Thailand's MICE tourism market: Industry expert charts way forward
By Jon Fernquest
In
today's article an expert on the MICE tourism market provides a frank
assessment
of how Thailand is doing in its efforts to gain market
share and
become a major player in the global MICE
tourism market. Today's article begins after the vocabulary.
(Photo on right of company booths at a trade fair).
MICE
(meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry -
the tourism industry of organising large events (See Wikipedia)
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
incentives - rewards to encourage certain actions ผลตอบแทน, รางวัล ผลตอบแทน, สิ่งกระตุ้น
conference - a large meeting for a few days where people with the same work or interests (especially professors in the same subject) come together and share ideas (See Wikipedia on academic conferences and business conferences)
exhibition - an event where different companies show their products to other companies or to the general public งานแสดง
trade fair - an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities (See Wikipedia)
convention - a large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest การประชุม
chart - to make a plan (for a trip or a project)
assessment - looking closely at the details of something and then making a judgement about it (example: a thorough student assessment at the end of the course was used to assign grades)
frank assessment - an honest assessment (telling a person what you really think, not just being polite)
market share - the percentage of customers in a market buying a company's products
gain market share - increase the percentage of customers buying your company's products
major player - one of the important companies in a market
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
incentives - rewards to encourage certain actions ผลตอบแทน, รางวัล ผลตอบแทน, สิ่งกระตุ้น
conference - a large meeting for a few days where people with the same work or interests (especially professors in the same subject) come together and share ideas (See Wikipedia on academic conferences and business conferences)
exhibition - an event where different companies show their products to other companies or to the general public งานแสดง
trade fair - an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities (See Wikipedia)
convention - a large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest การประชุม
chart - to make a plan (for a trip or a project)
assessment - looking closely at the details of something and then making a judgement about it (example: a thorough student assessment at the end of the course was used to assign grades)
frank assessment - an honest assessment (telling a person what you really think, not just being polite)
market share - the percentage of customers in a market buying a company's products
gain market share - increase the percentage of customers buying your company's products
major player - one of the important companies in a market
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
Economics
BY INVITATION
Building the mice market
16/08/2010Debbie Dionysius, Assistant vice-president for destination marketing
Thailand desperately needs the Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market to contribute to its bounce back from the traumatisation of the recent political troubles that have severely affected this important income generator for the Kingdom.
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) had 9 billion baht allocated to Mice events in 2010, anticipating at the start of the year growth of 25% with around 785,000 visitors generating income of 56 billion baht from 400 events.
desperately
- in a very worried or angry way อย่างสิ้นหวัง
contribute - to make a regular payment
bounce back - be successful again after a temporary failure
trauma (noun) - 1. being upset, shocked and afraid after a recent bad experience, 2. being injured
traumatisation (verb) - receiving or experiencing trauma
income - money that people or companies receive from work or some other source line investments
income generator - creating income
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) -
allocated - given for a special purpose or use
anticipating - think that something will happen
contribute - to make a regular payment
bounce back - be successful again after a temporary failure
trauma (noun) - 1. being upset, shocked and afraid after a recent bad experience, 2. being injured
traumatisation (verb) - receiving or experiencing trauma
income - money that people or companies receive from work or some other source line investments
income generator - creating income
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) -
allocated - given for a special purpose or use
anticipating - think that something will happen
That forecast will, clearly, not be met. However, the TCEB should not be deterred and continue to pursue its six major strategies to develop and expand the market in partnership with private and government networks as well as the Asean community. The TCEB has only to look at the slow growth in 2008 caused by domestic political unrest (the yellow shirts then), a troubled global economy and, in 2009, the H1N1 flu pandemic to see how vulnerable Thailand tourism is to events beyond its control.
