and Exhibition The Thailand Convention Bureau (TCEB) joined forces with key MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and businesses in the Kingdom organisations to stage the regional forum, titled "AEC 2015: Cutting Edge Strategy for the MICE Industry" .
MICE experts,tourism professionals and commercial counsellors Asean from other nations such as the Philippines Malaysia and also gathered at the event, which brainstormed ideas for the mutual benefit of domestic and regional stakeholders at both the government and business levels as the AEC' s implementation draws ever closer.
Nichapa Yosawee, the TCEB MICE Capabilities department's director,estimated that after 2015, Thailand would see more than 25-per-cent annual growth in terms of MICE MICE tourist arrivals and receipts, as the business sector from 2015 would be able to operate freely across Asean member states.
To prepare for this transformation, said Nichapa TCEB had teamed up with the key players in the MICE Kingdom , such as the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association,The Thai Exhibition Association, the Convention Promotion Fund (Thai), the Thai Hotels Association, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, the Commerce Ministry' s and the Tourism Trade Negotiations Department and Sports Ministry' s Tourism Department, to implement a comprehensive programme to ready for the challenges of the industry economic integration.
Apart from domestic stakeholders,The TCEB is also reaching out via several cooperation agreements with other countries Asean. For example, last year the agency started providing support and initiated projects in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar Laos.
Through the end of next year, the bureau will also promote Thailand as the hub of the mainland Greater Mekong Sub - region through three focused strategies, Nichapa said.
Niqman Rafaee Bin Mohd Sahar, trade at the Malaysia counsellor External Trade Development Corp, told the forum that his agency had not yet estimated the possible revenue from MICE Asean Business after the single market comes into effect.
However, he said the food and beverage, construction,ICT and auto-part sectors - all growth industries in Malaysia - would in turn boost the country's MICE industry.
Besides MICE offering incentives to overseas operators to hold events in the country, said the trade counsellor Malaysia was ready to join forces with countries like neighbouring Thailand with a view to an integrated marketing strategy for boosting MICE revenues on both sides,particularly in the southern provinces of the northern part of Thailand and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, though the Philippines is located far from mainland Asean' s connectivity, Eric C Elnar, commercial attache at the Philippines Trade and Investment Centre, said Manila is offering incentives for travel and tourism investment from other countries Asean.
For example,Asean tourism investors will be allowed 100-per-cent ownership of a business in the Philippines, while they must pay corporate tax of only 5 per cent in the first five years of operation, against the 30 per cent normally paid by other sectors. To Asean tourists and attract more foreign investment,airlines in the Philippines also plan to operate more direct flights to the mainland Southeast Asian.
Elnar Philippines', said the largest carrier, Cebu Pacific, for instance, would launch a twice-weekly service from direct to Singapore Iloilo in November, having already commenced direct flights from Manila to Siem Reap in Cambodia in April.
The airline also plans to introduce a new direct service to the former capital Myanmar, Yangon, soon.
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