MPI endorses Thailand as Asean’s MICE Academy Hub

LAS VEGAS — Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) announced plans to collaborate on education for meeting professionals in Thailand. The agreement was announced at MPI’s 2013 World Education Congress in Las Vegas during a media event which included a ceremonial signing of the organizations’ memorandum of understanding (MOU) between MPI and TCEB.
MPI and TCEB’s goal with this collaboration is to enhance the Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Thailand through education.
“Meeting Professionals International is pleased to partner with the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau on this effort. This strategic collaboration expands MPI’s global reach in Asia and furthers our commitment to deliver value to the meeting and event community at large,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “We look forward to leveraging our educational expertise and strong brand to help grow the local meeting industry in Thailand.”
The Thailand meeting industry has high potential for growth. Last year, the country hosted a total of 7,382 MICE events. The figures indicate that international meetings represent the most important MICE subsector, with a share of 33 percent of the total MICE industry, followed by corporate meetings and incentive travel, which contributed 25 and 24 percent respectively. International exhibitions and trade shows accounted for 18 percent of total MICE revenues for 2012.Thailand welcomed 895,224 MICE visitor figures in 2012, exceeding the target for the year by 19 percent. In 2013, Thailand is expected to welcome approximately 940,000 MICE visitors to the country, generating expected revenues of 2.93 billion USD.
Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, Director of MICE Capabilities Department of TCEB, said, “The MPI-TCEB partnership highlights the importance of professional development within the MICE sector, and brings MPI’s global expertise and TCEB’s own industry knowledge to establish a formal, accredited training and education system for MICE professionals in Thailand. The focus of our international training curricula will be to extend Thailand’s leadership as a MICE education hub within ASEAN.
“This cooperation was made possible by the working of TCEB’s MICE Capabilities Department under the “Trade Education”, one of the six working pillars of the department. Through this cooperation, the world-class curriculums such as Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events and other activities relating to MICE personnel development will be imported to Thailand, which TCEB will be the exclusive host of these international MICE in the region.
“The current initiative will facilitate strategic cooperation between MPI and TCEB in a number of fundamental areas that are critically important in our efforts to maintain the highest standards of service excellence within Thailand’s MICE sector. Our cooperation will focus on the following activities:
• Training courses for MICE professionals under the MPI Global Certificate in Meetings and Business Events program.
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Bootcamps
• CMP certification program.
“The partnership will be implemented under a joint 5-year Strategic Plan for 2012-2016, under which TCEB has also agreed to support the establishment of an MPI Chapter in Thailand.  We aim to showcase our joint activities in the forthcoming World Education Congress to be held in USA.
“The forthcoming establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 will create a unified ASEAN market of over 500 million people; Thailand’s MICE industry is well-placed to serve the anticipated rapid growth in the region’s meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. We forecast 15% annual growth for Thailand’s own MICE sector over the coming 5 year period.
“We are confident that our partnership with MPI will play a key role in ensuring this growth is sustainable, and in driving our efforts to establish Thailand as a MICE education hub in ASEAN by 2016, and in extending our broader MICE industry leadership within the ASEAN Economic Community. By building core competencies and skills and holding ourselves to global standards of excellence, Thailand’s MICE industry can leverage its many unique advantages and enhance its global competitiveness and long-term sustainability,” concluded Mrs. Nichapa.
MPI currently has two chapters in Asia. The association’s South Korea and Japan chapters were established in 2008 and 2010, respectively. In addition, MPI has members based throughout the Asia region including some in Australia, China and Singapore.
Photo caption: Mr. Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI (Right), Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, Director of MICE Capabilities Department of TCEB (Centre)

Sourced: TravelDailyNews