TCEB name change plan provokes row

BANGKOK The meetings industry is up in arms over a proposal to change the name of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) to Thailand's MICE Bureau. An announcement at IT&CMA 2002 in Bangkok gave the industry heart when it learned the bureau had been established and would be headed by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) director for international conventions, Mr Udom Metatamrongsiri in the interim. However, a year on, effective operations have yet to commence. "I am disappointed to see the bureau remains leaderless and has no clear direction," Diethelm Events executive manager, Mr David Barrett said. "The proposed name change to MICE bureau is ludicrous as the acronym has not been universally adopted," he added. RAI Exhibitions (Thailand) managing director, Mr Marcel Ewals agreed, saying that the use of the MICE acronym was not clear to everyone. Mr Ewals added he looked forward to the starting of the TCEB,