Thailand unveils a new approach to MICE at IMEX Frankfurt

A total of 36 Thai exhibitors attended IMEX Frankfurt 2024 as part of the Thailand Pavilion. The delegation consisted of 20 hotels/resorts, 11 DMCs/organisers, two venues, one airline, one association, and TCEB, the national CVB. Exhibitors came from Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and Phang-nga (Khao Lak). Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) unveiled its new strategic direction, details about its work on sustainability and potential for innovation in the Thai MICE industry, including new product development for the European market. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, TCEB president, said: “The new direction of the Thai MICE industry is partly in response to the government’s vision ‘IGNITE Thailand,’ which aims to position Thailand as a hub of eight industries – tourism, medical and wellness, agriculture and food, aviation, logistics, future mobility, digital economy, and finance.” The TCEB also updated on its focus on the decarbonisation of events. The Thai MICE industry has been able to avoid carbon emissions and undertake carbon offsetting with measurable results, it said. Sustainability and innovation are two pillars in TCEB’s action plan to drive the Thai MICE industry towards greater international competitiveness. To prove their value for events, quantifiable impacts of sustainability and concrete potential in innovation must be demonstrated. These are the areas where TCEB has been working in collaboration with key stakeholders, the TCEB president said. As it aims to keep abreast of the evolving needs of the European market, TCEB said it would feature product development and ideas for experience design, maximising the diversity of the country’s MICE destinations. New venues, meeting spaces and attractions will also be marketed as a priority.