TCEB UNVEILS 2014 “D-MICE” PLAN MOVING TOWARDS HIGH QUALITY MARKETS Promoting MICE City Initiatives through the First MICE Mart

Bangkok / 25 March 2014 – The Thailand Convention and Exhibition (Public Organization) or TCEB, today unveiled a Domestic MICE (D-MICE) plan for 2014 to stimulate the domestic MICE market, organizing the ‘1st Domestic MICE Mart’ to provide local MICE operators with a platform for business matching, and bridging domestic industry collaboration.

In addition, the bureau aims to elevate the Thai MICE sector to be a high quality market through a series of key marketing and capacity-building activities including the development of MICE capabilities, public and private partnerships to identify MICE City Unique Selling Points, and seeking support for the 200% tax exemption scheme and the promotion of MICE activities among government agencies during low seasons.

Mr. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB, disclosed in the opening ceremony of ‘1st Domestic MICE Mart’ that, “In 2014, The D-MICE marketing scheme will focus on the elevation of the Thai MICE industry to be a high quality market in line with TCEB’s corporate strategies including (1) WIN: Encouraging the holding of high quality MICE events in Thailand. (2) PROMOTE: Fine tuning attitudes of Thais that organising MICE events in Thailand can be as impressive as other international destinations, (3) DEVELOP: Improvement of the Thai MICE ecosystem towards excellence, with emphasis on educating people in local communities about the benefits of the MICE industry. This year, TCEB  expects healthy growth of the D-MICE sector, with revenue expected to rise by 4 per cent.”

During the 2014 fiscal year, TCEB will expand and support the Thai MICE market by defining target markets and designing relevant implementation plans. The three-approach plan includes: 1) Targeted Destination: Marketing activities will be focused on five MICE Cities locations along with the introduction of emerging MICE cities such as Sukhothai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Krabi and Ubon Ratchathani and the expansion of second tier MICE cities, such as  Nakhon Sawan, Rayong and Khao Yai. 2) Targeted Business: Marketing activities will be focused in Thailand’s key industries including export, investment and MICE events for the food and beverages, agriculture, tourism and automotive industries, while   support will be provided to industries with frequent MICE events, such as education, trade education and the environment, as well as industries the government specially supports, including art and culture, clean energy and creative industries. 3) Targeted People: Marketing activities will focus on corporate customers, central and regional government sectors. Another focus will be collaboration with venues, hotels, transportation systems, airlines and tourist attractions as well as corporate employees and tour operators.

Under TCEB’s WIN strategy, TCEB will penetrate into the government sector to encourage the organizing of offsite meetings and seminars, especially during low seasons. In addition, TCEB will work with strategic counterparts to drive support for the 200% tax exemption scheme for companies arranging meetings and conferences domestically, while collaborating with the private sector to identify characteristics and suitable Unique Selling Points for each MICE City such as positioning Chiang Mai as a city of handicrafts.  This also includes highlighting cities that are especially designed to accommodate domestic exhibitions such as upgrading local festivals to a national level, for example, the Khon Kaen Silk Festival. Also, TCEB will further support the cloning of successful domestic exhibition to other parts of the country.

“A key activity to stimulate the  domestic MICE industry is the launch of the 1st Domestic MICE Mart. The event serves as a business exchange platform for buyers and sellers. Moreover, the MICE Mart will create understanding of the MICE industry among all local stakeholders and capability development, especially in the five MICE Cities. The MICE Mart will also help drive accessibility to domestic MICE products and services trades, while distributing revenue to other regions of the country, benefiting the Thai economy as a whole,” Mr. Nopparat added.

Under TCEB’s PROMOTE strategy, TCEB will continue to work closely with partners to organise the second edition of the ‘Domestic MICE: A Royal Trail Inspiration’ project, by arranging a familiarization trip to visit the Royal Initiatives Projects for target domestic meetings and incentive travel groups. TCEB will also prioritise trading in border provinces including Chiang Rai, Nong Khai and Sa Kaew, in order to attract MICE travellers from the neighbouring countries. The development of the D-MICE industry will be a stepping stone for the foundation of the intra-regional MICE industry when the ASEAN economy will be integrated for the AEC. Under TCEB’s DEVELOPMENT strategy, TCEB, together with industry partners, including the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) and the Thai Exhibition Association (TEA), will initiate a safety standard programme especially targeting MICE operators in MICE Cities across the country.

Moreover, TCEB has put in place special support packages for D-MICE events to further drive the growth of the domestic MICE industry to achieve set targets. For domestic meetings and incentive travel involving 51 – 150 participants or more, TCEB will provide financial support for hosted lunches, coffee breaks, entertainment and leisure activities, Wi-Fi internet, and transportation services.  For domestic conventions, with 101 – 300 delegates or more, TCEB will provide financial support for keynote speakers and hosted lunches.

For domestic exhibitions – including newly invented exhibitions, successful exhibitions cloned to other provinces, and the local exhibitions upgraded to national or regional exhibitions – TCEB will provide financial support for feasibility studies, marketing activities, press conferences, and roadshows.

“In 2013, the D-MICE industry was able to attract 4,414,124 local MICE participants, and generate          D-MICE revenue of 12,780 million baht. With the implementation of the D-MICE plan in 2014, TCEB targets the growth of the domestic MICE market by 2 per cent in terms of number of participants to 4,502,406 D-MICE travellers, and a 4 per cent increase in D-MICE revenue to 13,291 million baht.  TCEB is also confident that beyond achieving these targets, the D-MICE promotion effort will help shift  Thailand’s MICE industry position towards being Asia’s high quality MICE market, thanks to the strong foundations of our domestic MICE industry,”  concluded Mr. Nopparat.

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The 1st Domestic MICE Mart

The 1st Domestic MICE Mart is being held to provide a business platform for business match making for local buyers and sellers, MICE seminars and exhibitions for MICE Cities including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen. More than 400 participating buyers from 100 public and private agencies such as ministries, local administrations, companies, expats, professional associations, and chambers of commerce will meet with MICE Cities entrepreneurs such as venues, hotels, hospitality service providers, airlines, and destination management companies. The Domestic MICE Mart will be held in all MICE Cities from March – August 2014, with the first MICE Mart being held on March 25, 2014 at the Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, Bangkok.

For more information please contact:

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau  (Public Organisation)

Ms Arisara Thanuplang          

Tel +66 2 694 6095             

Email: arisara_t@tceb.or.th

Mr Pishnu Plaikaew              

Tel +66 2 694 6000             

Email: pishnu_p@tceb.or.th