Treasures of Asia Sparkle for 1,600 MICE Delegates

MICE delegates to Thailand have an expenditure three times that of conventional tourists and spend an average of six days in Thailand, said Malinee Kitaphanich, Meetings & Incentive Director, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) during a media briefing at the start of the 15th Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and the 10th Corporate Travel World Asia-Pacific (CTW) which began yesterday in the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld (BCC).

The co-located event which has attracted more than 1600 delegates to Thai capital from 23 to 25 October is considered to be the region’s premier trade show for the MICE and corporate travel industries.

Organised by TTG Asia Media and supported by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, Airports of Thailand and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration with Thai Airways International as the official airline, the annual event has a two fold objective.

[Pictured right: the IT&CMA logo]

IT&CMA “promotes Asia Pacific to the World and the World to Asia Pacific” for MICE buyers from all over the world.  It features destinations and companies offering MICE products, facilities and services.

CTW Asia Pacific, on the other hand, focuses on corporate travel and entertainment management in the Asia Pacific region.  It is a platform for corporate travel managers, procurement executives, travel management companies and suppliers to meet and discuss the best business strategies and the impact of global and regional issues on business travel.

In supporting the importance of these events Ms Kitaphanich said that Thailand has become a MICE leader able “to demonstrate its readiness, strengths and potential to the world as one of the best destinations in Asia”.

Planning is well underway for Thailand to offer more conference facilities with new centres set for Chiang Mai and Phuket.  Established in 2006, TECEP as the marketing arm for the TAT, will be able to offer new venues in the international trade fair sector which is expanding at 10 – 15 per cent annually, she said. 

Mega conventions planned for Bangkok next year include the Lions Club and Rotary International.

[Pictured: Briefings by Malinee Kitaphanich, Darren Ng and Chalongchai Hiranyalekha underscored the importance of the MICE market to Thailand.] 

“Supporting international conferences and exhibitions has been one of THAI’s, as well as the Thai Government’s, top agendas as it enhances and supports economic expansion and development between our countries. 

Therefore, promotion of the MICE industry is extremely crucial in order to achieve this objective and position Thailand as the hub of Asia,” said Chalongchai Hiranyalekha, Director, Corporate Sales Management, Thai Airways International.

The airline which celebrated its first year of operations into Suvarnabhumi International Airport has released its 10 year Corporate Plan which places special emphasis on corporate marketing and company growth.  The goal is for THAI to remain “competitive in the aviation industry” through maximizing customer satisfaction as well as product and services development, he said. 

[Pictured: Official carrier Thai International emphasised its commitment to the development and promotion of the MICE market to Thailand.]

Darren Ng, Managing Director, TTG Asia Media, the show organizer, said the theme for this year’s IT&CMA and CTW, “Celebrating the Treasures of Asia: Advancing Knowledge and Access” was selected to highlight “Asia’s treasure trove of exotic destinations”.

Mr Ng said that “we have been actively promoting Asia Pacific’s robust meetings and corporate travel industries and facilitating cross border trade and information exchange between the region and the world”.

He added that in order to do this the event would continue to seek out the quality buyers and corporate travel managers for inclusion in its hosted buyer programme.  This year about 50 per cent of the 300 buyers attended the events for the first time. 

The largest number of buyers came from India (19) with the largest number of travel managers from Singapore (23)

A total of 330 exhibiting companies and organisations came from 30 countries.  The largest country pavilion at the IT&CMA trade show was set up by Thailand with 41 co exhibitors.

[Pictured: More than 330 exhibitors displayed their MICE products and services at this year’s event; next year the event will be held from October 5 – 7, 2008.]

Kick starting the conference Joel Makower delivered the keynote address on “The Environment Challenge” A New Mindset”.

The thought provoking presentation from the Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com highlighted the impact of travel on the environment.

We are already seeing the signs.  The pace is accelerating with the tourism industry doubling between now and 2020.  The environment can not afford a doubling in emissions, he said.  

Quoting the United Nations Environment Programme that was issued this month Mr Makower said “the regional manifestations of climate change will be highly relevant for tourism destinations and tourists alike requiring adaptation by all major tourism stakeholders”.

Tourists have the greatest adaptive capacity – depending upon money, knowledge and time – to avoid destinations impacted by climate change or shifting travel time to avoid unfavourable conditions. 

Large tour operators who do not own the infrastructure are in a better position to adapt because they can respond to clients demands and provide information to influence clients’ travel choices, he said.

Far sighted action by the US $880 billion international tourism industry will send important signals to governments, industries and the public that mitigation and adaptation to the climate change challenge make economic and environmental sense.

It is the king of leadership that can encourage others to look not only to their exposure and to the risks posed by climate change but also to the abundant opportunities and benefits of cost effective action.

Mr Makover stressed that there is no easy way out and that while no universal standards have been set there were numerous areas where the travel industry as a whole could make a significant impact.  He said that this ranged from retrofitting lights and upgrading equipment for more energy efficient units to organising energy efficiency campaigns and staff training through all levels of the organisation.

The two business travel events, all business seminars and proceedings and many networking events were held in the months old Central World Hotel and Convention Centre located in central Bangkok.  One of the largest facilities in the Asia Pacific region, the state of the art venue has a meeting and convention facility of over 10,000 sq m with an ability to accommodate up to 6000 delegates in a single pillar less environment.

This was the first time that the purpose built conference centre had concurrently held a MICE and business travel tradeshows.

[Pictured: Delegates to the mega MICE event in Bangkok had a jumbo welcome at Siam Niramit, Bangkok’s new cultural village and performance venue.]

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has reached an agreement with TTG Asia Media to continue hosting the dual event for the next five years starting from 2008 until 2012 in Thailand.  Details about the next IT&CMA and CTW events which is expected be held in Bangkok from October 5 – 7, 2000 under the banner “New Frontiers, Optimise Returns at Asia-Pacific’s Doublebill” will be available in due course at www.itcma.com.sg

An Exclusive Report by Thomas E. King, TravelMole’s Travel and Lifestyle Editor on location in Bangkok