Not allowing the recent bombing to dampen its spirits, Thailand will approach the year ahead with three new campaigns to lure buiness events
The August 17 Erawan Shrine bombing had not only taken 20 lives and left a trail of destruction in and around the popular site of worship in the heart of Bangkok, it had also dented Thailand’s tourism arrivals in the aftermath.
Holiday-makers held back travel plans to Thailand, while several business events with attendees totalling 3,000 to 4,000 were cancelled.
However, Areepong Bhoocha-oom, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and Sport told TTGassociations that while “we see the cancellation of some events, more of them are still going (on). That is the message we want to convey”.
Thailand will continue to welcome association gatherings like 39th Asia-Pacific Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Association Conference in Bangkok from October 10-14, the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics Asia/Oceana 2015 in Chiang Mai from October 19-22, and the World Sugar Expo 2015 in Bangkok from October 28-29.
To regain confidence among travellers and business event organisers, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is maintaining its destination promotions and has three campaigns ready for the 2016 fiscal year, from October 2015 to September 2016.
The first of the three campaigns will offer support to convention organisers in attracting more foreign attendees. The Visitor Promotion (ASEAN+6) campaign is aimed at building delegate numbers from the 10 ASEAN nations as well as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea and India.
The second campaign, Thailand Connect … Connect beyond the Capital, incentivises event planners to explore different destinations in Thailand. Perks are offered for organising events in designated MICE cities – Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen – although the extent of support depends on the fulfilment of certain conditions, such as group travel being conducted between now and December 2016 via domestic flights operated by an airline that is a marketing associate of TCEB.
The final campaign, Thailand BIG Thanks!, is aimed at drawing mega corporate events to the country. Budget support will be offered throughout the 2016 fiscal year.
Backing this campaign is TCEB’s attendance at seven international tradeshows that specialises in business events, including Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia, Corporate Travel World Asia-Pacific, IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America, and Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo.
It will also take part in roadshows in Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China, India and Indonesia as well as host familiarisation trips for the conventions market.
These new campaigns come on top of six measures TCEB rolled out right after the Erawan Shrine bombing to ensure event planners and their attendees are safe and feel so. These measures include 24-hour assistance services at the TCEB Counter at Suvarnabhumi Airport, police escort for large groups of event attendees between the airport and the hotel, a dedicated MICE Lane at the airport’s immigration checkpoint, expense support for the engagement of security personnel for senior executives, and extra security support for general visitors.
Thailand’s business event sector players welcome the new campaigns.
Patrick J M Basset, Accor’s COO for South-East Asia, said Thailand’s business event sector has “huge potential” for growth “with the right approach” taken.
According to data from TCEB, Thailand’s MICE sector welcomed 726,280 business events travellers (up 7.8%) and generated 63,714 million baht (US$ up 8.7%) in the first three quarters of the 2015 fiscal year. Looking forward, the bureau expects to achieve 1,036,300 business event footfalls and earn 106,780 million baht.
