New MICE campaigns to tap Asean+6

Asean+6 is an informal grouping of the 10 Asean members plus China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. TCEB president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai said that in an effort to boost these market segments, the bureau had designed three marketing campaigns for the 2016 fiscal year (October 2015 to September 2016) enabling organisers to attract international MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) travellers to Thailand. 

First, the bureau will offer a “Visitor Promotion (Asean+6)” campaign for the conventions segment, allowing event organisers to get support in terms of marketing activities. The intention is to draw more foreign attendees into Thailand, as well as to raise the proportion of attendees from the Asean+6 region. 

Second, “Thailand Connect … Connect beyond the Capital” has been created for the meetings and incentives segments. The campaign will encourage corporate groups to explore diverse destinations in Thailand. 

Privileges are particularly available for organising events in any MICE City (Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket or Khon Kaen) with financial support based on certain conditions, such as group travel conducted between October 2015 and December 2016 via domestic flights operated by an airline that is a marketing associate of the TCEB. 

Third, the “Thailand BIG Thanks” campaign provides a special offer for foreign corporate groups entering the country for meetings or incentive activities in order to attract large-scale conventions or other mega-events into with financial support between October 2015 and December 2016. 

Nopparat said that in addition to the new marketing campaigns, the TCEB would establish marketing representatives in Singapore and Australia besides the existing ones in China, Japan, India and the United States. 

Asean+6 remains a major market, while South Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are prospective markets.

The TCEB introduced the 2016 marketing plan at the “Meetings Industry Day” held in Bangkok yesterday. The sixth annual symposium as the arena for declaration of policies including knowledge sharing by gurus on successful bidding tips and connection building among Thai MICE entrepreneurs to strengthen the industry. 

In the first three quarters of the 2015 fiscal year, Thailand welcomed 586,468 international MICE travellers, generating Bt51.6 billion in revenue. Among them were 195,368 convention travellers with revenue of Bt18.1 billion; 192,879 meeting travellers with Bt20.9 billion; and 198,221 incentive travellers with Bt12.6 billion in revenue. 

Nopparat reaffirmed that despite the bomb blast at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong Intersection this month, there had been no cancellations of MICE events. In the 2015 fiscal year, the TCEB remains confident of achieving its target of 1,036,300 MICE travellers bringing nearly Bt106.8 million in revenue into the country.