Thailand targets China's MICE travelers

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has launched a MICE promotion campaign in Shanghai to attract more travelers to Thailand.

The bureau promotes a variety of destinations under the "MICE City" initiative, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen, to the China MICE market.

"We showcase these MICE cities in order to let more visitors reap Thailand's MICE rewards," said Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of TCEB, at the Incentive Travels and Conventions Meeting China 2014, which closed on Thursday at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.

MICE travelers from China were the top contributors to the MICE industry in Thailand last year, both by number of travelers and revenue, Maythaveekulchai said.

China, the number one contributor to the growth of Thailand's MICE industry in 2013, has been considered one of the most significant markets in which TCEB will continue to focus its efforts, to better meet the growing demands of the expanding China market, he said.

Thailand welcomed 128,437 Chinese MICE travelers last year, contributing approximately 2.24 billion yuan ($360 million) to the Thai economy. The majority of Chinese MICE travelers to Thailand were from incentive travel groups and corporate meetings.

A total of 50,979 Chinese incentive travelers represented 39.3 percent of total Chinese MICE travelers to Thailand in 2013, followed by corporate meetings (26.1 percent), international conventions (21.39 percent) and exhibitions (12.81 percent).

To further capture the Chinese MICE market, TCEB has put in place three international online marketing campaigns, aiming to enhance Thailand's image and promote it as the premiere destination for MICE among international markets.

"We are confident that the wide range of marketing promotions will help drive the growth of the Chinese market in Thailand, which is crucial to the growth of the Thai MICE industry in 2014," Maythaveekulchai said.

MICE travelers from China are expected to grow by 5 percent to reach 987,000 people this year, with revenue increasing by 10 percent to 19.38 billion yuan, he said.