forecast
- a statement about what will happen in the future based on information
available now พยากรณ์
deter (verb) - act so as to make someone not do something
deterred (adjective)
pursue - to try to achieve something ดำเนินตาม, พยายามเพื่อให้ได้มาซึ่ง
pursue - to work at something or carry it out ทำให้ลุล่วง
strategies - long-term plans to achieve goals กลยุทธ
expand - make larger ขายตัวออกไป
partnership - people joining together for work or other reasons
network - group of people or organizations connected together for communication and/or work
community - all the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
domestic - ในประเทศ within the country
unrest - disorder
domestic political unrest - when political protests and activity inside a country become violent and hurt the economy
troubled - has problems
H1N1 flu - "the 2009 flu pandemic was a global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus, often referred to as swine flu" (See Wikipedia)
pandemic - a disease that affects almost everyone in a very large area โรคที่มีการแพร่กระจายหรือระบาดไปทั่ว
vulnerable - easily harmed and damaged ที่เปราะบาง ที่ล่อแหลมต่อการเกิดภัยภิบัติ, ซึ่งถูกทำลายได้ง่าย
beyond its control - not something that it can control
deter (verb) - act so as to make someone not do something
deterred (adjective)
pursue - to try to achieve something ดำเนินตาม, พยายามเพื่อให้ได้มาซึ่ง
pursue - to work at something or carry it out ทำให้ลุล่วง
strategies - long-term plans to achieve goals กลยุทธ
expand - make larger ขายตัวออกไป
partnership - people joining together for work or other reasons
network - group of people or organizations connected together for communication and/or work
community - all the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
domestic - ในประเทศ within the country
unrest - disorder
domestic political unrest - when political protests and activity inside a country become violent and hurt the economy
troubled - has problems
H1N1 flu - "the 2009 flu pandemic was a global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus, often referred to as swine flu" (See Wikipedia)
pandemic - a disease that affects almost everyone in a very large area โรคที่มีการแพร่กระจายหรือระบาดไปทั่ว
vulnerable - easily harmed and damaged ที่เปราะบาง ที่ล่อแหลมต่อการเกิดภัยภิบัติ, ซึ่งถูกทำลายได้ง่าย
beyond its control - not something that it can control
The TCEB's six strategies revolve around widening marketing and public relations channels; more national image building (this is something that will require revisiting in the light of recent events); expanding the Mice infrastructure (on Phuket, for example, has no international-class Mice venue, with large hotels filling the gap but limited by space and resources); building local and international networks through themes such as "Thai Team, Team Thailand" and to boost the role and potential of the TCEB.
X revolves around Y -
X uses or depends on doing Y (example: the choice of bachelor to marry
revolved around how much money they had)
image - opinion, the picture of something that people have in their mind, what people think about something ภาพลักษณ์
national image building - taking action to improve the way that people think about your country
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains, telephone) สาธารณูปโภค
international-class - meeting high standards (of the best in the world)
venue - the place where an activity or event happens สถานที่ที่จัดงาน, สนามแข่ง
gap - a space, opening or difference between two things ช่องว่าง
fill the gap - put an end to the gap (end the difference, fill up the space between)
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
local - in the small area that you live in ท้องถิ่น
boost - to strengthen ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น
role - function or position บทบาท
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
image - opinion, the picture of something that people have in their mind, what people think about something ภาพลักษณ์
national image building - taking action to improve the way that people think about your country
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains, telephone) สาธารณูปโภค
international-class - meeting high standards (of the best in the world)
venue - the place where an activity or event happens สถานที่ที่จัดงาน, สนามแข่ง
gap - a space, opening or difference between two things ช่องว่าง
fill the gap - put an end to the gap (end the difference, fill up the space between)
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
local - in the small area that you live in ท้องถิ่น
boost - to strengthen ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น
role - function or position บทบาท
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
These are all worthy and achievable goals, but perhaps Thailand needs to do a lot more because the Mice competition in Asia, and the Middle East for that matter, is intense. Places such as Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong are increasingly attracting Mice business, particularly from places such as Australia.
worthy -
achievable -
...X for that matter,... - mentioning X too (because it is relevant)
intense - lots of activity เข้มข้น
achievable -
...X for that matter,... - mentioning X too (because it is relevant)
intense - lots of activity เข้มข้น
And there is one of Thailand's problems. Not everyone sees the country as an ideal Mice venue. For example, one Australian incentive agent once gave 10 reasons why Thailand is not yet the "hit" it claims to be for the Mice market. The reasons included few hotels near large convention centres, the lack of many such centres and their poor locations (in Bangkok) lack of communication skills and training in understanding Mice needs by staff and a focus by Thailand tourism authorities on numbers rather than quality.
