 4 September 2026 in Vienna; and 5 September 2026 in Salzburg, Austria. More than 80 Thai massage business owners and practitioners from the two countries took part in the workshops, reflecting strong interest in further developing knowledge and skills in Thai massage for health and wellness abroad.
H.E. Ms. Pattarat Hongtong, Ambassador of Thailand to Austria, presided over the opening of the workshop. In her remarks, the Ambassador highlighted the importance of enhancing the standards of Thai massage services abroad and reaffirmed the Embassy’s readiness to support Thai massage business owners and practitioners who play an important role in introducing Thai culture and traditional knowledge to people in other countries.
The sessions were conducted by experts from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine namely Dr. Rutchanee Chantraket, Director of the Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, and Ms. Jiraporn Naewboot, Public Health Technical Officer. The training covered a range of topics, including:
- Standards and Identity: Delivering authentic Thai identity in service and navigating legal risk screening.
- Techniques and Health: Applied anatomy, massage techniques to relieve Office Syndrome, practitioner ergonomics, and physical recovery skills using Ruesi Dat Ton (Thai stretching exercises).
- Value Creation: Strategies to enhance the image and soft power of Thai massage establishments abroad, how to present Thai traditional medicine to an international audience, and developing distinctive Thai massage curricula.
This project reflects cooperation between Thai government agencies to promote and elevate Thailand’s health and wellness service businesses abroad. It seeks to enable Thai massage business owners and practitioners to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the training in their work and further improve the quality and standards of their services. At the same time, the programme contributes to promoting Thai massage, a valuable element of Thai traditional knowledge that has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and introducing it to international audiences as part of Thailand’s cultural and traditional-knowledge Soft Power.
The project also serves as a vital mechanism to empower the Thai community, particularly Thai massage business owners and practitioners in Austria and Slovenia. Participants expressed strong interest in the training and shared positive feedback on the knowledge and skills gained from the project.
