Thailand pushes CEI industry forward

It's only in the past five years though that the country has really started consolidating on that potential. From being a destination known primarily for its resorts and hotels, Thailand is now in a position to cater to just about any kind of convention, meeting, incentive trip or trade show. Its various facilities, such as the recently upgraded IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre with its 180,000 sqm of total exhibition space, are now the equal of the biggest and best in the world, and the country's pool of local human expertise is gradually improving. High world ranking The country's growth as a CEI destination is clearly reflected in its climb up the world rankings, from 2001, when it was outside the top 25, to 2004, when it reached the No 17 spot, hosting 46 international-level meetings, according to International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) figures. All together the growing industry in 2004 attracted 43,599 CEI participants, who brought in US$825 million. Thailand's strong performance in 2005, when the country attracted an estimated 600,000 CEI participants also strongly suggests the country's march up the world rankings has continued. The industry's development hasn't been without its challenges. Crises have hit the sector on an almost annual basis for the last five years, starting with the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001, followed by the SARS and bird-flu outbreaks, and then the tsunami at the end of 2004. Each time, event organisers have cancelled or rescheduled meetings and trips and each time the industry has bounced back to perform strongly. Large events The period since 2001 has seen the country successfully host a string of big events, including the APEC conference in 2003, the World Aids Meeting, World Asthma Meeting and the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2004, and the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2005. It was a similar big international conference — the World Bank/IMF meeting — in 1991 that heralded the arrival of the modern CEI industry in Thailand, with the construction of the first purpose-built convention centre in the country, the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. As home to the largest number of UN-related agencies in Asia, Thailand has a long history of hosting such official international get-togethers. But these, along with government-related functions have declined in proportion over the last five years as more meetings have come from the private sector. Exhibition sector shines This has been paralleled by another trend: the rise of exhibitions and trade shows. "Exhibitions are the segment that have enjoyed the most growth over the last two to three years and which we have had the most success with," says Paul Kanjanapas, managing director of IMPACT Exhibition Management Co, which operates the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre. Exhibitions currently account for 25 to 30 percent of the country's CEI business and are growing at about 15 percent a year, according to figures from the Thai Conventions and Exhibitions Bureau (TCEB). The country now stages more than 50 such events a year. Government support "We have totally shifted our attention," says Vithaya Sintharapantorn, TCEB's director for exhibitions. "We know that we have to focus on the exhibition industry from now on because of its potential economic impact for the country — both direct and indirect. Before TCEB, most attention was paid to the convention and incentives sectors — the private sector was looking after the exhibition industry itself. That's changed now," Vithaya says. TCEB, only set up in January of 2004, is itself the big story of the past five years and reflects how the government has realised the potential of the CEI sector, which accounts for Quality venue…IMPACT only four percent of foreign arrivals in Thailand, but ten percent of revenue generated by the overall tourism industry. The government has declared a goal of raising the proportion of CEI visitors to 15 percent of total arrivals, and among the many ambitious goals it has set for the industry is to more than double the number of CEI visitors to 1.4 million within three years and for industry revenue to reach US$2.5 billion. It plans to do this by encouraging the industry to come up with more indigenous or 'Asianised' versions of shows and also to broaden the presence of the sector by building or upgrading convention centres in regional hubs throughout the country. To be sure, Thailand still has a long way to go in boosting the capabilities of its human resources — in particular the language skills, the inconsistency of service standards and lack of experienced professionals — and clearing government red tape. But the progress it has made and the challenges it has overcome during the last five years suggest the Thai industry is headed for bigger things.