THE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has announced the launch of the ASEAN Rising Trade Show (ART), as part of its strategy to strengthen the Thai international exhibition industry to drive the national economy in 2015.
Underlined by the Think Big, Go Beyond theme, the ART campaign is endorsed by the Thai Exhibition Association, and UFI also participated as one of the judging panels.
Speaking at the Thailand International Exhibitions and Events Forum 2015, Supawan Teerarat, TCEB’s vice president, strategic and business development, said: “The ART is a three-year programme running from 2015 to 2017. The criteria for participation in the programme includes exhibitions that are new and creative, promote business sustainability for trade fairs, demonstrate the growth of international participants from AEC countries and contribute to the growth of the trade fair industry.”
Highlighting five key industries – automotive, energy, food & agriculture, healthcare & wellness and infrastructure – the ART campaign also aligns with TCEB’s strategy to provide financial support for the selected international exhibitions while expanding ASEAN MICE Collaboration programme, initiated since 2011 with the aim to synergise local association-level organisations with the government sector, to capture new markets beyond the AEC to South China.
In 2015, TCEB expects to attract over 190,400 international exhibitions in Thailand to generate a revenue of 17 billion baht (US$521 million). The bureau is targeting over one million international MICE travellers to Thailand in 2015 to contribute over 106.8 billion baht to the Thai economy.
In the 2014 fiscal year, Thailand welcomed 919,164 MICE travellers, generating 80.8 billion baht in revenue to the national economy. Among these, 157,996 are business travellers in the exhibition sector with a revenue of 13.6 billion baht. The top five countries with buyers and visitors participating in Thai international exhibitions are Japan, Malaysia, China, Singapore and India respectively.
