THAILAND is securing the top spot as Southeast Asia’s exhibition hub with a record number of business events won and more to come, says TCEB.
Thailand Convention and Exhibitions Bureau reports that 2019 is shaping up to be one of the best years for hosing trade events with the king set to be the dominant partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when it comes to this industry sector.
The news comes as TCEB prepares to welcome the 86th UFI Global Congress to Bangkok, November 6-9, with 400 of the world’s exhibition industry leaders set to attend.
Nichapa Yoswee (above), TCEB's senior vice president for business, said Thailand’s position as Asean’s leading exhibition destination is catching the attention of foreign organisers and the international community.
She said a total of 22 international exhibitions held in Thailand during 2018-19 were certified by UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, representing the highest number of UFI-certified exhibitions in the Asean region.
“New trends are emerging where international organisers are utilising Thailand as a gateway to the Asean region,” Nichapa added. “They are also keen to explore the many business opportunities provided by the Thai government's Thailand 4.0 – EEC [Eastern Economic Corridor] initiative, which is considered Asean’s largest in terms of investment values and development potential.”
These include many prestigious events such as CEBIT ASEAN Thailand (Digital) from Germany, Infocomm Southeast Asia (Smart Devices) from Singapore, ANDTEX (non-woven material for the manufacturing industry) from the United States and SILMO (Optical) from France.
During 2019, TCEB also supported and won bids for 17 new international exhibitions – a record number, with more than half focused on Thailand’s 10 “S-Curve industries”. They include four events on smart devices from China, Singapore and Malaysia; one event on digital from Germany; one event on energy from Singapore; two food events from Thailand, and one each on logistics and health also from Thailand.
In the pipeline, TCEB – Business is also eyeing an additional 22 potential events, mostly focusing on the 10 S-Curve industries.
S-curve industries consist of a next generation of innovative manufacturing, development and services that Thailand is targeting along the EEC which runs south of Bangkok and past Pattaya.
Nichapa said this record-setting performance was driven partly by TCEB's “360 Degree Exhibition Success” campaign.
There is also the ASEAN+6 Privilege that assists business missions in bringing trade visitors from ASEAN+6 countries, including China, to Thailand for business meetings during exhibitions held in the kingdom.
