At present, Thailand is all set to welcome worldwide travelers to our Sandbox provinces now with reduced quarantine nights. And recently, Thailand has warmly opened arms for *fully vaccinated foreign arrivals with pre-flight negative test results from 46 countries, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, UK, USA just to name a few, to enter the Kingdom by air without mandatory quarantine, from this 1 November onwards. The list will be expanded from this coming 1 December and further enhanced to an extensive list from 1 January 2022. Effective from 16 October, the Thai government has given green light for event organization to take place under “COVID Free Setting” protocols, aiming to stimulate the broader economy. By joining forces with the private sector, the government is planning a huge extravaganza to celebrate the reopening. This substantially demonstrates the Kingdom’s preparation to welcome international business travellers following the easing of quarantine rules and pandemic control measures, and speedy vaccination rollout. It is a great opportunity for Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) to signal to international organizers that Thailand is ready to stage global trade shows from November 2021 onwards.

Obviously, COVID has had a significant impact on all of us, but Thai exhibition stakeholders have adapted their strategies and tactics to speed their recovery and their ability to be a catalyst for recovery and reinvention for the markets. Venue operators across the country not only have strictly followed TCEB’s “New Normal” certified standards, but also have started to market and promote “new normal” event organization through TCEB’s subsidy and an introduction of innovation technology such as virtual inspection and online reservation system for exhibition venues. This September and October in Bangkok also see a virtual edition of major trade shows including SUBCON Thailand, Medlab Asia and Asia Health, Thaifex, V-Connect Asia, LED Expo Thailand – Smartech ASEAN, Building Construction Technology Expo. The launch of virtual and digital solutions using cutting-edge technology demonstrates the resilience of Thailand's exhibition industry in challenging times.

ASEAN is the third-largest in Asia, powered by a population of **677.4 million and a fast-growing economy. Thanks to the strategic geographic location, ongoing mega-investment, state-of-the-art exhibition venues, well-connected infrastructure, business-friendly policies and talented human capitals, Thailand is not only the first choice of cross-border travel destination of ASEAN residents which gives the country an edge to serve as the conduit for regional businesses, but also the door to ASEAN for international exhibition stakeholders. Exclusively complemented with TCEB’s 360-degree “Re-Energizing Exhibitions” campaign, 70 new international trade shows are in the pipeline until 2022.

ASEAN is rising with plentiful opportunities. Thai exhibition stakeholders are not only ready to showcase their capability and readiness but also keen to collaborate with international organizers whereas TCEB counts for global partnership to re-energize the exhibition industry together again.