Bangkok (Thailand) – September 30, 2019 (travelindex.com) – The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently hosted the Thailand MICE Forum 2019, bringing together the leading figures of the world's best MICE organizations in Bangkok for the first time. This event aims to bring Thailand closer to its goal of becoming Asia's leading MICE destination.

In its third year, the event attracted leading representatives from the world's most important MICE associations, including Philip Eidsvold, President of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE); Senthil Gopinath, CEO of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA); and Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director and CEO of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI). Together with Thai entrepreneurs, they discussed how Thailand's competitiveness can be strengthened in the face of global trends.

The 18 distinguished guest speakers included Ms. Yumiko Iwata, CMP, Director of Congress Promotion at the Chiba Convention Bureau, who spoke on "Digital Optimization for Smart Hospitality, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," and Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), who spoke on "Pathways Beyond MICE 'Open' Concepts." Representatives from major Thai companies, including the Dusit Thani Group, Siam Piwat, and ThaiBev, participated in a special session on "Customer-Centric Experience Design for Business Events."

TCEB hosted the event under the motto "Thailand's Chance: Asia's Leading MICE Destination" to inspire and encourage Thai entrepreneurs to collaborate and seize new opportunities together. The event attracted 637 participants. The two main breakout sessions saw 239 delegates attend the session on "Collaboration Instead of Competition" organized by TCEB's Meetings and Incentives division, and 331 delegates attend the session on "Differences Worth the Distance" organized by TCEB's Area-Based Section, M2I, and Mega Event divisions.

This year, Thailand will host a number of major events, including the 86th UFI World Congress from November 6 to 9, 2019 in Bangkok, which is expected to draw an estimated 550 delegates from 50 countries worldwide.

Also confirmed are a number of international exhibitions, including ASEAN BIKE in conjunction with EURO BIKE (October 3-5, 2019) with 8,000 delegates; Thailand Marine & Offshore Expo 2019 (October 9-11, 2019) with 3,700 delegates; and VIV Health & Nutrition Asia 2020 (March 24-26, 2020) with 4,650 delegates.

Confirmed international conferences include the Asia Fitness Conference (October 10-14, 2019) for sports professionals with 1,200 participants in Bangkok and Routes Asia 2020 (March 8-10, 2020) for airport business operations, which is expected to draw up to 1,200 participants to Chiang Mai.

The conferences and incentives include the Herbalife Southeast Asia Extravaganza 2020 (May 14-17, 2020) with over 10,000 participants.

Among the so-called mega-events and international festivals is L'Étape Thailand by Tour de France (October 25-27, 2019), one of the world's largest cycling events with 16,000 participants, held in Phang-Nga province in southern Thailand. National trade fairs include Northeast Tech 2019 (October 31-November 3, 2019), which is expected to attract 40,000 visitors to Nakhon Ratchasima.

The goal for the Thai MICE industry in 2020 included an estimated revenue generation of over 232,700 million Baht (US$7,500 million) from 1,386,000 foreign MICE travelers with a projected revenue of 105,600 million Baht and 36,395,000 domestic MICE trips with an estimated revenue of 127,100 million Baht.

About TCEB: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has been the official government agency of Thailand since 2004, supporting, promoting, and developing global and regional business events (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions – MICE) in Thailand. As a strategic partner and authorized contact, TCEB works with companies and organizations to develop successful solutions for realizing MICE events of all sizes and types.