Despite the recent financial instability affecting Europe and the U.S., in 2012 Thailand’s economic growth accelerated to 5.5 percent per year, driven primarily by increased public and private sector investment. The meetings, incentives, conferences and international exhibitions (MICE) sector has shown stable and continuing growth, contributing to the country’s economic recovery.

From 2011 to 2012, Thailand saw major infrastructural developments, including construction of hotels and convention and exhibition centers, which continued to drive MICE sector growth. Overall, the MICE industry was responsible for 9.49 percent of all tourism earnings in 2012, accounting for 0.58 percent of total GDP. Conventions contributed 33 percent, followed by corporate meetings and incentive travel, which contributed 25 and 24 percent respectively. International exhibitions and trade shows accounted for 18 percent of total MICE revenues for 2012. Thailand welcomed 895,224 MICE visitors in 2012, exceeding the target for the year by 19 percent; MICE earnings reached $2.66 billion or 79.8 billion Baht. The government is now promoting Thailand as a regional hub for the MICE industry in Asia-Pacific and as a highly competitive destination for business meetings, exhibitions and trade shows in the global arena.

Summary of international MICE visitors and revenues, 2008 to 2012

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

MICE visitors (pax)

821,892

686,609

679,585

840,054

895,224

Earnings (m Baht)

61,570

53,741

53,515

70,625

79,770

Earnings (m USD)

2,052

1,791

1,784

2,354

2,659

Source: TCEB Strategic Planning Department

In 2012, Thailand hosted a total of 7,382 MICE events, up 6.84 percent from 2011. The average length of stay for overseas MICE visitors was 5.54 days, with an average contribution of $2,672 or Baht 16,084 per person per stay. The figures indicate that international meetings represent the most important MICE subsector, with a share of 33 percent of the total MICE industry, followed by corporate meetings and incentive travel. Although international exhibitions currently represent only 18 percent of the total Thai MICE industry, this subsector has major potential for further growth in the future. According to a comparative study between the countries in Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan and Australia, as reported in the 2012 Statistical Yearbook of the Association of the Exhibition Industry UFI, Thailand’s international exhibition industry is Asia’s eighth largest, and the largest in Southeast Asia.

MICE industry breakdown, 2012

MICE Subsector

Percent

No of MICE visitors

Revenues

(m Baht)

Revenues

(m USD)

International meetings

33

292,038

28,224

941

Corporate meetings

25

220,042

24,412

814

Incentive travel

24

218,808

14,423

481

International exhibitions

18

164,336

12,711

423

Total

100

895,224

79,770

2,659

Source: TCEB Strategic Planning Department

The recent economic crises in Europe and the U.S. led to a slowdown in the global MICE industry during 2012. Despite the global downturn, Asia’s MICE industry has recovered quickly and returned to a growth trend; reflecting the new business optimism across the region, the phenomenon has been dubbed “The Asian Era.” Thailand’s MICE industry has shared in this broader Asian dynamism, as indicated by the growth in numbers of MICE travelers from Asia to Thailand in 2012. Asia represents 65 percent of all overseas MICE visitors to Thailand and is considered as key to the sector’s future growth. The five top-ranked countries are India, China, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, respectively.

Thailand’s Top Ten MICE Markets (January-December 2012)

Ranking

Country

No. of MICE visitors

1

India

74,941

2

China

63,955

3

Japan

45,424

4

Korea

37,175

5

Singapore

35,783

6

Malaysia

29,520

7

Indonesia

26,408

8

U.S.

21,786

9

Philippines

16,745

10

Australia

14,655

Source: TCEB Strategic Planning Department

In 2013, Thailand’s MICE industry is expected to grow by 10 percent (by revenue) with the target of 940,000 visitors, with revenue of 88,000 million baht or $2.9M.

MICE visitor numbers and revenue by subsector, 2012-2016

Subsector

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Meetings (PAX)

Revenue (M USD)

220,042
814

231,000

897

242,600

990

255,000

1,090

276,800

1,200

Incentive travel

Revenue (M USD)

218,808
481

229,800

530

241,200

583

253,500

643

266,100

710

Conventions

Revenue (M USD)

292,038     941

306,600

1,037

322,000    1,143

338,100       1,260

355,100     1,387

Exhibitions

Revenue (M USD)

164,336      423

172,600   469

181,200     514

190,400   567

200,000      626

TOTAL

Revenue (M USD)

895,224     2,659

940,000   2,933

987,000  3,230

1,037,000     3,560

1,089,000  3,923

Source: TCEB Strategic Planning Department