Thursday, May 3, 2018

Thailand positioned as Top Destination for International Exhibition by MICE operators in Japan

          The development of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) viewed as an important factor to drive the competitive capabilities of Thailand's MICE and transport industries.



          Japanese MICE operators position Thailand as a top destination for international exhibition. Based on the readiness of exhibition venues and MICE facilities, the operators are interested in organising business events in Bangkok and secondary cities namely Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Khon Kaen, and Krabi. In addition, the Japanese entrepreneurs also see that the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) will strengthen Thailand's transport and MICE industries. Meanwhile, TCEB reported that the roadshow activity recently held in Japan successfully attracted at least ten events to take place in Thailand with projected revenue of 4,848 million baht from Japan MICE travellers in this year.

          Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB, said that "Thailand by the 'Thai Team' led by Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI), Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and Thailand's leading MICE suppliers, recently organised a road show in Japan to promote Thailand's MICE industry to the Japanese MICE entrepreneurs. Held in Tokyo under the theme 'Thailand CONNECT', the road show was strategically conducted to target conventions and exhibitions markets, the two major sectors which occupy 65% of MICE business in Japan. The activity emphasised key messages to build and retain market confidence as well as to attract MICE events to Thailand. Highlights include the readiness of Thailand's MICE industry, the Thai Government's support, the development policy of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the incentive shames for convention and exhibition events offered to sectors underlined under the framework of Thailand 4.0, the facilitation from Thai Team, and other related incentives packages. Furthermore, the road show opened a business platform and created opportunities for Thailand's MICE suppliers to meet potential buyers from Japan. Another highlight activity was a seminar which provided event planners in-depth information on organising convention and exhibition in Thailand. The road show attracted more than 100 leading Japanese MICE entrepreneurs.

          The road show successfully attracted at least ten events to take place in Thailand. They are expected to generate more than 575 million baht in revenue to the country. Of these events, three international exhibitions are scheduled to take place in Thailand in the year 2019. They are international exhibitions from top industries namely Health and Wellness, Gastronomy, and Recreation. Meanwhile, in the year 2020, there will be three more events which related to Drones, Organic products, and Gaming Industries. Furthermore, organisers from other industries such as Health and Beauty, IT, and Gifts also showed their interest in organizing events in Thailand in the future. For convention sector, the International Aerospace Quality Group is considering to bring back the Asia Pacific Aerospace Quality Group Meeting (APAQG) to Thailand again in 2018 or 2019. The event was successfully held in Bangkok last year. Meanwhile, the International Union of Radio Science has a plan to organise the General Assembly of the International Union of Radio Science (URS) in the year 2023. This event is expected to attract more than 1,500 international attendees."

          This year, top MICE operators from Japan will bring many international events to Thailand. These events include the 8th International Congress of Asian Society of Toxicology (ASIA TOX 2018) scheduled for 17-20 June at the PEACH and Royal Cliff Hotel in Pattaya, and the International Symposium on Catalysis and Fine Chemicals 2018 (C&FC 2018) scheduled for 10-14 December at the Chulalongkorn University. Japan is ranked in the top ten source markets for Thailand's international MICE travellers. TCEB estimates that the market will continue to grow by 5% at the end of this year with 52,723 MICE travellers, generating 4,848 million baht in revenue to the country.

          Mr. Yukio Okuda, President of Parabox Co., Ltd, the organiser of the Thailand International TRUCK Show (TTS) said that, "Thailand has many choices to accommodate MICE events such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Khon Kaen, Krabi. Not only each city has MICE venues, but hotels in each area research how to attract MICE events and provide various menus to organize them. The advantage of Thailand is well-developed MICE environment, and it attracts meeting planners, travel agents, and PCO. It is a golden opportunity now for Thailand to attract Japanese organizers. Exhibition is basically held in a same venue annually and its economic impact is huge. It is also possible to get numerous visitors to Thailand from overseas. So, among MICE, exhibition is totally different from others like international conferences which change destinations every year."

          "Through Thailand 4.0, the development of economic corridors including EEC makes impacts to exhibition industry in Thailand. Economic growth leads logistics, in other words, economic growth cannot achieve without logistic development. Thailand International TRUCK Show (TTS) is a B2B trade show based on development of transportation by truck and its evolution which aims further expansion of truck transportation. TTS 2019 will be the show's third edition following the success of its first and second editions held in 2015 and 2017 respectively. I expect that exhibitions related transportation by truck and logistics will expand more in the future. Economic growth will bring other shows such as machinery, packaging, food, manufacturing technology, environment, security, cosmetics, gift and pets."

          Mr. Suhbphong Smithun, Group Director of NCC Exhibition Organizer Co., Ltd (NEO), said that "By joining Thailand CONNECT road show this year, during the function, we have met a couple highly potential leads from Japan. These organizers are looking for cooperation in twofold, sale agent and local partner which NEO has strong establishments and track records in both categories. We expect to start cooperation as early as beginning of 2019, while the rest of 2018 has been spared for discussions, preparation, and finalization. Once everything has settled, we will officially announce to publics. We hope that these tides of business relationship between 2 countries would continue to full bloom, and we highly appreciate TCEB's supports in whatever way possible again in time to come."

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