The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has highlighted 115 new incentive activities and venues across 14 Thai cities, in time for MICE groups heading to Thailand in 2020.
The list of activities include enjoying ethnic hill tribe cuisine in Chiang Mai, producing salt lick for wildlife near Pattaya, dinner on the floating table in the lagoon in Phuket, exploring the historical streets in Bangkok on a Thai Bus Food Tour and discovering a new venue – a former rice-milling barn in Khon Kaen.
Second-tier cities, located near primary destinations, also offer new experiences for delegates. These include a coffee café run by inmates from an occupational training programme in Chiang Rai, turning sea salt into spa products with salt pit operators in Samut Songkram (near Bangkok), supporting a crab bank housing young crabs before their release into the sea in Chonburi (near Pattaya), producing paper and thread from pineapple fibre in Song Khla in southern Thailand, and teambuilding activities in a former US military camp in Udon Thani (near Khon Kaen).
Also announced was a range of new venues which can host teambuilding and themed adventure activities. They are Volume Climbing Gym in Khon Kaen, Zero Latency (virtual reality attraction) in Bangkok, Water Sport Ground in Pattaya, Thai Wake Park in Chonburi, and the Windsurf Club in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said in a statement: “For the past year we’ve collaborated with key MICE cities and other major destinations across Thailand to develop their local resources, creating new activities based on their local culture and designed for the business events sector.”
Chiruit added that these new activities span seven themes: history and culture, CSR and green meetings, beach bliss, exhilarating adventures, treasured team building, lavish luxury and culinary journeys.
To encourage planners to take advantage of these new products, TCEB has developed three support campaigns: Meet Now: The Big Sisters; Meet Now: Beyond Bangkok & Pattaya; and Meet Sustainable.
Meet Now: The Big Sisters offers financial support for groups from 50 to over 1,000 pax, of up to 500,000 baht for two locations, Bangkok or Pattaya.
Meet Now: Beyond Bangkok & Pattaya offers financial support of one million baht for groups from 30 to over 10,000 pax.
Lastly, Meet Sustainable offers a maximum of 200,000 baht – for a group of at least 50 people – should an event have at least two out of seven sustainable practices such as using a venue certified for sustainable environment or energy management, electronic registration and reusable badge, or donating left-over food to non-profit organisation.
