TICA MICE UPDATE

Welcome to the July-August issue of TICA news, where you will find the latest trends and direction of Thailand’s MICE industry. Though Thailand had an astounding 1.27 million MICE travellers that injected B103 billion into the Thai economy last year, I would like to add that there is a lot better to come. As the government’s policy is gradually shifting from quantity to quality, the pursuit of quality tourism as a strategic goal to achieve a more rewarding MICE and tourism market is not in the distant future. With special emphasis on MICE, where training and consistent retention of high quality standards are essential, Thailand will undoubtedly move closer towards their goal.

For our destination showcase this issue, we have chosen Krabi, which by itself is an outstanding MICE venue with plentiful natural attractions, including white sandy beaches, coral reefs and quality MICE hotels. Krabi is also one of the premier rock climbing destinations in the world. Productive conference and incentive events is a standard fixture here. All in all, things are continually looking positive, as Thailand earned almost 70 awards in the smarttravelasia.com ‘Best in Travel Poll’, and performed exceptionally well with Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui and Hua Hin, all named among the “top 10 holiday destinations” for Asia.

The new President of TCEB, Khun Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya has also stepped up to highlight four directions to enhance the development of MICE for Thailand to contribute towards the continually growing economy. They are innovation, creative prosperity, distributing income and growing with equality – the details of which are highlighted in this edition of our newsletter.

TCEB has been exceptionally active in the last couple of months. In July, they successfully hosted the second annual Thai Incentive and Meeting Exchange (TIME) event. This year, the highlight was on the impact of the Indian MICE industry to Thailand, which is the second MICE source market for Thailand after China. About 80 percent of the total MICE traffic from India is for incentives, and therefore requires more specific attention and knowledge.

In conclusion, all indicators are pointing towards a productive year, and I am confident that with more quality and well-planned development and marketing strategies, better training and more intelligent promotions of our venues, Thailand will forge ahead as one of the MICE powerhouses of Asia.