Country’s first MICE curriculum kicks off at Bangkok University
BANGKOK UNIVERSITY and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) have commenced the country’s first MICE curriculum to cope with growing demand for skilled personnel and executives in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions sector.
They signed a memorandum of understanding last year to run the new curriculum, with the aim of producing MICE professionals and management executives for a business with a bright future.
“Our MICE curriculum is the first and only one in the country. First-class students are now at the Rangsit campus,” said Suchada Chareanpunsirikul, dean of the university’s School of Humanities and Tourism Management. She said the country had been facing a shortage of skilled labour for the MICE sector for years, similar to the situation in the hotel and airline industries.
Bangkok University is providing large-scale facilities for the new curriculum, with advanced equipment and facilities for MICE learners from both Thailand and abroad.
Apart from MICE, the school is providing other tourism-related courses, such as Thai and foreign languages, hotel business, airline business and tourism, the dean said.
It invested in a new building at a cost of Bt800 million a few years ago, featuring multi-training mock-up rooms, including an aircraft cabin, travel company, hotel room, kitchen, food and beverage outlet, laundry, banquet, spa, and coffee room, she explained.
“We are planning more cooperation with the private sector this year, like AirAsia and Wingspan Co, in order to extend comprehensive training for our students,” she added.
The university is also considering opening more curriculums involving hotel and food, as well as higher graduate levels.
Meanwhile, the TCEB earlier announced its intention to increase cooperation with both the public and private sectors, as well as plans to establish a public-private working committee as a new centre for discussion and planning regarding MICE matters and problems concerning the sector. The new committee, in fact, is being transformed from an existing panel set up by the government.
The new joint committee will meet at least once every quarter to oversee MICE business. MICE business is expected to continue to grow this year, with the TCEB targeting revenue of Bt155 billion from an estimated 27.1 million MICE travellers.
Bt101 billion will be generated from international markets, which will account for 1.1 million MICE visitors, while Bt54 billion will come from the domestic market, with an estimated 26 million MICE travellers.
More MICE development
Many more MICE facilities are being developed by the private sector as part of the industry’s expansion.
Paul Kanjanapas, managing director of IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, is developing a combined Bt5.66-billion project by 2019, with the investment consisting of a three-star, 587-room Ibis Bangkok IMPACT Hotel, the Portal, a four-storey retail building, Cosmo Office Park and Cosmo Bazaar shopping mall, Pullman Hotel, and a Beach Club shopping centre.
The Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, meanwhile, is set to open its Bt7-billion Bhiraj Tower soon, while the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre was recently granted a renewal contract for another 50 years, with new plans for expanded venue space, commercial area and parking lot with a total of at least 180,000 square metres, using a budget of more than Bt6 billion.
Jean Keijdener, country general manager for Thailand at Ascott, said it is developing the Somerset Ekamai Bangkok as its first mixed-use project, with 130 residential units, 81 units for corporate leasing, and a multifunction conference centre with 51 community rooms set in a co-living environment.
The whole project is scheduled to open by the middle of this year.
Further MICE-related properties are in the pipeline over the next 18 months, with four already announced under the Citadines and Somerset brands: the Citadines Jomtien Beach Pattaya, Citadines North Pattaya, Somerset Maison Asoke Bangkok and Somerset Habourview Sri Racha.
Moreover, Hotel Pullman Bangkok King Power will unveil a multimillion-dollar renovation project, including lobby, guestrooms, executive lounge, restaurant and bar, swimming pool and a new daylight ballroom. In the city of Khon Kaen, CP Land is developing the Khon Kaen Convention Exhibition Centre on a 26-rai (4.2 hectare) plot at a cost of Bt1 billion.
The new MICE venue, which will provide a large space of 26,000 square metres for up to 7,000 seats, is expected to be completed by the year’s end.
