A MICE tourist group in Đà Nẵng. — VNA/VNS Photo

BANGKOK — Thailand is striving to become a centre for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism in Southeast Asia, and considering Việt Nam as one of its potential partners for cooperation in this field, according to Puripan Bunnag, Senior Vice President of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

The official said that this segment is showing a strong recovery and starts to play a positive role in the Thai economy after several years of difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first half of Thailand's 2024 fiscal year (from October 2023 to March 2024), Thailand welcomed 636,694 foreign MICE tourists, equivalent to 78 per cent of MICE tourist arrivals in the entire 2023 fiscal year. In the period, the country earned 36.72 billion baht (over US$1 billion), equivalent to 72 per cent of the total generated by foreign MICE tourists in the entire previous fiscal year.

In this period, Việt Nam ranked seventh in terms of the number of foreign MICE tourists to Thailand with 20,446 visitors.

According to Puripan, Việt Nam's economy is growing strongly as a main destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the demand in Việt Nam for products, services, technology, innovation, expertise and business networks to boost the economy and business efficiency will increase.

The convenience of accessing Thailand and short-haul flights between the two countries are plus points for Vietnamese people traveling and participating in events in Thailand, he stated, adding that Thai Airways currently operates four flights per day from HCM City and Hà Nội – Việt Nam’s two largest cities - to Bangkok.

The TCEB is currently implementing the "Cambodia-Vietnam-Thailand Economic Corridor" (CVTEC) project to develop a sea route connecting Koh Chang in eastern Thailand with Cambodia's Sihanoukville and Phú Quốc island of Việt Nam. This can become a cross-border route for foreign MICE tourists to carry out the "one trip three countries" programme.

The bureau is also promoting and facilitating cooperation between Thai MICE businesses and those in the same industry in Cambodia and Việt Nam to make travel on the sea route of the three countries feasible and attract MICE tourists from three countries to conduct cross-border tours.

The TCEB is ready to play a supporting role in creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese MICE tourist groups to travel to Thailand, added Puripan. — VNS