Bureau looks closer to home for MICE business

President Natwut Amornvivat said his organisation planned to hold foreign trade shows in Asian and European countries, including India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Spain, France and Germany.

However, it will not focus on long-haul markets, where travellers are now forced to spend much more to travel to.

Natwut said the bureau would promote Thailand as a regional hub for the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition (MICE) industry, with attractive prices compared with those of all neighbouring countries.

It also plans to bid for several big international conventions, including World Water Resources 2012, which is open for bidding this year. That event is expected to involve 20,000 participants.

The TCEB is also preparing to bid for an international dental forum in 2011, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 dentists from around the world.

Natwut said it was hoped the country's MICE revenue would reach its target of Bt65 billion, or 970,000 visitors, this year. The industry is expected to grow 9 per cent next year.

Last year, Thailand was ranked No 1 in Asean and No 3 in Asia by the International Congress and Convention Association in terms of the number of international convention visitors.

UFI, a global association of the exhibition industry, has also ranked Thailand as the largest venue in Asean, in terms of the total gross indoor size of exhibitions it can mount.

Natwut said Thailand needed better infrastructure, particularly in transportation and accessibility, better human-resource standards and even bigger venues, consisting of huge exhibition halls, hotels, entertainment facilities and offices.