TCEB reveals strategies to attract more major events to Thailand

The strategies highlight the importance of a partnership between the public and private sectors, crucial to the success of winning bids for international events.
The TCEB has also organised a workshop called “Thailand’s Strategic Direction for Festivals and Events” to provide a brainstorming platform for tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) organisations. Findings from the session will help redefine the country’s strategic direction for collaboration among the Ministry of Culture, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the TCEB and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
“The TCEB is mobilising our strategic plan to promote Thailand as a preferred destination for major events in line with the bureau’s three corporate strategies,” TCEB president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai said.
The first of these is the “win strategy”. The TCEB will accelerate bidding for events, aiming to increase the number of international visitors to festivals and events in Thailand.
Under the “promote strategy”, the TCEB underlines Thailand’s position as a preferred destination for festivals and events among international communities.
Third is the “develop strategy”, whereby the TCEB elevates Thailand’s capabilities to organise international festivals and mega-events as well as enabling strategic networking among the public and private sectors, domestically and internationally.
“The clear strategic direction helps reaffirm our role as a solutions provider for all touch points of the festivals and events franchise, from bidding facilitation and linkage to international networks, to partnership establishment and international marketing activities, audit research, and re-bidding,” Nopparat said.
Under the “win strategy”, the TCEB is elevating its support for international festivals and mega-events to attract revenue by increasing the number of international visitors to Thailand. The bureau also encourages MICE cities to organise large-scale festivals and events regularly, with duration of three days and involving more than 10,000 participants per event, throughout the year.
To enable the “promote strategy”, the TCEB organises international roadshows in key markets in Europe. In the Asia-Pacific region, it focuses on Japan and South Korea, where local governments strongly support the export of events to promote arts and culture, and Australia, where the festivals and events market is mature, playing host to many world-class events.
To implement the “develop strategy”, the TCEB facilitates collaboration among stakeholders, in line with government policy to drive public-private partnerships. A core part of this strategy is listening to the suggestions of tourism and MICE players.
The results of the input from more than 20 public and private organisations will be integrated into a mutually beneficial plan involving a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies and businesses.
“To drive the Thai economy through the development of international festivals and mega-events, the TCEB is committed to working closely with key strategic partners by proposing five key dimensions,” Nopparat said. “These are visitor numbers and visitor quality, content and event quality, public partnerships, integrated marketing, and industry intelligence reports.”
The success of international festivals and mega-events stems from their cultural contexts. Thailand has many advantages in this regard thanks to its long history and deep culture, and a wide variety of venues around the country.
In addition, Thailand continues to develop high-quality MICE products and services, complemented by modern infrastructure, convenient connectivity, and strong government support. This provides the fundamentals to develop a sustainable festivals and events sector.
The first-ever “Asean Festival”, under the theme “Countdown to the AEC”, is expected to be held in Thailand late this year, Nopparat said.