The forum, organised by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), is a new form in the Connect Business campaign of TCEB. The bureau expects the campaign to attract Vietnamese businesses to Thailand to attend exhibitions by strengthening relationships with organisations, associations, chambers of commerce, unions and non-profit corporations.

 

“Việt Nam has high potential with a large number of visitors to Thai fairs in past years. Through this event, I want to give information about meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) and the benefits that Vietnamese companies can get from attending these events in Thailand,” said Jaruwan Suwannasat, director of TCEB Exhibition and Event.

 

MICE contribute US$6.3 trillion, creating 164,000 jobs to the Thai economy.

 

Thailand expects to welcome 208,000 international trade visitors this year, creating a total value of $500 million and will continue to support businesses which want to expand their activities in Thailand.

 

Statistics show that Việt Nam is the sixth largest visitor to exhibitions in Thailand with 4.4 per cent of the total in 2014 and 6.5 per cent in 2015. Việt Nam is an important market for Thailand, the director emphasised.

 

Vietnamese visitors show most interest in food and agriculture, followed by cars and health and medicine, according to TCEB statistics.

 

TCEB suggest suitable exhibitions for Vietnamese enterprises include food and agriculture; cars and automation; infrastructure and construction and warehouse, transportation and logistics.

 

A representative of Reed Exhibitions, the organiser of in-cosmetics Asia exhibition, said that Vietnamese visitors to the fair continued to grow in the past five years.

 

As the cosmetics sector was booming, Vietnamese companies are facing challenges in competition from big, global companies. As well as catching global trends, they came to the fair to seek safe ingredients and to join education programmes and seminars, she said.