Thailand’s trade show industry has staged a strong rebound since borders reopened. 11new international trade shows were successfully launched from May to September, 2022 with the support of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) in recognition of their potential to advance the “Thailand 4.0” agenda. To further drive the industry, TCEB has launched “SPIRE Thailand” campaign to boost domestic trade shows in the strategic industries of “Thailand 4.0” agenda.

The industries the new international shows serve included digitalisation, intelligent automation, robotics, life sciences, healthcare, clean energy, and logistics. More than half were staged by the local offices of international organisers or in partnership with Thai organisers.

The 11 new international trade shows comprised Asia Pacific Rail 2022, Byond Mobile (5G), Future Mobility Asia 2022, Maintenance, Industrial Robotics, and Automation (MiRA), Bio Asia Pacific 2022, Cosmoprof CBE ASEAN 2022, Building and Construction Technology, Enlit Asia 2022, Solar+Storage Asia 2022 (SSA), Manufacturing Transformation (MATRA) Thailand 2022, and ASEAN Tools Expo. 

It is worth noting that two of the 11 new shows TCEB supported in 2022 – Maintenance, Industrial Robotics and Automation (MiRA) and Manufacturing Transformation Thailand (MATRA) – were held in Pattaya, the exhibition hub for the Eastern Economic Corridor or EEC. Both covered smart manufacturing and industrial automation, and served the interests of a great number of multinationals and small- and medium-sized enterprises based in the EEC.

TCEB President, Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, said: “The fact that 11 international trade shows made their debut in Thailand from May to September 2022 shows that Thailand’s exhibition industry has rebounded and organisers have confidence in Thailand and the economic prospect of the EEC. Our support for shows with a “Thailand 4.0” orientation is a policy-level commitment to using trade shows as a tool to drive trade and investment in the strategic industries of “Thailand 4.0” economic transformation plan. We are glad to have helped organisers maximise their return-on-investment and given the industry a timely booster.

Mr. Kenny Yong, CEO of Fireworks Trade Media Group, organiser of MATRA, said: “We have chosen the EEC for our show because it is attracting a lot of investment and our show is technology-driven for industry transformation and efficiency befitting the investors in the EEC and responding to “Thailand 4.0” industries. Thanks to TCEB’s support, we were able to launch MATRA as a new addition to our portfolio and the first show of its kind in this special economic zone”.

In a bid to further drive investment in trade shows with a “Thailand 4.0” orientation, TCEB has launched the development plan for the growth of domestic exhibitions in 2023, highlighting the collaboration of 11 partners from both the public and private sector under the umbrella “EMTEX: Empower Thailand Exhibition” project. One key initiative of the project is a new marketing campaign “SPIRE Thailand: Strengthen Power in Regional Exhibitions”. This campaign is designed to help local entrepreneurs align themselves with emerging global trends, such as intelligent automation and sustainability. It is expected that the campaign will generate 7,802 million baht in economic impacts.

Under the campaign, financial incentives of up to 1 million baht per show will be provided if the domestic exhibitions are in the following five groups of industries:

• Food, agriculture, and bio-technology 

• Health and medical technology

• Smart devices, robotics and automation, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Alternative energy, automotive, and logistics

• Creative economy, culture, tourism, and high-valued services

For non-financial support, TCEB will serve as the host who liaises between 11 partners to integrate rapport of exhibitors in 7 areas, comprising 1. exhibitor database; 2. on-site buyer database; 3. local network; 4. knowledge, training and seminar; 5. in-depth information of industries, targeted markets and market insight; 6. sourcing of funding/subsidies or sponsorship, and 7. public relations. 

TCEB President, Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, said: TCEB’s stance on using trade shows to transform Thailand’s economy is not limited to international trade shows but also domestic ones. This new campaign aims to help local entrepreneurs and organisers to expand their businesses in the strategic or future industries which will future-proof their enterprises and enable their role in the economic transformation of the country. By supporting the organisers of these shows, we are also signaling TCEB’s readiness to help lay the foundation for these shows to grow to become leading events in their respective industry verticals.”

The 11 partners of EMTEX project are Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Community Development Department, Department of International Trade Promotion, Cooperative Promotion Department, Department of Industrial Promotion, Digital Economy Promotion Agency, The Board of Investment of Thailand, The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion, The Federation of Thai Industries, The Thai Chamber of Commerce and The Thai Exhibition Association (TEA).