Maximize Your Business Connections in Thailand

With the goal of sustainable development for exhibition industry, Thailand will hold an exhibition promotion programme entitled “Added value” for Vietnamese businesses. The programme will include a chain of road shows in the three big cities of Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. The information was announced at a conference named “Maximize Your Business Connections in Thailand” by Thailand Exhibition and Convention Bureau and the Export Promotion Bureau and the Exhibition Association on August 25 in Hanoi.

 

According to the organising board, the mobile conferences will be organised by a group of Thai high-ranking officials, aiming to take deeper penetration into the Vietnamese exhibition market through a new programme called “Extra night, extra smile.” A representative from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) said, the programme is a chance for Thai businesses to exchange experience and seek cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese partners. The programme will also help Vietnamese tourists to understand more about Thailand and to decide to stay in the country longer between July this year to September next year. Accordingly, a group of visitors who stay in Thailand for more than three nights will enjoy on more night free of charge. Visitors will also get other preferential treatments, including a priority path for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) tourists, discounted transport fees to airport or short tours.

 

Pisanu Chanvitan, Thai Ambassador in Vietnam said, Vietnam and Thailand have maintained the bilateral cultural and trade ties for over 30 years. The two countries have inked 30 cooperative agreements in various areas. Particularly, the two countries top the world in rice export. The two countries always closely cooperate in rice export experience.

 

Particularly, on an official visit to Vietnam in July this year, the Thai Prime Minister’ Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed his joy for the bilateral fruitful relationship in the areas of trade, investment, tourism and transport. Thailand and Vietnam have pledged to boost the bilateral trade and investment relation despite being affected by the global economic slump. The two-side trade turnover reached US$6.5 billion last year, up 31.58 % on-year. In spite of an on-year decline of 30 % to US$1.9 billion in the two-country trade turnover in the first five months of this year, Prime Minster Abhisit still hoped that the figure will be boosted by late 2009.

 

Vice Director of the Asia-Pacific Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Pham Thi Hong Thanh said the two-country trade turnover have continued growing from 25-30 % over the past recent year. Most of Vietnamese exporters said that Thai businesses still own more advantages, which is shown at the bilateral trade turnover. Last year, Vietnam exported goods worth nearly US$1.3 billion to Thailand and imported nearly US$4.9 billion worth of products from the country.

 

Through tourism and trade promotion programmes, more than 50 representatives met with 150 Thai enterprises in 2008 for export cooperation. Last year, Vietnam welcomed 80,000 Thai visitors; meanwhile, Thailand received 60,420 Vietnamese arrivals.

 

Thanh also said that lots of Thai investors have come to Vietnam for business opportunities so far this year. To date, Thailand have invested in 170 projects totaling over US$6 billion in Vietnam, ranking the 8^th among foreign investors and the 3^rd among ASEAN investors in Vietnam.

 

“The conference and road shows will open cooperation chances for the two-country businesses to enhance the trade ties, helping each other to deal with bad impacts resulted from the world economic slow down”. Pisanu Chanvitan noted.

 

The Office of Tourism Development under the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said, Thailand served 339,058 Vietnamese visitors in 2008, up 42.6 % on-year. The increase in the Vietnamese tourist number to Thailand has formed a new trend for developing MICE tours in Vietnam. Therefore, Thailand has used new tour packages to attract Vietnamese MICE exhibition firms. TCEB’s tour promotion plan aims to launch the campaign “Bangkok- Exhibition city in the Southeast Asian region”. The campaign has got horizontal range of support from organisations, trade associations, organizers and exhibition participations as well as visitors.

The conference-exhibition is a good occasion for the two-country enterprises to exchange experience and enhance cooperation. However, being a strong name in the agricultural product export sector, Vegetexco1 – Hanoi is still finds it hard to boost their exports. The products of Vegetexco1 – Hanoi are also the strenght of Thai firms. Moreover, Thai companies are better than Vietnamese ones in building brands, thus, it is difficult for the local exporter to enter the Thai market. In reality, some Thai partners have also wanted to buy raw materials of agricultural products of Vegetexco1 – Hanoi.

 

Thai government has worked out many measures to strengthen the two-country trade relation. Accordingly, policies and initiatives are expected to bring Vietnam benefit, including the use of exhibitions and fairs to boost trade ties. Besides, Thailand Exhibition and Convention Bureau also encourages Vietnamese private firms to join Thailand’s preferential tourism packages.