TCEB CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF THAILAND MICE VENUE STANDARD

Bangkok, 29 January 2015 – The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB kicked-off 2015 with an aggressive development plan to drive Thailand’s MICE industry to accommodate rapid growth. Highlighting Thailand’s leadership position in the region, TCEB prioritized the importance of leveraging MICE operators’ capabilities and qualities, initiating the Thailand MICE Venue Standard, the first of its kind in ASEAN. Forty-two venues across the country have been certified under the Standard. The Standard has now been adopted by ASEAN member countries as a framework to develop the ASEAN MICE Venue Standard (AMVS).

Mr Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, Vice President, Administration and Strategic Support, TCEB, emphasized the importance of driving MICE standards at the Thailand MICE Venue Standard Certification Ceremony and MICE Standard Day 2015, “To be able to compete in the international marketplace, quality products and services are considered key factors in propelling market development efforts, especially when regional integration with the ASEAN Economic Community will take effect. The MICE industry will expand significantly, both in terms of visitor numbers and revenue, and will serve as an effective economic driver of growth for Thailand and ASEAN.”

TCEB realizes the importance of having an effective tool to measure service excellence and quality – especially for MICE venues – in order to elevate MICE services and standards for operators in Thailand and ASEAN. The standardization will serve as business guidelines for investments, operations and management, and marketing support. With this objective, TCEB successfully initiated the MICE Venue Standard in 2013, a first in Thailand and ASEAN. Since its inception, TCEB has encouraged Thai operators to adopt the guideline and improve services to meet the Standard requirements, while proposing at the 1st Special Meeting on ASEAN MICE Venue Standard (AMVS) Category: Meeting Room, to use the Thailand MICE Venue Standard as a model for the regional MICE Venue Standard.

Mr Chiruit added that TCEB underlines its strategic development plans for the MICE industry domestically and regionally, in order to better position the region as the premiere MICE destination, complementing Thailand’s leadership position in ASEAN.

Over the past two years, TCEB delivered aggressive strategic support plans to drive MICE operators, including convention centres, hotels and resorts, and public and private organisations, to evaluate MICE venues in six targeted cities, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Had Yai. More than 80 operators have applied for the program.

Passing the evaluation process and receiving the accolades for their certified venues were 42 certified MICE operators, comprising of three convention centres, 34 hotels and resorts, five public and private organisations. Among these were Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Miracle Grand Convention Hotel, the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne International Convention Center, and SCB Training Center Pattaya.

The Thailand MICE Venue Standard accolade will help guarantee the quality of Thai meeting rooms. As internationally-recognized venues, all of the 42 operators will be part of the MICE Venue Approved List. In 2015, TCEB expects 120 MICE entrepreneurs to certify under the TMVS, especially in Thailand’s five key MICE Cities, as well as high potential cities including Hua Hin, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, and Nakhon Ratchasima.

The certification process will cover three main components including physical aspects, technological aspects, and service aspects, while the indicators, factors, and scores vary between convention centres, hotels and resorts, and public and private sector organisations. The evaluation is also in line with the criteria requirements of the Thailand MICE Venue Standard – Category: Meeting Room Certification Handbook, developed by the Thai Hotels Association, Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, Thai Exhibition Association, The Association of Thai Travel Agents, Association of Domestic Travel, and Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University.

Looking ahead, TCEB will work closely with Mahidol University to further develop a five-year strategic roadmap (2015-2019) for the Thailand MICE Venue Standard, while developing capabilities of certified operators in various areas including venue management courses in collaboration with TEA and TICA, as well as educating other operators about how to get certified.

To support the success of the Thailand MICE Venue Standard, TCEB will continue to drive the ASEAN MICE Venue Standard to achieve wider adoption region-wide. At the 1st Special Meeting on ASEAN MICE Venue Standard (AMVS) Category: Meeting Room, on 4 December 2014, ASEAN member countries agreed to use the Thailand MICE Venue Standard as a model to develop the ASEAN MICE Venue Standard. Also, the meeting proposed Thailand as host of the ASEAN MICE Venue Standard Workshop to equip member countries with unified knowledge of the MICE industry, on 30-31 March 2015.

“We hope that the Thailand MICE Venue Standard Certification Ceremony, held for the first time in 2015, will encourage our operators to further improve their capabilities, as well as create confidence among Thai and international MICE organisers to host their events in Thailand. Once the ASEAN Standard is widely adopted, our Thai entrepreneurs will be ready and equipped with business edge needed to succeed,” Mr Chiruit concluded.

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For further information, please contact:

Corporate Communications Division, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization)

Ms Arisara Thanuplang    Tel: +662 694 6095    Email: arisara_t@tceb.or.th

Mr Pishnu Plaikaew Tel: +662 694 6000    Email: pishnu_p@tceb.or.th

Ms Kanokwan Kadeedaeng    Tel: + 662 694 6006    Email: kanokwan_k@tceb.or.th

Ms Kwanchanok Otton Tel: + 662 694 6096 Email: kwanchanok_o@tceb.or.th