TCEB to bid for World Pride 2030 hosting rights, among major events
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) would bid for the rights to host mega-events, including World Pride 2030, in an attempt to attract more foreign tourists to the kingdom, the bureau chief said.
TCEB president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya said the government had given TCEB the green light to launch bids for hosting World Pride 2030 and other mega-events.
He said he could not disclose details of other events yet, but he was confident they would excite the public.
TCEB is a public organisation that promotes Thailand as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE).
Chiruit said the TCEB expected that revenue from MICE activities for fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) would be 5% higher than the target of 136 billion baht.
The target was based on an estimated 63 billion baht revenue from 950,000 foreign MICE travellers and 73 billion baht from 22.23 million Thai MICE travellers, Chiruit added.
So far, he said the revenue from foreign MICE travellers was about 10-15% higher than the target.
He added that during the first three months of FY 2024, there were 18 million MICE travellers in the country, generating 109.669 billion baht revenue. They comprised 894,000 foreign tourists (52.98 billion baht) and 17 million Thais (56.689 billion baht).
In order to bring more MICE organisers and travellers to Thailand during the fourth quarter of FY 2024, the TCEB would hold road shows and also participate in MICE trade shows in foreign countries, Chiruit said.
The TCEB would hold road shows in Kolkata and Mumbai in India in late July, which were expected to draw some 40 events to be held in Thailand, he said.
Later, the TCEB would hold road shows in Shanghai and Guangzhou in China in August to draw some 45 events to be held in Thailand.
Road shows would be held in Indonesia in September with a goal of drawing some 25 MICE events to be held in Thailand, Chiruit added.
The TCEB would be leading Thai MICE operators to participate in the IMEX America 2024 in October to hold talks with their prospective partners, he said.
Chiruit added that several big MICE events would be held in Thailand in the fourth quarter of FY 2024. They include the 27th IUPAC International Conference on Chemistry Education, in Pattaya from July 15 to 19.
The Bangkok International Digital Content Festival 2024 will be held from August 5-8 and the Thailand International LGBTQ + Film & TV Festival 2024 will be held in Bangkok from September 20 to 24.
