TCEB goes for “India-Vietnam” MICE market Launch new campaign to pump 40,000 million baht income
 India is one of the top countries receiving attention from foreign investors owing to its population of over 1 billion people, its bountiful resources, it being an under invested development in many aspects, its cheap wage rates—make India suitable as a place for product manufacturing or for building production bases to save costs, and competition in India is not as fierce as in the Chinese market. Apart from that, Thailand and India have had cordially commercial relationships for a long time and have continuously increased investment value. In terms of tourism, it has been found that the number of Indian business travelers entering Thailand in 2008 was 45,905 people, which was an increase of up to 44.7% from 2007. Accordingly, India is considered as one of the main targets of international exhibition markets in Thailand.
This is the cause of proactive actions into international exhibition markets by TCEB and the Department of Export Promotion (TCEB’s alliance which jointly held many road shows with TCEB in foreign countries). The TCEB and the Department of Export Promotion joined hands in organising a road show activity called “Thai-Indian Exhibition Industry Forum 2009” in India last August, starting at “Mumbai”, an important trade and economy city, and “New Delhi”, the Indian’s capital city cum government agencies center point. In this road show, the TCEB and the Department of Export Promotion introduced Thai entrepreneurs in the MICE industry to discuss and negotiate trades with representatives from the Trade Association, Indian Industries Association and Indian federation, in an effort to build confidence in the potential of Thailand in aspects such as trade & investment and international exhibition holding in the Asian region. This also creates a good relationship between the Indian and Thai governments.
The “Thai-Vietnamese Exhibition Industry Forum 2009” was launched respectively in Vietnam, penetrating 3 big cities: Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh, which gained a good response from Vietnamese investors. Vietnam is the country eyed by investors from many countries in the Asian region, including Thailand due to its visible potential in many aspects. For instance, it has one of the highest economic growth rates which results from its open-door policy and its domestic open economy & investment policy. Another example, the wages are cheap in Vietnam, therefore, attracting attention from foreign investors. According to the statistics of the bilateral trade value between Thai and Vietnam in 2008, it was found that the total trade value was over 210,000 million Baht and the export value from Thai to Vietnam was very high, up to 160,000 million Baht. It is expected that Vietnam will become Thailand’s most important trading partner during 2010.
Mrs. Supawan Teerarat, Exhibitions Director and Acting Director of the TCEB, stated that in such an economic recession in America and Europe, we have to turn to look at the business opportunities with our Asian countries, which we found that many Asian countries still have room for us to do considerable business. Both India and Vietnam have a high investment potential, especially Vietnam which we found that there are still not many business traveler groups coming to visit exhibitions in Thailand, which means a high chance for marketing and it does not take long to travel. Also, the prime minister’s official visit to Vietnam in July reinforces the investment cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam in many aspects, as well as announces the proactive policy in strengthening bilateral relationships between the two countries under the Thailand-Vietnam frame to use mutual visa. This would increase the number of tourists to 1 million within 2015. The Vietnamese tourist statistics show the amount of Vietnamese tourists increased by 42.6% between 2007 and 2008. Partly, this increase comes from the popularity of the MICE industry after the TCEB’s attempts to open the market in Vietnam. Thus, this road show in Vietnam not only expands the MICE market but also carries on the government’s policy of expanding trades and investments into Vietnam.
“The highlight presented by the TCEB which gained high attention from entrepreneurs and organizers in both India and Vietnam is the package “Extra Night Extra Smile”. This is our special promotion that’s used to attract interest from organisers and business travelers, from both India and Vietnam, to come to organise and participate in exhibition events in Thailand more. It is the package which invites these groups of tourists to stay in Thailand longer by offering a free stay on the fourth night for those who stay for three consecutive nights or longer. Furthermore, “Extra Smile” provides fast track access at immigration checkpoint and convenient facilities for travelling by airport. “Extra Smile” also offers free a Bangkok-sightseeing program by train and special discounts for shopping in leading department stores, along with many other cultural and entertainment attractions. These tactics are designed to stimulate domestic expense rate and to increase the amount of MICE travelers between the two countries”, said Mrs. Supawan.
The Acting Director of TCEB added that both the events in Mumbai and New Delhi received great attention from Indian investment delegates and businessmen from over 400 organisations. This bodes well for Thailand to push ahead into the Indian exhibition market. From the result of the road show and the package “Extra Night, Extra Smile”, it’s expected that there will be over 60,000 organiser delegates and visitors from India coming to Thailand. As for Vietnam, it’s expected that the amount of Vietnamese businessmen who are interested in the Thai exhibition market will increase by no less than 20-30%. Combining the road shows in the two countries, it’s speculated that the income from MICE travelers who come to Thailand will amount to 41,000 million Baht by the end of 2009, this would match expectations.
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