All silent on withdrawal from expo bid

The Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) on Tuesday decided to cut Thailand from the list of five contenders, as the government failed to submit an official confirmation.

On his Facebook page, former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij said it was a pity that Thailand was disqualified. He attributed this to the government’s lack of professionalism. 

“The Yingluck [Shinawatra] government did not take this seriously, maybe because this was initiated by the [previous] Democrat government. Or the government might not see any benefits from this. Or it might want to pave the way for Dubai” to win the bid, he said. 

The government has shown reluctance to support the bid, though at the same time confirming that Thailand would fight for the hosting rights. In February, there was a discussion over the huge investment, estimated at US$1 billion (Bt30 billion). Prime Minister’s Office Minister Nivatthamrong Boonsongpaisal at that time said the government was assessing the worthiness of investing in a bid to stage the World Expo.

Yesterday, Nivatthamrong turned off his mobile phone. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, the new president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), did not answer calls from media either. Nopparat had insisted on May 29 that the bid was on track and Thailand was one of the candidates. Some Democrat MPs also pressured the government for an explanation, to justify the Bt400 million that has been dispensed to raise awareness of the expo among the Thai public in the past year.

The previous Democrat government under prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva initiated the expo bid, announcing in Shanghai that Thailand was ready to host the world event. In fact, Thailand was the first country to announce its candidacy officially. The effort weakened after Yingluck came to power, with the dismissal of TCEB president Akrapol Sorasuchart. 

Insiders said the BIE came to the decision on Tuesday because of poor support from the government. In January, the BIE Enquiry Mission visited Ayutthaya, which was to be the expo venue. Insiders said the team got an unsatisfactory welcome from the government and felt the administration was insincere in its quest to be the host. Acting TCEB president Thongchai Sridama also failed to meet up with the team.

Some insiders say former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra strong-armed his younger sister Yingluck to back away from the expo bid so that Dubai – where he has spent time during his exile – could win the race. 

Now, only four cities are vying for Expo 2020, and the result will be known in November. Aside from Dubai, they are Ekaterinburg, Russia; Izmir, Turkey; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In 2010, Shanghai World Expo attracted 73 million visitors and generated $12 billion in direct revenue. In addition, the spillover effect to adjacent cities caused a 20 per cent bump in tourism services demand. Thailand's quest is to attract more than 30 million visitors to World Expo 2020, while Turkey targets 39 million.