TCEB Elevating Capabilities through New MICE Standards, Targeting High Quality Europe MICE Market

Frankfurt / 21 May 2014 – The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization), or TCEB, has announced the introduction of a comprehensive range of new internationally-recognised MICE Standards, boosting international competitiveness and offering assurance to the global marketplace that Thailand is a premier destination to host international standard events.

Making the announcement during IMEX 2014 held in Frankfurt, Germany, Mr. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of TCEB remarked that, “As part of our role to elevate Thailand’s MICE capabilities in the global arena, TCEB is proud to be fostering industry-wide acceptance of new internationally-accredited MICE Standards for the benefit of both Thai MICE industry operators and our international customers, including those from the important European market. We are confident that these MICE Standards will help to boost Thailand’s MICE performance even further in 2014.”

TCEB’s initiatives to introduce MICE Standards are designed to create an international baseline for MICE professionals and organizations in providing world-class, internationally recognized services and opportunities. Standards covering the environment, energy, safety, management, core competencies and more have been introduced to date, with several more under development.

TCEB is raising the environmental bar with ISO 50001: Energy Management Systems. As Asia’s foremost Green Meetings destination, Thailand leads the way in emphasising MICE energy conservation. TCEB provides strong support to enable Thai MICE operators to gain ISO 50001 accreditation, with strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve environmental performance.

Complementing this is ISO 20121: Event Sustainability Management Systems. Under TCEB’s guidance, Thailand is only the second country in the world to implement and encourage certification with ISO 20121, which advocates management based on social, economic and environmental considerations.

The third Standard is ISO 22000: Food Safety Management Systems. Thailand’s renowned cuisine and culinary prowess are a major attraction for international event participants. To assure visitors of the highest quality food, TCEB is pushing the industry to acquire ISO 22000 – in addition to widely used GMP and HACCP certificates – the global standard and food management system for the whole food chain.

Also crucial to international best practice is security, with TCEB working hard to ensure adoption of TISI 22300: MICE Security Management System (MSMS). TCEB strongly supports all MICE operators to be prepared for any crisis, enabling Thailand to become the first country in the world to have a security standard for MICE business. Visitors and exhibitors can be assured that Thai MICE operators can manage any unforeseen situation, and restore their business operations after a crisis.

Interlinked with this is business continuity, a vital part of any overall corporate risk management strategy. In recognition of this, through ISO 22301: Business Continuity Management System, TCEB helps MICE operators protect against, reduce the likelihood of occurrence, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disruptive incidents.

In addition to these standards – and in line with TCEB’s holistic approach to educate MICE professionals so that their capabilities are both in synch with industry demands and among the best in the world – the bureau has developed the Thailand MICE Venue Standard (TMVS) and National Skills Standard for the MICE industry. TMVS is a standard tool to systematically measure the quality of venues for hosting MICE events in Thailand, designed to raise standards and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop their potential in terms of systematic thinking in business, management and investment.

As well as fostering enhancements to the standard of Thai MICE industry operators, Mr. Maythaveekulchai explained that TCEB’s mission of creating a vibrant MICE sector is also achieved by direct outreach to in-bound MICE visitors, highlighting the bureau’s Thailand’s MICE Rewards scheme.

Key elements of the Thailand’s MICE Rewards scheme include Meetings Bonus, which offers organisers generous financial subsidies for groups of 200 or more delegates who visit Thailand for three nights or longer to attend corporate meetings or incentives travel; and the Conventions Bonus, which offers associations, PCOs, governments and educational institutions financial subsidies for groups of 300 or more delegates to international conventions in Thailand. Complementing these are TCEB’s Business Up 2 U initiative, a fixed subsidy programme for exhibitions based on their previous years’ performance which offers them TCEB’s guaranteed support; and Be My Guest, which aims to attract high-quality, international exhibition buyers and visitors with financial support for room night allocation.

Complementing this are three exciting online international marketing campaigns, designed to attract private sector MICE industry participation. They include Spice Up Your Business Agenda, a special privilege campaign aimed at registered MICE travellers joining trade exhibitions in Thailand, TCEB’s Itinerary Contest, a pre- or post-trip itinerary design contest that showcases creativity in choosing agenda items, destinations, and recreational activities, and TCEB’s Dream Meeting Contest, a Facebook-based marketing activity designed to invite MICE travellers worldwide to join online games in order to inspire the holding of MICE activities in Thailand to win special Thailand travel prizes.

All campaigns are designed to give a further boost to the strong performance of Thailand’s MICE industry. In reporting European market results for the first half of the 2014 fiscal year (October 2013 to March 2014), the TCEB noted strong growth in the Convention (visitors up by 14%, revenue by 12%) and Exhibition (visitors up by 12%, revenue by 10%) sectors, compared with the same period in 2013.

During the 2013 fiscal year, a total of 1,013,502 MICE visitors were attracted by Thailand’s endless choice of business destinations, global standards of service, and diverse business opportunities.

Highlighting the importance of the European market, Mr. Maythaveekulchai remarked that, “TCEB’s presence at IMEX 2014 demonstrates the importance we place on the region as part of our international outreach program. In 2013 we welcomed more than one million MICE travellers from all over the world, including 101,976 from Europe.”

Further demonstrating the strong position of the industry, TCEB also shared the diverse line-up of confirmed major upcoming MICE activities in Thailand, including incentive travel events such as the Unicity Global Convention, international conventions such as the 3rd Global Congress for Consensus in Paediatrics and Child Health, The 10th International Mycological Congress (IMC) and the FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2014, and international exhibitions and trade fairs including INTERMACH 2014, ProPak Asia 2014 and Food & Hotel Thailand 2014, among others.

“The MICE industry has always played a key role in driving the broader economy. I am confident that the new international MICE Standards, complemented by the Thailand MICE Rewards scheme, our online marketing campaigns, and many other market promotions, will help drive further MICE sector growth. In 2014, TCEB forecasts growth in MICE visitor numbers of five per cent over 2013 targets to a total of 987,000 visitors, with revenue up 10 per cent to EUR 2.1 billion,” Mr. Maythaveekulchai concluded.

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For further information, please contact:

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

Ms Arisara Thanuplang Tel: +66 2 694 6095 Email: arisara_t@tceb.or.th

Mr Pishnu Plaikaew Tel: +66 2 694 6000 Email: pishnu_p@tceb.or.th