Thailand Seeks Business Events from 'Economic Powerhouse' India
Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau Roadshow Targets Mumbai and Delhi
Tweet-- The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau will aggressively seek Indian business events, especially exhibitions, during a Thai government-backed roadshow to Delhi and Mumbai 18-21 August. The objective of the trip is to raise awareness of TCEB’s “Extra Night, Extra Smile” promotion and boost confidence in Thailand in a market that expects 6.6% GDP growth this year.
“India is a very robust economy,” said Mrs Supawan Teerarat, Exhibition Director and Acting President of TCEB. “It’s a top 10 global economy. It is 4th in the world in terms of purchasing power parity – and it is close to Thailand.”
Mrs Supawan said that the “Extra Night, Extra Smile” incentive was aimed at increasing the number of Indian exhibition visitors at short notice and encouraging them to stay longer in Thailand. For delegate groups that stay three nights or longer, a fourth night would be offered free, she said. In addition, the “Extra Smile” component would deliver special group fast tracking and airport transfers, a complimentary Bangkok city tour by tram car, plus special discounts at leading department stores and entertainment outlets for Indian delegates.
TCEB will target Indian associations and organizations from sectors such as electronics, industrial machinery, petroleum, automotives, steel, gems and jewellery. Bilateral trade links between Thailand and India are already advanced in these industries.
Travel agents specializing in organising meetings, plus representatives from the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and similar bodies, will attend the roadshow.
During the trip, speakers from the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) will make presentations to Thai delegates telling them where there are business event opportunities in the Indian conference and exhibition sector.
TCEB wants to use growing trade and tourism links to convince Indian industries and associations to hold conventions, trade shows and large company meetings on Thai soil.
Thailand needs to increase its non-ASEAN business events, said Mr Pravit Sribanditmongkol, Secretariat General of the Thailand Exhibition Association. “Traditionally, Thailand does well by attracting business events from ASEAN economies. The recession in ASEAN has hurt demand for exhibitions. We need to open our doors more to India, China and the Middle East,” he said.
Mrs Wipasri Chalaprawat, Assistant Director-General of Thailand’s Department of Export Promotion, said: “We think there is strong potential to increase trade between Thailand and India, especially in established partnership sectors such as electronics, industrial machinery, agricultural, gems, jewellery, textile and garments. Exporters from India can use exhibitions in Thailand as a platform to stimulate their trade relationship with us.”
Despite the downturn, TCEB says that 500 overseas business events in Thailand this year will attract about 500,000 visitors and earn about 41 billion Thai baht, equivalent to 13% of Thailand’s total tourism earnings.
Delegates from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Department of Export Promotion, the Board of Investment, THAI Airways International, and the Thailand Exhibition Association will also join the roadshow to India.
Depending on sources, bilateral trade between India and Thailand reportedly grew between 18% and 26% in 2008 and was worth approximately US$5.9 billion. A trade agreement between India and ASEAN is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
Notes to Editor
About the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) was expressly created as a vibrant, 21st-century, cutting-edge professional organization. TCEB's organizational design, with its flat and agile structure, facilitates rapid response, thus enabling the TCEB Team to deliver prompt and superior service, whilst achieving the highest level of operational efficiency and effectiveness. These are essential to Thailand's MICE competitiveness on the regional and global stage. TCEB promotes ethical and responsible business behaviour based on its core values of customer enthusiasm, integrity, teamwork, innovation, continuous improvement, and responsibility. Knowledge sharing at TCEB has evolved over time. We aim to become the standard-setters for the industry. www.tceb.or.th