THAILAND - Space at exhibitions held in the country should increase by 10 per cent next year if local political problems ease, according to a director of the Thai Exhibition Association (TEA).
Patrapee Chinachoti said the growth of the exhibition industry in Thailand has been sluggish since 2008, and that the country has “lost competitiveness and opportunities to generate exhibition revenues to key rivals like Singapore, because the country has had political uncertainties since 2008”.
In the past three years occupancy across the country’s venues has fallen to around 60 per cent, three quarters of the 80 per cent figures for the years leading up to the political turmoil.
It is expected that 100 exhibitions will be held next year in Thailand, which at approximately 250,000sqm, boasts the greatest amount of venue space in the Asean region.
Chinachoti told the Bangkok Post that he believes political problems will remain throughout 2011, albeit without violence. However development outside of the capital, where most of the political activity takes place, will help the industry to grow faster.
"We think the two new venues, Chiang Mai International Convention Centre (to open in 2011) and Phuket International Convention Centre (2012), will help add more choices for organisers as most of main venues are located in Bangkok," Chinachoti told the newspaper.
Another key development is the 2011 UFI Open Seminar in Asia, which the TEA is hosting together with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). The event is expected to attract 200-250 professional exhibition organisers and help enhance the competitiveness of the Thai industry.
