Thailand Executes New Global Attribute, Connecting Opportunities for Business Event in Asia

BANGKOK, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) lures the UK's lucrative MICE market with its government-backed road show. TCEB will showcase Thailand as a gateway for UK MICE professionals to extend their reach and penetrate the Asian market. New destination's image will be unleashed under country's new unique attribute, THAILAND: Connecting Opportunities for Business Events in Asia.

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Speaking at the road show, Mrs. Supawan Teerarat, Director of Exhibition of TCEB, said, "Europe is a vital source for Thailand's MICE industry. In 2012, over 77,308 European MICE delegates visited Thailand, with the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain ranking the highest. In all, the EU accounts for almost 11 per cent of Thailand's total MICE market, which accumulated to 7 billion baht revenues in 2013."

The UK is a very robust economy. The UK is the best-known country in Thailand for all the European countries. It has either been a key business partner or the largest investor and a vital source of investment in Thailand. At present, Thailand and the United Kingdom enjoy strong economic links. The value of bilateral trade was 196.9 Billion Baht last year. Many companies have invested in Thailand, and there has been a growing number of Thai companies coming to the United Kingdom.

In accordance to the recent visit of Thailand's Prime Minister Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra following British Prime Minister Davis Cameron's Invitation, she had been granted the audience with Queen Elizabeth and was aimed at promoting strategic partnership between the two countries, to strengthen cordial relations, push forward Strategic Dialogue between the two countries, and build confidence upon Thailand.

"Thailand is attracting more and more events organised specifically for the region, and beyond and as such is already emerging as a regional hub for business events of all kinds. Business travellers from across the globe, but particularly from Europe, come to Thailand to take advantage of world-class facilities set amidst stunning landscapes. With modern infrastructure, superb hotels and a wide choice of dedicated event venues, Thailand's MICE industry has an impressive record of growth. The Thai government therefore plans to extend support for all categories and scales of business events as well as further utilize the business event as a vital platform to extend more opportunities in terms of business and trade value to the companies and delegates," revealed Supawan.

THAILAND: Connecting Opportunities for Business Events in Asia, the country's new unique attribute has been announced the world premiere in London, the United Kingdom, prior to launch in European market at IMEX 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany. The business travellers and MICE professionals will enhance their prospects in Thailand's business events through 5 dimensions;

1) Strategic Location to Asian MICE Market - Thailand is a natural springboard to Southeast Asia, where newly emerging markets offer unprecedented business potential. The formation of the AEC in 2015 will take this positioning to a whole new dimension, when the 10 member states of ASEAN will become a single market with free flow of goods, services, skilled labour and investment. And of course this carries tremendous implications, and overall we expect a major boost to regional trade across all economic sectors. Apart from the 10 ASEAN countries and its 600 million people, Thailand is also a perfect base to trade with the fast-growing markets of India, China and Australia, with which Thailand enjoys strong cultural and economic ties

2) Free Trade Agreement Policy - Thailand is party to 11 bilateral free trade agreements with countries both in Asia and around the world. This helps to explain why Thailand is emerging as a unique trade hub in one of the fastest, most stable-growing parts of the global economy, attracting unprecedented levels of foreign investment.

3) World Class Industries and Market Recognition - Last year Thailand was ranked as the world's largest producer of natural rubber and cassava, and one of the top 10 global manufacturers of vehicles and parts.  In addition, Thailand is ASEAN's second largest economy with key exports include vehicle parts and accessories, computers, refined fuel, rubber and plastics.

4) Home of World Business Events - To ensure Thailand's positioning as home to world's business events, in 2013, Thailand will host a series of mega events, including the ITU Telecom World 2013 with approximately 20,000 delegates, Herbalife Extravaganza with 18,000 attendees, ProHealth China Convention, with an expected attendance of approximately 10,000 participants, and the World Stamp Thailand 2013 with an expected 10,000 visitors. All these events attest to Thailand's ability to deliver world-class event outcomes.

5) Government Collaborations and Supports for Business Events Success - As part of TCEB's role in attracting, supporting and facilitating international events held in Thailand, we provide services such as bidding and marketing support, B2B business matching platforms, government and private sector connectors, and event planning and consultancy. At TCEB, we can also help you enrich your event with cultural performances, team building activities, as well as specialist themed meeting packages such as green meetings, golf, spa, CSR, and the list goes on. For event organisers, we can help organise site inspection packages and develop customized promotional packages, fam trips and promotional materials to directly target your markets. And all this is supported by TCEB's extensive database, business events intelligence, online library, market reports and of course, for your convenience, fast track clearance for delegates at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

"Business opportunities in Thailand and Asia are made available through Thailand's vibrant business events platform. We also want to use the growing trade and tourism link to convince the United Kingdom MICE professionals to hold business event on Thai soil. With Thailand's new attribute, we hope that UK MICE professional will link up and connect with our Thai counterparts and promote further trade and business events activities between our two countries," said Supawan.

In 2013, Thailand is expected to welcome approximately 940,000 MICE visitors to the country, generating expected revenues of 88 Billion Baht and expected to maintain the European market at approximately 80,000 MICE visitors as well as the UK market at around 8,000 MICE visitors.

SOURCE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau