Thailand is looking to gain an edge in the fiercely competitive MICE market by taking advantage of its natural beauty alongside the wide range of venues and facilities available in the Thai capital.

Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, says the country offers "unrivalled business events experiences through its modern metropolis and natural paradise destinations".

This year the bureau is collaborating with four partner organizations to introduce packages focused on business events as part of its "Thailand Connect the World" campaign, which highlights the key pillars of the country's meetings, conventions, incentives and exhibitions industry including its positioning as the world's "business events paradise".

As part of this, it is promoting Khao Yai, Thailand's second-largest national park, is a unique MICE venue that complements the high-end convention facilities available in Bangkok's downtown area and riverside.

Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, executive director of the advertising and public relations department of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said that they want to "highlight everything that makes Thailand unique as a country, culture and people", and these can also enhance the country's "competitive advantage in attracting conferences and events".

The high-end hotels located along Rajdamri Road, in Bangkok's central business district, offer a variety of venues that can cater to a wide range of events, including the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok Hotel, which is home to the famous Campus meeting venue, and the InterContinental Bangkok Hotel with its spacious grand ballroom. Red Sky, the bar on the 55th floor of the Centara Grand Hotel at CentralWorld, offers breathtaking, unobstructed views of the city, that make it an excellent meet-and-greet and socialize-with-your-colleagues venue.

Getting above the streets also makes it easy to get around. The second-floor "skywalk" for pedestrians, right below the Bangkok Mass Transit System Skytrain, makes it easy to access the area's many hotels and shopping malls.

The Convention and Exhibition Bureau is also promoting the riverside area of the Thai capital to MICE planners. According to David Robinson, director of Bangkok River Partners, there are a wealth of facilities for business events available at the eight Bangkok River Hotels, which feature more than 100 ballrooms and meeting rooms with an ability to accommodate thousands of guests. Traditional Thai culture, such as Nang Yai shadow plays at the Peninsula and Thai dance shows at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, can also add a cultural touch to proceedings. Free shuttle boats ensure delegates arrive "on time, relaxed and ready for business", Robinson says. Cruises can also be arranged along the Chao Phraya River to Yodpiman River Walk, which used to be a bustling fish, then flower market, and is now a heritage-themed lifestyle mall.

For MICE planners wanting a less-metropolitan and more get-away-from-it-all location, while still being able to enjoy all the requisite facilities, Thailand's first national park, Khao Yai, offers both natural and man-made attractions and state-of-the-art facilities that make it an ideal venue for meetings, conferences and teambuilding activities.

The park is a three-hour drive from downtown Bangkok, in northeast Thailand, and covers an area of 300 square kilometers. It is home to 3,000 species of plants, 320 species of birds and 66 species of mammals, including the Asian black bear, Asian elephant and gaur. Visitors can engage in activities such as animal tracking and preparing artificial salt licks for animals.

On the way to Khao Yai, the GrandMonte Vineyard and Winery is a family winery established in 1999. It produced its first bottle of wine in 2009 and has won international awards, such as a Decanter recommendation and a gold prize at the AWC International Wine Challenge 2014 in Vienna.

Maythaveekulchai, TCEB's president, said the introduction of new business events destinations such as Khao Yai enables business events travelers the opportunity to "enjoy Thailand's best-kept attractions", and they will be "another building block for Thailand's business events' success".

Thailand is keen to build up its MICE credentials to compensate for the drop in the number of tourists visiting the country during the rainy season, especially in August and September.

During the 2014 fiscal year, from October 2013 to September 2014, Thailand attracted a total of 919, 164 business event visitors, generating revenue of $2.69 billion. The momentum continued to grow in the first half of the 2015 fiscal year from October 2014 to March 2015, according to TCEB, when the country received 476,079 business event visitors, generating revenue of $1.24 billion. The top 10 source markets were India, Singapore, Laos, Malaysia, the United States, China, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia and France.

TCEB expects Thailand to welcome 1,036,300 business event travelers in 2015, a 17 percent increase from 2014, boosting the Thai economy by $3.55 billion, a 22 percent increase from last year.

yejun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/25/2015 page10)