CMP: Thai MICE market brighter than ASEAN competitors
While Mr. Somchai Chanset, General Manager of CMP Media (Thailand) Co. Ltd., is concerned over the negative impact that the recent political turmoil has had on Thailand’s exhibition industry, he believes that the country has the potential to grow its MICE market strongly with well focused marketing strategies.
Exhibitions are held for business to business purposes and impinge directly on the country’s economy, he explains. If exhibitors and trade visitors feel insecure and have no confidence in Thailand, participation rates will fall. At the same time we need to keep an eye on what our regional competitors are doing.
“For instance, Hong Kong is currently adding 20-30,000 sq.m. of exhibition space, expected to be ready by mid-2009. Their facilities will be as large as what we have at the moment, meaning we will lose our competitive advantage. In addition, their rules and regulations facilitate its organizers and are more flexible than ours. However, TCEB (Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau) offers excellent support to coordinate with relevant government organizations to ease regulations for MICE events.
“The exhibition market in China is booming, with 5-6 shows monthly. The Chinese government supports its organizers to attend international exhibitions to look for new export channels foreign in the region. To compete, we have to promote our unique selling points and improve our capabilities,” Somchai added.
As for strategies, Somchai suggests said we have to realise that our strong export performance is the reason for Thailand’s economic growth. Exhibitions are an important marketing tool for export companies, where buyers can meet directly with customers without middlemen. Therefore, exhibitions offer a channel to penetrate new markets and acquire new customers. We should not just focus on selling products or booths, but we also need to look at long-term goals of growing our export business. Organizers and traders should attend international exhibitions in order to learn how global traders operate, their development strategies, quality, pricing, etc. Moreover, we should organize pre-event roadshows in targeted countries to promote our events and products or find partners just as China successfully did.
Thailand also needs to change its key market focus. Exports to the United States are decreasing and stand at 11% compare due to shorter logistic routes. ASEAN buyers also have similar tastes to Thai, so it’s easier to penetrate to these markets. We have advantages over Malaysia and Singapore in terms of readiness, purchasing power, our own production base, high tech facilities, while the country is a regional center for many multi-nationals. We should promote these advantages heavily to build trust for investors and exporters, Somchai adds. The MICE industry should not only target tourism figures, but also export growth derived from exhibitions.
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