Thailand steps forward

Thailand continued its climb up the regional rankings as the destination offering the best overall CEI experience and facilities in 2005, with Bangkok finishing second only to Singapore in the list. However, the Thai capital managed to edge out the island-state in terms of first preference votes according to our Annual Industry Survey. The Southeast Asian kingdom also did well in the resort-area category, claiming three of the top ten spots. Phuket was the clear regional leader, snaring 50 per cent more first-preference votes than the runners-up, the Indonesian island of Bali and Australia's Gold Coast. Emerging CEI destinations Pattaya and Koh Samui, both in the Gulf of Siam, finished sixth and eighth respectively. Good performance The final finding of encouragement for the Thai industry was the performance of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)/Thai-land Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), which finished third behind their heavyweight counterparts in Singapore and Hong Kong in the category for the best convention bureau/ NTO for assisting CEI events in the Asia Pacific. The results of the this year's survey underscores Thailand's numerous commercial strengths — competitive pricing, quality hotels and service-minded workers, 'exotic' qualities as a destination, access to international flights, its array of purpose-built meet ing venues and the wealth of scenic and adventure-travel options. This mix of the exotic and convenient mirrored a continued swing across the region of both conventions and exhibitions to destinations that are seen as exciting with rich historic and cultural traditions, good-quality hotels and excellent airports. Overall, Thailand was equal fourth choice as a CEI destination — trailing China, Singapore and Hong Kong — although the survey participants expected it to hold fourth spot alone in 2006, placing it in front of Malaysia. Chinese challenge China is, of course, the gorilla in the room and its size and growth potential threaten to make almost every other destination in Asia Pacific a niche market by contrast. This is particularly the case for exhibitions, trade shows and product launches, all areas that Thailand, with its own sizeable domestic market of 60 million consumers, is working to improve. Exhibitions currently account for about 25- 30 per cent of Thailand's overall CEI business, with growth of 12 per cent to 15 per cent a year. "In terms of hardware, our infrastructure and service is world class. Many local organisers are very experienced in terms of arranging international fairs," says Vithaya Sintharapantorn, TCEB's director of exhibitions. Strong industries "There are a lot of strong industries here such as auto parts, jewellery, textiles and construction materials. For international fairs, we provide a lot of local participation as far as local industries are concerned." On the flipside, China is also growing quickly as a source of revenue for Asia-Pacific markets, coming second in this year's survey behind Australia. Across the region, the survey also found that the factors influencing the choice of destination had changed little over the past 12 months with security, pricing, economic growth and infrastructure taking the top four spots yet again. It was surprising then that Thailand finished equal sixth with Singapore in terms of growth potential, down from fourth in 2004. This may be a possible reflection of the political and economic uncertainty in the country, according to industry insiders. Thailand's two big convention centres, the Bangkok International trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) and Impact Arena, slipped down the ratings this year to seventh and ninth place respectively, highlighting the intense competition in the sector and the need for constant innovation. Impact has already responded in part, recently opening its new state-of-the-art Challenger Hall, which is billed as the largest column- free room in the world. Similarly, the opening of Thailand's new Suvarnabhumi Airport in the middle of 2006 will give a boost to national carrier Thai Airways International. Thai performed credibly in the survey by finishing third behind Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways, as the best Asia Pacific airline.