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The meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) industry in Thailand is one of the major branches of tourism in Thailand, contributing an estimated 0.58% to Thailand's GDP in 2012 (9.4% of all tourism earnings).
Contents
Overview
The number of tourists in the MICE sector is around 3% of the overall arrivals to Thailand each year. They are recognized as the most desirable category of visitors, mainly because of their high-spending potential. The average spending of tourists in this sector is three times higher than spending of tourists in other sectors. Thailand benefits from its geographic position between China and India and tops the ASEAN region in terms of exhibition spaces sold and for being the most profitable MICE market.
In 2012, Thailand hosted more than 7,300 meeting events (a 6.84% increase from 2011), totaling 895,000 visitors. The main sources were conventions (33%), corporate meetings (25%) and incentive travel (24%), adding in total the equivalent of more than $2.5 billion into the economy of Thailand. Around 65% of Thailand’s MICE business came from Asian countries. India was the most frequent MICE customer, with 74,941 meetings visitors in 2012, followed by China (63,955), Japan (45,424) and Korea (37,175). The United States was on the eighth place, sending 21,786 delegates in 2012.
In 2013, the number of visitors surpassed one million, 72% from Asia. China was the main contributor, both by number of travelers (128,437) and revenue ($360 million).
Thailand is a popular destination for Indian weddings that use MICE facilities as reception venues, some wedding groups surpassing 1500 guests. Reasons given for this success have been the incorporation of the Indian culture and the understanding of the Indian guests' requirements, the price–performance ratio compared to India proper and also the visa on arrival regime for Indian citizens. In July 2014, 40% of Indian weddings held in Thailand were in Phuket, 30% in Hua Hin and 15% in Pattaya.
History
In most Asia/Pacific countries (including Thailand), the governments are leading the way in the construction of MICE facilities. The private sector is generally leading the development of conference and exhibition centres in countries where governments have little financial resources (Indonesia and Mekong sub-region). In Thailand, in 1984, the government and private sectors jointly established the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), in order to support the growth of the MICE sector. In the next years, it cooperated with Trade Exhibition Association Thailand (TEA) and some medical associations to draw meetings and seminars to be held in Thailand. These associations took the action with some help from the government, but had not yet set MICE as the corporate strategy. In 1991, it was opened to the public Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, one of the main convention centers in East Asia at the time.
In 2002, the Royal Thai Government established Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) under the office of Prime Minister, as the flagship organization in charge of MICE events held in Thailand. One of the Bureau’s roles is to encourage the inclusion of Thai arts and culture in these events in order to promote the national heritage. TCEB designated 5 major MICE cities (Bangkok, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Pattaya, Chiang Mai). Other organizations involved in the development of the MICE sector in Thailand are Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thai Airways.
Bangkok
Bangkok is the administrative, education, commercial and transport center of the country, and a regional center for business, finance and communications, many international corporations having offices here. The city is the hub of Thailand's commercial events industry, with 299 hotels in the city center and seven world-standard convention and exhibition centers. Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) focuses on machinery and trade shows. IMPACT, with a 130,000m² exhibition area and a convention center with a 10,000 delegates hosting capacity, mostly takes on consumer shows. Smaller venues such as the Royal Paragon Hall and Queen Sirikit National Convention Center usually host lifestyle events.
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is the aviation and education hub of the northern region of Thailand and a prime destination for medical tourism. Chiang Mai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (CMICE), with a total area of 521,600m² and usable space of 60,000m², is one of the biggest convention and exhibition centres in South-East Asia. In 2012, the total value of the Chiang Mai MICE industry reached 3.9 billion baht, of which 3.8 billion baht was contributed by 46,826 foreign MICE travellers.
Khon Kaen
Khon Kaen is the major commercial and educational center of Isan, Thailand’s northeastern region. It is one of the winners of IBM's Smarter Cities programme for developing MICE promoting strategies. In 2013, the MICE sector generated 600 million baht in revenue.
Pattaya
In the mid-1980s, Pattaya became the first Thai resort destination to attract international incentives, mainly from Europe. By the year 2000, Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), the largest local convention centre, secured its position as a venue for major conventions and exhibitions. It has been the venue for numerous large scale conventions including the PATA Travel Mart, PATA annual conference and ASEAN Tourism Forum as well as major medical and insurance related congresses. North Pattaya Alliance is a group of seven hotels focused on different identities and features that work together in hosting MICE events and Indian weddings.
Phuket
The extended touristic infrastructure in Phuket (over 600 hotels, various venues and an international airport) led to the development of a MICE sector on this island. Most of the venues with MICE capacity are located in Laguna Phuket resort. 40% of the Indian weddings held in Thailand took place in Phuket.