Conventions And Exhibitions:
The Race To Fill Space

Although post-tsunami travel to Thailand for leisure, corporate meetings and incentive trips fell significantly in the first quarter of 2005, travel for conventions and exhibitions continued unabated, according to figures recently released by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Both these sectors proved more than a saving grace at a time of crisis, with convention delegates to Thailand rising by a mind-boggling 302.26% to 136,421 and exhibitions by 5.04% to 251,536.

These gains were in sharp contrast to the -17.94% fall in leisure travel to 2,149,057 in the same period. Indeed, the total number of convention delegates in the first quarter of 2005 alone was nearly equal to the total of 159,450 in all of 2004.

The spectacular increase, comprising triple digit growth from many countries, can be attributed partially to an altered statistical format.

The new design of the Thai Immigration Department's embarkation and disembarkation cards now include separate tick-boxes for both "conventions" and "exhibitions" under the Purpose of Visit category, thus allowing a better accounting for those who come to Thailand for either purpose.

However, the statistical reporting format of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has not yet been adjusted to reflect this change, making it increasingly likely that statistics of visitors for both conventions and exhibitions are being lumped together under 'conventions'.

Nevertheless, there are several valid reasons for the reported growth in arrivals for 'conventions' in the first quarter 2005 statistics:

l Exhibitions were largely unaffected by the tsunami and proceeded normally in the first quarter 2005. The export-generation drive of the Thai government, as well as consumer-product fairs designed to drive cash-flow and sales, are all seeing a big growth in shows for industrial products, machinery, ICT, finance, tourism, automotive, printing, gems and jewellery, education and agriculture.

l Exhibition organisers from Singapore and Europe who have set up shop in Thailand are using their network of offices abroad to promote their shows, significantly boosting the foreign attendance.

l Many multinational companies responded to calls to hold their meetings in Thailand as a gesture of support for the country following the tsunami. Although some were staged in Phuket, many were held in Bangkok and elsewhere.

l The disaster relief efforts necessitated a number of important meetings to be held in Thailand, as indicated by the large increase in delegates from Sweden, which suffered the most tourist casualties in the tsunami.

l IT&CMA, a regional incentive travel and corporate meetings industry show, was held for two straight years in Bangkok and was held in Pattaya early October 2005. The positive exposure for Thailand to international meeting planners has been substantial.

Over the next few years, growth is certain to continue strongly, thanks to Thailand's geographical advantage as well as the emergence of additional convention and exhibition space, which will need to be supported by heavy marketing resources.

Here is a brief roundup of what is in the pipeline:

"THE CHALLENGER"
This new expansion at the IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre is destined to be Asia's premier convention and exhibition centre. At a cost of five billion baht, it will create what is claimed to be the world's largest column-free exhibition hall, Asia's largest indoor exhibition centre and Thailand's most luxurious ballroom.

The single column-free hall will be 459 metres long by 131.2 metres wide by 16 metres high. The floor area of 60,220 sq.m. will be larger than eight football fields and add to the existing availability of 100,000 sq.m. of indoor exhibition space. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2006.

Soon after, IMPACT will also add the Universal Ballroom, claimed to be "the grandest in Thailand" with 5,000 sq.m. of column-free space and a 20-metre ceiling height. Located adjacent to the exhibition areas with separate drop-off points and parking, it will have 10 breakout rooms and a Grand Foyer for V.I.P. guests and visitors. There are also plans to build a hotel of 800 rooms and an entertainment complex.

IMPACT officials say they needed the extra space for the many massive events being held there. The Challenger has already received bookings for the first three years. About 40% of the centre's existing business is coming from the Thai government.

Right now, access is the biggest problem and venue owners are working with exhibition organisers to see what can be done. In addition to the existing expressway, organisers have run shuttles from the Mor Chit bus terminal but that is considered inadequate for the huge demand that will emerge.

Private cars are always an option for local visitors, and for them, there is some relief. The Challenger will have an underground car park, allowing vehicles to get some shade.

BITEC
With accessibility vastly improved, the competitive position of the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) has grown considerably.

The opening of the link between the Bang Na– Chon Buri tollway on 1 June 2005, has significantly reduced the traffic congestion directly in front of the centre by eliminating the bottleneck at the Bang Na intersection.

Access to the west wing of BITEC has also improved with the opening of a new entrance on the Sukhumvit-Samrong road. Vehicles coming from Bangkok on the expressway can now exit via the Samrong flyover directly to the new Entrance 3 without entering the Bang Na-Trad Highway.

Between October 2004 to March 2005, BITEC invested 508 million baht in various enhancements to the venue.

