Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau Organizes First Paris Roadshow
December 25, 2012
The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau has decided to court MICE by business in France by hosting its first Paris Roadshow Nov. 22.
Leading a delegation representing both public and private sectors, TCEB will showcase Thailand as an ideal and cost-effective platform for French MICE professionals to extend their reach and penetrate the lucrative ASEAN market.
TCEB’s Thailand Paris Road Show 2012 aims to increase French participation in Thailand’s MICE market through the TCEB “MEGA MICE” tactic approach, which will help French MICE professionals use Thailand as a platform to accomplish their strategic business goals in ASEAN.
“Europe is a major long-haul market for Thailand’s tourism and MICE industry,” said Thongchai Sridama, acting president of TCEB.
He added, “In 2011, over 3.6 million European tourists visited Thailand, with Russia, UK, Germany and France ranking the highest. In all, the EU accounts for almost 12 per cent of Thailand’s total MICE market, with almost 87,000 visitors last year. In 2013 we expect the numbers to increase by more than 5 percent to over 91,000visitors, generating 164.9 million Euros in revenues in 2013. The French MICE market will be key to reaching this goal.”
According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand and France have a bilateral relationship on several levels; Thailand is France’s oldest partner in Southeast Asia and in 2004 was recently elevated to the status of strategic partners, following the signing of the first Joint Plan of Action; a 2nd Thailand-France Joint Plan of Action was subsequently agreed for 2010-2014.
Today, Thailand is France’s 2nd largest ASEAN trade partner and France is Thailand’s 4th largest trade partner in the European Union, with 2011 bilateral trade volume recorded at $4.1 billion (Euros 3.2 billion). France has recently made several major investments in Thailand, particularly in the fields of tourism, energy and industry.
“In line with our government’s policy, Thailand is prioritizing the MICE and business events industry as a key business platform,” said Sridama.
He added, “We expect to expand our partnership with French MICE operators. Despite the financial crisis in Europe, the number of French business travellers to Thailand remains strong and we expect around 13.5 million Euros in revenues in 2012. The Thai government therefore plans to extend support for all categories and scales of business event to attract more French MICE events to Thailand; we expect that the attractive incentives we are offering will boost growth next year by a further 5 percent.”
Thailand’s MICE industry will be promoted in the French market via the ‘MEGA MICE’ initiative.
French business travellers and entrepreneurs will be able to maximize benefits from their MICE events in Thailand via three strategic pillars: MEGA Achievement; MEGA Sustainability; and MEGA Collaboration:
1) MEGA Achievement– Thailand has demonstrated its potential and versatility in hosting all categories and scales of business events. Many mega-scale MICE events return time and again to Thailand, and global industry events are lining up to host their 2013 events yet again in Thailand.
2) MEGA Sustainability– Thailand is currently upgrading its MICE industry to comply with the global MICE Sustainability standard (ISO20121) and will be the second countries in the world to reach implement the standard. By holding their events in Thailand, French businesses will benefit not only from the high cost-effectiveness, but also can contribute towards meeting their CSR commitments towards a sustainable world.
3) MEGA Collaboration– Beyond its diversity of venue destinations, Thailand offers French businesses a platform to extend their reach to penetrate the lucrative ASEAN market. Thailand’s MICE operators can offer support not only to promote MICE destinations in Thailand, but can also assist in strengthening collaboration between business operators and government agencies across the ASEAN region. Thailand is set to become a strategic platform for the economic integration within the forthcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
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