Indulge in a riverside Thai Experience
Keen to diversify its offerings to the Indian market, the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau is popularising riverside products
The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau ( TCEB) concluded its two- city roadshow in Bengaluru and Mumbai with a delegation of 30 sellers that included hotels and resorts, special event venues, convention centres, attractions, DMCs, and airlines. It was led by
Nooch Homrossukhon, Director ( Meetings and Incentive), TCEB, with the top management of the Meetings and Incentive department. “The agenda for this roadshow was to promote newer destinations catering to the premium segment such as the riverside properties, the Silverlake vineyard in Pattaya and even CSR activities for the corporate,” she said.
As per TCEB records, 2015 saw 104,000 Indian MICE visitors to Thailand and this year it has already received 50 per cent of last year’s numbers
RIVERSIDE PRODUCTS According to TCEB, riverside locations are new for the Indian market and will be something different than the regular products. Homrossukhon says, “Riverside options make sense for the India market because here the companies can keep the delegation within the venue and have a focused audience as it’s a little away from the main city. Riverside hotels and attractions are also less known here. Indians are used to staying in main areas in Bangkok like Sukhumvit and Pratunam where the shopping is. But now they are exploring newer options to get a different experience in the same city. The riverside now has a lot of shopping options too. There’s a night market called Asiatic and new hotels." One of the major hotels there is the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort. TCEB is also promoting other products like the Silverlake vineyard in Pattaya which can do an outdoor event with 10,000 people. It has a lake
and a hill which has the largest laser- carved Buddha. There’s also the premium Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya where corporate can do cruising, island hopping, sunset sea cruise in Pattaya, paragliding, as well as a yacht party. Homrossukhon adds, “We are also actively promoting destinations like Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in the north, Krabi and Samui in the south, and a new beach destination Hua Hin-- a two- hour drive from Bangkok.”
CSR OPTIONS
Speaking about the new CSR activities that corporate clients can choose from, Nitin Sachdeva, India representative, TCEB, says, “We have introduced a few CSR activities and are trying to push this in India. Corporate clients now want to give something back to the local community when they are visiting a country. In Thailand, CSR has been quite popular and Indians are becoming more aware of this option. In our experience, Indian corporates have given the most to causes in Thailand. When it comes to giving back, Indians are very good, they only need to be more aware of the possibility of this activity. It is also a marketing tool for them and some companies have a mandate for CSR activities. It’s a new trend that we are seeing and we want to encourage it. We have different options: mountain CSR, beach CSR and even city CSR. We can help people identify what they are looking for.” NEW YEAR, NEW CITIES Starting its new financial year in October this year, TCEB will look at tapping newer cities. But the strategy will remain the same. “We start with IT& CMA ( Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia) in Bangkok. For India, we are introducing new products, new ideas and new activities as well as alternative destinations beyond Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket in newer cities. Within India itself, we are getting more into the tier II cities and making people aware of what MICE really is and what they can do in Thailand. We recently had a group of 200 people from Aurangabad to Krabi and an equally big group from Jamshedpur to Phuket,” Homrossukhon says. TCEB recently held educational seminars in Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata and the new year will see other tier II cities being added to the list.