This included another 15,000 sq.m. of parking space for 780 cars, increasing the total car-park capacity to 4,700 cars. A new Press Centre was opened to facilitate the work of the media covering events at the venue. A Digital Signage Solutions System was added to make it easier for delegates and visitors to get around. The purchase of new boom lifts has allowed better placement of equipment on the venue's high ceilings.

QUEEN SIRIKIT NATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER (QSNCC)
The government-owned QSNCC remains the only one with a mass transit system right at its doorstep. At the country's first purpose-built convention centre, plans are being mulled to make use of the space that will be created after the move-out by the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM). The centre wants to ensure that the entire 400 rai area remains the "second lung" of Bangkok after Lumpini Park. A first phase of 100 rai of gardens has been completed and a second phase will start after the TTM moves out.

QSNCC is considering plans to add another 40,000 square metres of multipurpose convention and exhibition space, adding to its present tally of 18,000 sq.m. Plans to build a hotel ran afoul of city building regulations that say no building above 23 metres can be constructed in that area. In any case, senior officials at the centre say that there is more than enough hotel capacity in the immediate vicinity of the centre and they don't want to compete with them.

PEACH
The Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), attached to the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, is making headway thanks to the growing economic activities in the Eastern Seaboard area. The presence of the deep-sea port in Laem Chabang plus the increased access that will come with the opening of Suvarnabhumi airport will generate additional business.

Recently PEACH hosted the ITC&MA meetings industry show, giving valuable exposure to Pattaya and its environs. It will also host the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) annual conference in April 2006.

UPCOMING FACILITIES

CENTRALwORLD PLAZA
This 2.5-billion-baht, five-star convention hotel project will be attached to Bangkok's CentralWorld Plaza in 2007. Claiming to be one of the largest convention hotels in Asia-Pacific with 500 rooms and convention space totalling 20,000 square metres, they have reportedly already targeted 10 major events and have three confirmations.

Its central location will be a major advantage over other convention facilities in Bangkok, as it will be a part of a major shopping complex with department stores, shopping plazas, a duty-free store, restaurants, and cinemas. A healthy number of 4- and 5-star satellite hotels are within a short distance and two BTS sky train stations are close by.

CHIANG MAI CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE
The centre was approved by the Cabinet in September 2003 and will be built at a cost of 1,450 million baht. The 300-rai site will include a main convention hall for up to 6,000 delegates and 37 smaller meeting rooms. The exhibition zones will cover 8,474 sq.m. with parking facilities planned for up to 2,017 cars and 86 buses.

GOLDEN JUBILEE CONVENTION HALL, KHON KAEN
This 3,000 sq.m. facility is located in the heart of Isaan (northeast Thailand). This region will develop further as the Asian Highway boosts cross-Mekong linkages between the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion.

DUSIT RESORT, HUA HIN
A brand new convention centre has opened at the Dusit Resort in Hua Hin and can accommodate up to 3,000 delegates.

ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT
A major issue that has dominated industry is the establishment of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and the need for it to get up to speed rapidly. Set up by the government in 2003, TCEB has taken over the MICE marketing responsibilities previously handled by TAT and the Thailand Incentive & Convention Association (TICA).

Being a government-supported organisation can be both positive and negative. Exhibition organisers say that TCEB is providing extensive support for participation in international trade shows, bidding processes by ministries and industry associations, and providing matching-fund and marketing support to the organisers.

At the same time, TCEB is having to account to the Budget Bureau for every penny it spends, and quantify the returns on their investment. As the MICE industry has a long-term focus and does not always produce immediate results, convincing the pen-pushers can take some doing. Political changes resulting from Cabinet reshuffles also affect the board.

Meanwhile, TICA has retooled itself to address one of the key industry needs; training. A senior executive of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) recently spent several weeks in Bangkok advising on a broad range of issues, including the setting up of training modules for beginners, middle level and management.

TICA officials say that even after the courses are written, they will need more trainers. Drawing upon the private sector experts is often a challenge. Some people have the knowledge but can't train. In turn, many of the lecturers at existing universities have no direct experience.

In May 2006, one of the region's best-known executive master class programmes for the MICE industry is due to move to Bangkok for an intensive five-day programme that brings in professionals from all around the world.

CONCLUSION
The outlook for the conventions and exhibitions sector is very positive, building upon Thailand's natural advantage of the geographical location, a strongly pro-business government, plus the new activities that will emerge with the opening of Bangkok’s new airport.

The growing number of free trade agreements are certainly boosting business. One exhibition organiser reports that New Zealand upgraded its participation in a food and hospitality show to a full-scale national pavilion immediately following the signing of its FTA with Thailand.