ideal
- the best possible ดีที่สุด, ที่เป็นอุดมคติ
incentive - something that makes you want to do something or work harder, because you know that you will benefit by doing this สิ่งกระตุ้น
incentive - reward to make people do something
agent -
hit - very popular right now (example: a hit song that everyone is listening to nowadays)
convention - a large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest, or a large meeting for a political party การประชุม
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
communication -
skills - a type of work or task requiring special training and knowledge ทักษะ ความสามารถเฉพาะทาง
training - to teach people how to do an activity or job การฝึกฝน
staff - workers, employees พนักงาน
focus - think about and work on one thing (rather than waste time on many), concentrate time and attention on one thing ให้ความสำคัญ
authorities - government officials เจ้าหน้าที่
incentive - something that makes you want to do something or work harder, because you know that you will benefit by doing this สิ่งกระตุ้น
incentive - reward to make people do something
agent -
hit - very popular right now (example: a hit song that everyone is listening to nowadays)
convention - a large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest, or a large meeting for a political party การประชุม
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
communication -
skills - a type of work or task requiring special training and knowledge ทักษะ ความสามารถเฉพาะทาง
training - to teach people how to do an activity or job การฝึกฝน
staff - workers, employees พนักงาน
focus - think about and work on one thing (rather than waste time on many), concentrate time and attention on one thing ให้ความสำคัญ
authorities - government officials เจ้าหน้าที่
By the same token Thailand has many attractions for the Mice market. These include geographical location, good direct air routes, attractive pre and post-business travel (to the southern islands such as Phuket and Koh Samui, for example) lively and proactive private-sector Mice operators, such as big hotels at key tourist destinations; some dedicated individuals and the overall attractiveness of Thailand as a "truly amazing" destination.
direct
- A affects D (opposite of "indirect")
indirect - A affects B affects C.... eventually affects D
route - path or way taken traveling from one place to another place
direct air routes - flying straight to country (instead of stopping in several other countries along the way)
attractive - worth having or doing
lively - with lots of activity, energy and enthusiasm
proactive - acting in advance to solve problems before they occur มาตราการป้องกันล่วงหน้า (See glossary)
sector - a part of the economy (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia) ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ
private sector - all the businesses in an economy (owned by people not the government)
operators - companies running a business
key - important คนสำคัญ
destination - the place where someone or something is going จุดหมายปลายทาง
key tourist destinations - important tourist places
dedicated - used for only one kind of work or for one purpose
individuals - persons บุคคล
indirect - A affects B affects C.... eventually affects D
route - path or way taken traveling from one place to another place
direct air routes - flying straight to country (instead of stopping in several other countries along the way)
attractive - worth having or doing
lively - with lots of activity, energy and enthusiasm
proactive - acting in advance to solve problems before they occur มาตราการป้องกันล่วงหน้า (See glossary)
sector - a part of the economy (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia) ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ
private sector - all the businesses in an economy (owned by people not the government)
operators - companies running a business
key - important คนสำคัญ
destination - the place where someone or something is going จุดหมายปลายทาง
key tourist destinations - important tourist places
dedicated - used for only one kind of work or for one purpose
individuals - persons บุคคล
But what else could Asia's Mice industry do to attract more business, particularly in Thailand? Well, the TCEB has already hit one good idea that is the promotion of "Green Meetings" as a selling point. Other ideas could include including more CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes; more sophisticated programmes could be offered; use of social media to generate networks among Mice participants and even look at more family activities.
