Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s (TCEB) move to align its destination promotion efforts with the country’s 4.0 economic policy is paying dividends, with four new exhibitions confirmed for the kingdom.
The four exhibitions are CEBIT ASEAN Thailand from Germany (under the digital and innovation sector); LabelExpo Southeast Asia, Future Energy Asia from UK, and Medical Devices ASEAN.
Thailand’s 4.0 policy which was announced last year, targets 10 industries such as smart devices, next-gen automotive, robotics, aviation and digital.
Speaking at a business forum in Hong Kong last week, TCEB’s senior vice president business, Nichapa Yoswee, told TTGmice that progress was fast.
“When the policy was launched, we went out, got discussions going and agreements made,” she said.
She added: “I believe that the new policy provides clarity on where the country is heading in relation to the industry’s needs. It helps the organisers to be more focused on their own targets. They know exactly what to bring to the fairground, and most importantly, all the supplementary and subsequent supporting schemes that are in place to drive the whole national policy programme.”
When recounting the success of attracting new exhibitions to Thailand, TCEB’s director of exhibitions, Kanokporn Damrongkul, said that this was not sheer luck.
Taking CEBIT ASEAN Thailand as an example, she elaborated: “We worked closely with the organiser in Germany by starting research related to the digital and innovation industry in Thailand. Then, we hooked them up with a local partner – Impact – in Thailand. We also worked closely with another government department, the Ministry of Digital Economy, and linked them up to get endorsement and support. Once the show was confirmed, financial support was offered.”
The first South-east Asia edition of CEBIT from Germany will be taking place from October 18-20 later this year.
For 2019, TCEB’s focus will be on aviation, robotic and biochemical industries, and the industry has already taken a step towards this. For instance, Airbus recently formed a joint venture with Thai Airways for a maintenance and overhaul facility at U-Tapao International Airport.
Nichapa further shared that TCEB is currently in talks with aerospace and air show organisers to bring airshows to Thailand. Once these three categories have had shows materialised, the medical sector will be next on the agenda.
Incentive programmes will also be upgraded next year. For instance, the Bidding Fund for organisers will replace the Premier Exhibition Access Programme which helps to attract shows in Thailand. More details will be announced in September. As well, ASEAN Privilege will replace Connect Businesses and have upgraded elements such as a subsidy for accommodation and cash incentives for South-east Asian buyers.
Meanwhile, the new EXHIBIZ in Market campaign will be tailor-made for the heads of pavilion, governments, associations, and non-profit organisations that would like to bring groups of suppliers to exhibit in any tradeshow in Thailand.
According to Kanokporn, collaboration with worldwide exhibition associations is also being strengthened.
“We’ll bring Thai organisers to do business matching with key associations. Additionally, as we have cooperation with South-east countries in the form of MoUs, we will be able to access to their association members,” Kanokporn elaborated.
Three roadshows are currently being planned for September 2018 in Cambodia.