With the hardware in place, the software will have to be worked at. Areas for improvement include the importing of support materials for events and overcomming the cumbersome tax and customs regulations, which make Singapore a more attractive proposition. With the positioning of Thailand as the Kitchen of the World, the importing of food and ingredients for exhibition at trade fairs is an issue with the Thai FDA.

The biggest challenge of all will be the race to fill space as competition grows, amongst both the Thai facilities as well as those emerging in the region.

Since the establishment of TCEB more than a year ago, the industry has embarked on strategic actions to increase MICE business in Thailand. The effects of the tsunami affected us temporarily at the beginning of 2005. The Corporate Meetings and Incentives sectors were the most affected from a slowdown in arrivals from three major markets: Japan, Korea and China.

TCEB put extra efforts into wooing meeting and incentive travel planners back to Thailand by implementing promotional initiatives to revive the sector. Along with major partners, TCEB supported the Save the Spirit of Andaman campaign.

In 2005, the conventions sector has completed 21 bids to host major international congresses in Thailand. The country has won seven out of the nine bids already announced. The rest are yet to be confirmed and we are positive that we will hear more good news for Thailand soon.

TCEB, along with the rest of Thailand’s MICE industry, has become increasingly more aware of international events that can be brought to Thailand. The dynamic exhibition sector is benefitting from the positioning of Thailand as a regional business hub. By the third quarter of 2005, we received approval to host six major exhibitions slated for 2006 – New Route Asia, ISPA Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition, Automechanika, PALA Audio Visual and Lighting Exhibition, Thai International Plastic and Rubber Exhibition, and the World Toilet Expo.

Confirmed for 2007 is the Wire and Cue Show followed by Gastech in 2008. The availability of more exhibition space, combined with our experience is strengthing the kingdom’s reputation as a world-class venue for trade expos.

With ITCMA and CTW 2005 recently held at PEACH, more than 1,500 buyers and visitors from 39 countries experienced the facilities and services whilst doing business at the show. During the course of the trade fair, TCEB received the Best Convention and Exhibition Bureau 2005 Award, which has further motivated our team.

These developments in the conventions and exhibitions sectors have compensated for the slowdown in the corporate meetings and incentive travel sectors, resulting in a 25% growth in MICE business in 2005. This represents around 600,000 visitors, generating an estimated 40 billion baht for the Thai economy.

The outlook for the industry in 2006 is very promising. However, market intelligence and access to global databases puts us behind some of our regional competitors. To address this, TCEB is putting in place a MICE Information Center that will focus on research, providing reliable statistics, contact lists and links to worldwide databases to keep us up to date on the trends in the industry. This will also help to sharpen our competitive edge when bidding for lucrative events.

TCEB is also concerned about human resources within Thailand’s MICE industry. Whilst we have world-class venues and industry creativity, we need to create a pool of skilled workers and professionals. In this regard, TCEB is developing partnerships with educational institutions and will continue to support training programmes for the next generation of MICE professionals.

Meanwhile, for the conventions sector we will focus more on association meetings, giving extra attention to healthcare, scientific and educational associations. Our strategy is to liaise with and encourage the active participation of similar local associations in Thailand by inviting their regional and global chapters to bring their conventions here.

TCEB’s strategy will support all four sectors of Thailand’s MICE industry, who are becoming better equipped to provide the “New Experience for Meetings”. 2005 has been a big year with big experiences for the industry. 2006 and beyond will be still bigger. TCEB is billing this as the age of “Big Experiences
for Meetings”.

Peerapong Oeusoonthornwattana
Director-General of TCEB

Contrary to the newest set of official statistics which claim a three-fold increase in the convention sector for the first quarter of 2005, our incentive travel and corporate meeting business was in fact severely affected by fallout from the tsunami. We had to deal with mass postponements, cancellations and the relocation of events from Phuket to beach resorts unaffected by the tsunami; providing an unexpected windfall for Hua Hin, Samui and Pattaya. By the second quarter of 2005 the incentive and corporate meetings sector was still relatively quiet, with few new requests being received from international customers. Obviously the intensive media coverage of the effects of the tsunami put a lot of people off visiting Thailand, especially the affected southern regions.

By mid-year however, business was starting to pick up again and as 2005 draws to a close there are clear signs that that Thailand is back on the top of international event planners' list of destinations for 2006.

Over the next three years, providing we do not suffer any major adverse events, we should see a steady growth of the MICE business in Thailand. It's a trend that the World Travel & Tourism Council predicts will continue, with an annual growth of nearly 5% in global incentive travel through to the year 2014.

With a host of new convention facilities about to come on line in the Kingdom, Thailand is about to enter into the era of The Space Race. Landing enough business to ensure that all venues remain viable, is the new name of the game.

David Barrett
Executive Manager, Diethelm Events