Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is extending its Meet Double Cities package – offered under its wider Thailand Connect campaign – through 2018, as demand for it picks up this year on the back of a recovering European business events market.
The Meet Double Cities package was launched last year to encourage corporate groups to stay on longer in Thailand through multi-city itineraries. It dishes out 100,000 baht (US$3,014) for each qualified group with 200 attendees and more staying in Thailand for at least four nights in more than one destination.
According to Supawan Teerarat, TCEB vice president of strategic and business development, the package had a rocky start as its launch coincided with a shaky European economy that saw groups holding on tighter to their finances, and shrinking travel and event budgets.
Supawan explained that the success of the Meet Double Cities package was more dependant on longhaul markets as their travellers were more likely than Asian ones to take up a multi-city itinerary, having travelled a long distance to Thailand and would want to make the most of their trip.
“European groups that (did come) to Asia for business events were very careful with their expenses, and tended not to feature too many cities in one destination,” she said.
But things are looking up this year.
“We saw more demand for events and more requests (for the package) since early this year, just as the European market rebounded,” she told TTGmice.
Among the multi-city corporate events held in Thailand this year is a 280-pax incentive programme for a company in Belgium. The group visited Bangkok and Hua Hin from March 7-23, and the organisers were supported by the Meet Double Cities package.
Encouraged, TCEB has decided to extend the Meet Double Cities package to 2018, which otherwise would have closed its application on September 30 this year.
