Business events entrepreneurs have teamed up with tech entrepreneurs in Thailand to develop innovative ways to continue hosting business events online amid the current pandemic, a result of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s (TCEB) MICE Winnovation initiative.
According to Jaruwan Suwannasat, director for MICE intelligence and innovation department at TCEB, the MICE Winnovation project is all about promoting the utilisation of innovation and technology when it comes to organising business events in Thailand.
Since MICE Winnovation was launched in March 2021, TCEB has brought together 152 pairs of MICE entrepreneurs and tech entrepreneurs, as well as received applications to support 35 events.
Among the 18 events that have happened, 15 have utilised virtual or hybrid technology, while three events deployed crowd management technology to improve hygiene safety and reduce infection risks.
CEO and co-founder of ZipEvent Parote Denskoon shared that the initiative is a good opportunity to showcase their ideas. For instance, ZipEvent was matched with Yimsamer Studio, which led to both companies collaborating for the virtual event Bangkok Projection Mapping Competition 2021 (BPMC 2021).
BPMC 2021 was a competition held in June, which saw motion graphics or animation content projected onto the historic East Asiatic Building in Bangkok.
“Technology has become an essential tool for event organisers so as to communicate and deliver memorable experiences to visitors,” said Thanapong Panichob, co-founder and CEO of Yimsamer Studio.
This move to bolster Thailand’s business events sector comes as the Thai cabinet recent approved an amendment to the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement of Tourism Professionals (ASEAN MRA-TP) that will benefit business events professionals and event professionals.
When the agreement was originally signed by ASEAN Tourism Ministers in 2012, the ASEAN MRA-TP only covered workers in two tourism categories – travel services and hotel services. To date, the ad referendum has been signed by seven countries: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.
To translate the expanded agreement into action, every ASEAN member country will be required to follow a common competency standard. Thailand and Indonesia have been tasked with the development of the competency standards for MICE – Thailand in events and incentive travel, and Indonesia, in conventions and exhibitions. This will take place over the next three years.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of TCEB, shared that with the MRA-TP, a tourism professional’s qualification will be recognised by all ASEAN countries, which will boost cross-border employment and capacity-building of the business events sector.
“A vital economic driver for many countries, MICE has a bright future in ASEAN… To enable a MICE professional to find successful employment throughout the region, we must start with a common standard and mutual recognition of qualifications. With close cooperation among member countries, I hope we can transform ASEAN into a world’s leading destination for MICE by embracing the expanded ASEAN MRA-TP.”
