Celion Su

Based on the reports of both ICCA and UFI， the Asia/Pacific region remained the growth area of the worlds MICE industry. Thailand， meanwhile， remained at the top of ASEAN in the international meeting category for three consecutive year and also at the top of the trade exhibition category for 14-year in a row. Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya， President the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau， shares with the reporter the success factors of this leading MICE hub in the region.

Remarkable consecutive growth

As a renown MICE destination， the Thai MICE industry in 2019 again stood out with remarkable numbers. In 2019， Thailand welcomed a total of 1，273，981 overseas MICE visitors， generating around 93，971 million THB in revenue. It is the fourth year in a row that overseas MICE visitors to Thailand exceeded one million. For exhibition， a total of 47 TCEBsupported international trade shows in 2019 consumed a total of 248，448.40 sqm of net space， representing an increase of 19.55% over the year 2018. The average net space of each show in 2019 was 5，286.14 sqm， also representing an increase of the same rate 19.55% over 2018.

Success does not come easily. Behind the good numbers， throughout the years， TCEB has been doing its best to make Thailand a regional renown MICE hub. The efforts paid off.

Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya points out that in terms of exhibition， Thailand affirms its position as a location that can expand business opportunities for all stakeholders of the show due to its convenient access to the markets of the neighboring countries.

Besides， according to Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya， Thailand is one of the most preferred destination providing extraordinary experience for customers.“This is a result of our aim to redefine their business events in Thailand. And we are doing more to increase our product value and service excellence.” To achieve this， TCEB has collaborated with 5 MICE cities and other 9 potential destinations in all key regions of the country to develop new activities， new attractions and new venues that can cater exclusively to MICE groups. TCEB has now established 4 regional branch offices in the North， Northeast， South and Central part of the country. Each office has full staff ready to work more deeply with each region to develop their capacity and create new products that can be transformed into extraordinary experience for the clients.

Multi-channels to keep the industry up in the pandemic

With the COVID-19 pandemic crisis going on， like MICE industry around the world， Thailand has also faced event cancellation and postponement due to travel restriction and closure of public space， including meeting venues. To relieve the burden caused by unexpected pandemic， the Thai government has launched economic packages aimed to assist business operations. This includes lowering tax， higher tax deduction， extension period for tax filing， expediting VAT refund， exemption of import duty on some medical items， 3-year credit line， lowering interest rate on debt and wage compensation.

“As the end of April， on the part of TCEB， we are now developing a recovery plan and package for MICE industry.” Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya states. Part of the recovery plan includes Thailand Extra Exhibition Plus providing with some relaxed supporting criteria to better accommodate the show. This includes reducing of space requirement， waiving of prerequisites for international exhibitor and visitor ratio. Others are fixed financial support based on show size to be allocated for both domestic and international marketing of the show and doubling incentive for promoters bringing in trade visitors.

TCEB also supports MICE entrepreneurs to embrace online or virtual platforms. It has recently launched “Virtual Meeting Space” （VMS） project to assist and support Thai MICE entrepreneurs to continue their business via such platform. Three categories under VMS include： Webinar that will help organisers run the meeting， enable interaction between participants and speakers， the sessions can cater up to 10，000 attendees at a time； O2O （Offline to Online） platform for trade exhibitions——exhibitors can showcase their activities， products and services as needed via live streaming， an online payment system can also be installed to boost sales； E-Learning Platform for Thai MICE entrepreneurs to re-skill or up-skill their employees.

Apart from that， TCEB has set up the TCEB COVID-19 Information Centre to serve the MICE community during this critical period. The centres primary role is to monitor， compile and assess information on the pandemic. The secondary role is to update industry members on the COVID-19 situation， such as government rules， regulations and announcements， so that they are kept abreast of the latest developments.

Close MICE ties with China

Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya tells the reporter gladly that， with the close relation between the two countries， China has been Thailands largest source market since 2013 and 2019 was the second year that Chinese MICE travelers to Thailand went beyond 200，000. At the 47 TCEBsupported exhibitions in 2019， in terms of trade visitors， while China came second with 9，651 and India the third place with 6，243， respectively. On the exhibitor side， China was the largest source， sending out 10，805 exhibitors to TCEB-supported trade shows， followed by ASEAN 4，245 and Japan 3，320， respectively. Food and Agro remains the largest sector of TCEBsupported international trade shows in Thailand， attracting a total 122，111 trade visitors and 4，391 exhibitors， followed by Healthcare & Wellness sector and Engineer and Automotive. These sectors mean great business opportunities for Chinese exhibitors and visitors.

China has been a key MICE source market of Thailand， thus TCEB will retain and further strengthen the relationship with Chinese market. While continuing marketing activities to fortify the ties with Chinese MICE agents， Chinese organizers and corporate end-users， TCEB is now working more closely with stakeholders engaged in Chinese markets so that it can synergize in gaining deeper insight and better understanding of Chinese clients.“TCEB believes that this initiative will help guide us to design our support that better matches the requirements of the Chinese market.” Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya concluded positively.