TCEB focuses on grooming MICE workforce to tap potential of industry

The idea has been initiated by Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization), or TCEB, which is confident that the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) industry will be the key factor in boosting the country's tourism after its reopening.

Supawan Teerarat, senior vice president - MICE Capability and Innovation of TCEB, disclosed that before the pandemic, MICE tourism was one of the major sources pf income for the country. Although the number of business purpose visitors is only around 1.2-1.5 million when compared to the overall foreign tourists, the group average spending per person is quite high. So they generate economic value worth more than 200 billion baht.

As the country is reopening, many events, conferences, and exhibitions can be organised. However, to be able to attract and pitch more global events and expositions to exhibit in Thailand, Supanwan said that the country was required to accelerate integration of collaborations to expedite MICE capability enhancement through an education network.

She added that the objectives of this collaboration were to drive regional MICE, distribute quality MICE workforce and create a competitive advantage of MICE in all regions across Thailand. Activities are organised to bolster content development and create jobs and occupations for the new generation of MICE workforce nationwide.
“The TCEB has formulated the strategy to expedite regional MICE and established TCEB regional offices to promote MICE nationwide. Currently, the development of MICE capability through the education network in all regions has been formed with educational institutions across Thailand," said Supawan

At present, MICE courses have been added to the curriculum in 136 institutions, comprising 87 tertiary education institutions and 49 vocational schools. Subjects under MICE Major are offered in 33 institutions, all of which can produce more than 50,000 MICE students in tertiary and vocational education institutions each year in average.
Moreover, TCEB has further developed the capability of educational institutions by transforming them into MICE Business Centres, which will help to expedite the distribution of MICE across the nation.

Supawan insisted that establishing an education network was a vital mechanism, as it enables MICE to tap into other regions, as well as all other sectors in each district. 
The education network also collaborates and bolsters marketing, as well as synergises the development of capability in all dimensions, generating income, creating jobs and efficiently driving the local economy through MICE events held in the region.

According to the survey “Meetings Outlook: 2022 Spring Edition” conducted by MPI (Meetings Professional International), it was found that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused people to realise the importance of face-to-face events. About 64 per cent commented that businesses would probably resume their growth from 2023 onwards. For this reason, event budget will increase, as well as employment volume. Employment rate in the MICE industry also has a tendency to rise. Survey results indicated that more than half of the respondents had encountered problems related to recruiting qualified employees compared with the latest quarter, proving that MICE has begun to thrive again.

To push Thailand to the forefront of the MICE industry, TCEB has accelerated the development of MICE capability in three areas: Content development, connection development and career development, to serve international MICE markets.

"We prioritised producing a high-performing workforce in line with the demands of business premises. TCEB has also accelerated the production of the occupational-level workforce in regard to feeding occupational graduates into the quality MICE job market to support the economy, promote employment, as well as circulate revenue from MICE activities and employment to other regions," said Supawan

Assistant Professor Niwat Keawpradab, president of Prince of Songkla University, speaking on the institution network Southern MICE Academic Cluster (SMAC), disclosed that the university has always supported outcome-based teaching and learning, especially an active learning approach and experiential learning.

"Students can participate and undergo training to gain actual experience from the industry. They can also use this knowledge as their research studies to expand their insight in relevance with compulsory skill development for MICE personnel in the new normal era," said Dr.Niwat.

Ariya Banomyong, co-chief rxecutive officer, CMO Pcl, revealed that the current situation inside and outside the country had gradually improved. People have resumed their routine activities and begun to travel, emphasising that all countries are unlocking themselves from previous circumstances.

As one of Thailand's biggest events organisers, Ariya said that the Thai MICE industry has the potential and opportunity to grow like other countries whether it is Dubai or Singapore. However, Thailand has seldom held events of a regional level recently even though businesspeople and travellers in Business Event category have always had Thailand in their mind. Hence, now is the most suitable time for Thailand to contribute towards restoring the local economy through MICE industry, be they hotels, accommodation, travelling, restaurants or shopping centres. Thai MICE had a market value of up to 230 billion baht in 2019 and is foreseen to increase to 420 billion baht in 2027, based on the average yearly growth of 11.63 per cent from 2021 to 2027.

"What the CMO Pcl will do can be either Homegrown Event or Business Event delivered under the CMO brand. So to speak, our conferences have not only featured hundreds of globally renowned speakers, but also attracted visitors from other countries, as the conferences held by our company could make neighbouring countries want to join too. Besides providing knowledge, the conference is able to encourage the Thai economy through the MICE industry," said Ariya.

He added that the country's infrastructure and facilities are already advanced and competitive while Thai-style hospitality and management are second to none. However, the nation misses the opportunity to host some global expositions due to a lack of creativity. Therefore, educating and training the young workforce could be one of the sustainable solutions.

Supawan said that TCEB has targeted the development of MICE capabilities, in terms of education. TCEB has provided support through the establishment of training division and MICE occupation test division at 10 MICE educational network centres nationwide.

Additionally, TCEB has developed MICE Career Platform and successfully done employment matching for more than 1,000 jobs. A MICE Student Chapter has also been created for grooming 5,000 young MICE entrepreneurs by 2023.