Sluggish growth of the Chinese Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market is expected for the first quarter, though the recent earthquake should not have a severe impact on the Mice industry.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said Chinese market growth weakened in the first quarter this year after improving in the previous quarter.
Mr Chiruit said the downbeat Chinese economy and Beijing's policy to encourage domestic consumption led to fewer business travellers from the mainland visiting Thailand, especially in the meetings and incentives sector.
More Chinese incentive groups opted for other destinations such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, he said.
China was the largest inbound Mice market for Thailand in 2019, with more than 247,660 travellers of 1.27 million foreign Mice visitors in total.
Travel safety concerns also hampered the Chinese Mice market, though these concerns were less severe than for leisure tourism, said Mr Chiruit.
TCEB worked to revive this market via roadshows held in Beijing and Shenzhen on April 1-2, along with the promotion of events and programmes focusing on potential industries for Chinese travellers, such as food, lifestyle, energy and pharmaceuticals.
According to UFI, the home of the global association of the exhibition industry, Asia has now become the region that is drawing more exhibition events, as trade is forecasted to grow in this region, said Mr Chiruit.
These trends can help drive exhibition delegates from China as well as other short-haul markets.
Meanwhile, it is also targeting other markets to substitute the Chinese market, such as India, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
TCEB is monitoring the impact of US President Donald Trump's planned trade tariffs.
Mr Chiruit said international companies may cut costs for Mice expenditure, while Thailand's export sector may face some challenges.
According to TCEB, during the final quarter of 2024, which was the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, the number of international Mice travellers tallied 275,837, increasing 7.4% year-on-year.
The number of domestic Mice travellers decreased by 5.7% year-on-year to 7.33 million, reflecting domestic economic concerns, which might persist this year.
Following last week's earthquake, TCEB will also further submit an official letter to foreign partners and delegates, outlining details to provide an update on the situation and future plans.
He said the incident should not significantly impact the Mice market, as most events continued as usual last week, such as the book fair at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
However, it would require some time to evaluate the impact on upcoming big events, including the IDF World Diabetes Congress 2025, which is expecting over 10,000 participants on April 7-10.
TCEB recently launched the Mice Data Platform, a tool that collects, analyses and presents data to stakeholders in the Mice industry.
Mr Chiruit said Mice operators can learn about the number of visitors and events, as well as related behavioural trends that could be used to help their own businesses to adapt.
