Khon Kaen in North-east Thailand, and the country’s 5th Official MICE City, wants to host more meetings and exhibitions from South China and Indochina due to its close proximity to both areas.
The region is the primary focus of the government’s East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) scheme, which plans to connect Thailand (through Khon Kaen) with its four neighbouring countries – China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, a Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) spokesperson told TTGmice.
To cement its presence on the meetings and incentives stage, a new convention centre, Khon Kaen International Convention and Exhibition center (KICE), opened at the end of January. It is the largest convention venue in the province and third largest in the country, boasting around 15,000m2 of space.
Since then, events that have taken place in the city include the 12th APEC Khon Kaen International Symposium, 5th Asian Academic Society International Conference, 13th Asian Congress on Biotechnology 2017, and 5th International Conference on Government Performance Management and Leadership.
However, the TCEB spokesperson acknowledged that in terms of hosting international or regional association meetings, Khon Kaen lags behind other regional cities, although it has the capacity to host more meetings in its specialist industries such as logistics, silk, agro processing (rice, sugar cane and rubber), and certain medical fields.
Future infrastructure upgrades include the airport, where a feasibility study for a planned expansion is underway, with the aim of upgrading Khon Kaen airport’s terminal space to accommodate international flights.
Khon Kaen will also be the first city outside of Bangkok to have a light rail transit system. This is planned for end-2019.
Other accessibility improvements include the upcoming high-speed train service to Nong Khai in north-east Thailand, that will also connect with China’s Kunming and Vientiane in Laos.