attract
- to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
attract business - get people to start new businesses in the country or the region
selling point - one reason that a customer would buy a product (used my a sales person to help make sales)
responsibility - having to take care of some task as part of your job
CSR (corporate social responsibility) - "a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model" where businesses "embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere... the inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit" (See Wikipedia)
sophisticated - complicated and advanced in design or planning ซับซ้อน
media - newspapers, radio, television, etc. สื่อ
generate - create, produce ก่อให้เกิด, สร้าง, กระตุ้นให้เิกิด
generate networks -
attract business - get people to start new businesses in the country or the region
selling point - one reason that a customer would buy a product (used my a sales person to help make sales)
responsibility - having to take care of some task as part of your job
CSR (corporate social responsibility) - "a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model" where businesses "embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere... the inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit" (See Wikipedia)
sophisticated - complicated and advanced in design or planning ซับซ้อน
media - newspapers, radio, television, etc. สื่อ
generate - create, produce ก่อให้เกิด, สร้าง, กระตุ้นให้เิกิด
generate networks -
Having said that, American surveys of the Mice trade have shown that when it comes to "green" Americans are all for the environment as long as they don't have to pay for it and the same goes for CSR activities. We are likely to see, therefore, "green" and CSR activities, but on a minor scale as making major changes when the economy is weak and there are negative outside forces affecting tourism in places such as Thailand, makes change harder.
trade
- the buying and selling of goods and services การค้าขาย
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals
X as long as Y - if Y exists then X will continue to exist
long - to want something very much ต้องการ ปรารถนา
minor - not important; small; having little influence or effect เล็กน้อย
scale - size (relative size)
on a minor scale - done as a small activity or project
negative - bad ที่เป็นด้านลบ
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals
X as long as Y - if Y exists then X will continue to exist
long - to want something very much ต้องการ ปรารถนา
minor - not important; small; having little influence or effect เล็กน้อย
scale - size (relative size)
on a minor scale - done as a small activity or project
negative - bad ที่เป็นด้านลบ
What many tourism professionals should appreciate is that the mentality and demands of Mice businesses are very different from those in the leisure tourist business. The tourist business demands standardisation and set routines, whereas the Mice business requires much more time, concentration, research, creativity, patience and determination.
demands
- the things that someone is asking you to do
standardisation - making all things the same
set routines
concentration -
patience - the ability to wait for a long time without becoming angry or upset ความอดทน
patience - able to stay calm waiting for changes or work that you want
determination
standardisation - making all things the same
set routines
concentration -
patience - the ability to wait for a long time without becoming angry or upset ความอดทน
patience - able to stay calm waiting for changes or work that you want
determination
A Mice project can, easily, take on a life of its own over months, even years. This is why it is advisable for any hotel or tourist based company looking to get into the Mice business to establish a separate company with separate staff, vision and resources. Training of staff, for example, would be quite different from standard tourist businesses because of the different requirements in managing a Mice event.
Staff training and, indeed, motivation, are key elements of a successful Mice or destination management company (DMC) where the association between management and staff is more close knit and there is an atmosphere of everyone working in cohesion toward the same goal - the success of the Mice event
Debbie Dionysius is an assistant vice-president for destination marketing responsible for Laguna Phuket's new Latitude Mice venue
separate - not part
of some bigger thing
take on a life of its own - becoming separate and not part of a bigger thing (like it once was)
advisable - should do, the right and proper thing to do
establish - to start a company or organization that will likely continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
vision - the ability to imagine how a country, society, industry, etc. could develop in the future and to plan in a suitable way วิสัยทัศน์
motivation - a reason for doing something (a big cash reward for success, for example)
elements - sets or groups of people องค์ประกอบ
atmosphere - the mood or feeling that exists in a place บรรยากาศ
take on a life of its own - becoming separate and not part of a bigger thing (like it once was)
advisable - should do, the right and proper thing to do
establish - to start a company or organization that will likely continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
vision - the ability to imagine how a country, society, industry, etc. could develop in the future and to plan in a suitable way วิสัยทัศน์
motivation - a reason for doing something (a big cash reward for success, for example)
elements - sets or groups of people องค์ประกอบ
atmosphere - the mood or feeling that exists in a place บรรยากาศ
(Source: Bangkok Post, business section, BY INVITATION, Building the mice market, 16/08/2010, Debbie Dionysius, Assistant vice-president for destination marketing, link)
