BANGKOK—After two years of pandemic shutdown, Thailand has emerged as one of Asia’s most promising destinations for international, regional and local trade shows. The country saw GDP expand by 4.5% in the third quarter of 2022, largely driven by tourism, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council of Thailand.
From May to September, 11 international trade fairs made their debut in Thailand: Asia Pacific Rail 2022; Byond Mobile (5G); Future Mobility in Asia 2022; Maintenance, Industrial Robotics and Automation (MiRA); Asia Pacific Bio 2022; Cosmoprof CBE ASEAN 2022; Building and construction technology; Enlit Case 2022; Solar+Storage Asia 2022 (SSA); Manufacturing Transformation (MATRA) Thailand 2022; And ASEAN Tools Expo.
Add to that the September debut of the new BangkokQueen Sirikit National Convention Center(QSNCC), which is five times larger than the original venue with more than 3.2 million square feet of space, including 845,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the outlook for 2023 and beyond looks promising. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The summit attracted officials from across the Asia-Pacific region, with special guests including Chinese President Xi Jinping, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
A sign of confidence from the business events sector was the International Congress and Convention AssociationICCA’s decision to choose Bangkok to host its Annual General Meeting, the 62nd ICCA Congress, from 12 to 15 November 2023. The Congress is attended by members representing more than 1,000 private and public organisations from over 100 countries.
Related. QSNCC targets trade show sector with new expansion
Currently, the proportion of events booked at QSNCC is 60% international organizers and 40% local or regional organizers. However, Two of the 11 new shows in 2022 were held in Pattaya, the exhibition centre of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Both covered smart manufacturing and industrial automation, which are a key focus for many companies based in the region.
THE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has launched a development plan for the growth of domestic exhibitions in 2023 that includes financial incentives of up to 1 million Thai baht (over $27,700) per show for domestic exhibitions in five sectors: food, agriculture and biotechnology; health and medical technology; smart devices, robotics and automation, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence; alternative energy, automotive and logistics; and creative economy, culture and tourism.
“Our support for Thailand 4.0-focused trade fairs is a policy commitment to use trade fairs as a tool to boost trade and investment in strategic industries of Thailand 4.0’s economic transformation plan,” Chiruit wishes you health, TCEB The President said: “We are pleased to have helped organizers maximize their return on investment and to have given the industry a timely boost.”
Reach Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya at [email protected]