Thailand has reported a strong rebound in the exhibition industry, and is driving the industry forward with a new campaign to boost domestic tradeshows under the Thailand 4.0 agenda.

The 11 new international tradeshows were launched between May 2022 and September 2022, and the industries that the shows serve included digitalisation, intelligent automation, robotics, life sciences, healthcare, clean energy, and logistics. More than half were staged by the local offices of international organisers or in partnership with Thai organisers, and support from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

Two of the 11 new shows TCEB supported in 2022 – Maintenance, Industrial Robotics and Automation (MiRA), and Manufacturing Transformation Thailand (MATRA) – were held in Pattaya, the exhibition hub for the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Both covered smart manufacturing and industrial automation, and served the interests of a great number of multinationals and small- and medium-sized enterprises based in the EEC.

Kenny Yong, CEO of Fireworks Trade Media Group, organiser of MATRA, said: “We have chosen the EEC for our show because it is attracting a lot of investment and our show is technology-driven for industry transformation and efficiency befitting the investors in the EEC and responding to “Thailand 4.0” industries. Thanks to TCEB’s support, we were able to launch MATRA as a new addition to our portfolio and the first show of its kind in this special economic zone.”

To further drive investment in trade shows with a Thailand 4.0 orientation, TCEB has outlined the development plan for the growth of domestic exhibitions in 2023, highlighting the collaboration of 11 public and private sector partners – such as The Board of Investment of Thailand, and Department of International Trade Promotion – under the umbrella EMTEX: Empower Thailand Exhibition project.

One key initiative of the project is a new marketing campaign SPIRE Thailand: Strengthen Power in Regional Exhibitions. This campaign is designed to help local entrepreneurs align themselves with emerging global trends, such as intelligent automation and sustainability. It is expected that the campaign will generate 7,802 million baht (US$207,084) in economic impact.

Under the campaign, financial incentives of up to one million baht per show will be provided if the domestic exhibitions are in the following five groups of industries:

• Food, agriculture, and biotechnology
• Health and medical technology
• Smart devices, robotics and automation, Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence
• Alternative energy, automotive, and logistics
• Creative economy, culture, tourism, and high-valued services

For non-financial support, TCEB will serve liaise between 11 partners to integrate rapport of exhibitors in seven areas – exhibitor database; on-site buyer database; local network; knowledge, training and seminar; in-depth information of industries, targeted markets and market insight; sourcing of funding/subsidies or sponsorship; and public relations.

TCEB president, Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, said: “This new campaign aims to help local entrepreneurs and organisers to expand their businesses in the strategic or future industries which will future-proof their enterprises and enable their role in the economic transformation of the country.

“By supporting the organisers of these shows, we are also signalling TCEB’s readiness to help lay the foundation for these shows to grow to become leading events in their respective industry verticals.”