The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently held their annual roadshow in Mumbai, bringing to India a delegation comprising travel partners and stakeholders from hotels, attractions and DMCs, led by Supawan Teerarat, Vice President, TCEB. According to Teerarat, the MICE industry has been growing at a rate of about 5-10 per cent year on year, even during times of political unrest. From the Indian market in particular, TCEB has been recording footfall upwards of 70,000 every year.
“In 2013 we welcomed over 100,000 Indian travellers to Thailand, about 10 per cent of the total MICE travellers. Overall, we registered over 1 million business travellers, majority of who were from Asia. We have been seeing a significant growth from the India market and are looking to bridge some of the gaps from major cities, especially from corporate travel segment and the travel trade fraternity,” Teerarat added.
Highlighting the trends in Indian MICE movement to Thailand, Teerarat revealed that most footfall is registered from Meetings and Incentives segments, followed by Conferences and Exhibitions. “Indians’ spend per head during MICE visits ranges from THB 80,000 up to THB 120,000. We are now aiming to capture more niche segments, i.e. the premium customer. Thailand is different from leisure and tourist destination where spend per head would be much lower. For business travellers it is three times more. Hence, our services are premium,” she stated.
She further added that it is not just the number of groups from India that are on the rise, but also the size of the groups coming in. These groups now range from 100-4,000, and they are keen to see more than just the beaches and metros. They are also inclined to visit cultural cities and sites.
TCEB has named five cities across Thailand as MICE cities – Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and the latest entrant, appointed just this year, Khon Kaen. Khon Kaen is located near the north-east economic city and shares it’s border with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and some part of south China. The five MICE cities are so named as they are well equipped to host and cater to the needs of all types of MICE functions.
Furthermore, TCEB has the added responsibility now of overseeing mega events. Their role involves inviting expos of international repute to come to Thailand. The first winning bid this year is a mega event from Prague which will be held in Bangkok and will welcome over 200 participating countries.
