Major events organised at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) are about to move to new venues as the centre prepares to close for renovations at the end of the year.
Suchada Sahasakul, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Associations of Thailand (Pubat), said the association is considering moving the venue for its next Thailand National Book Expo and National Book Fair & Bangkok International Book Fair.
"Pubat is gathering comments, recommendations and information from both exhibitors, sponsors and co-organisers," she said. QSNCC is a prime location for the public because of its convenient location, Ms Suchada said.
She said Bitec Bangna and Impact Muang Thong Thani are the most appropriate locations because they can accommodate massive audiences with larger-capacity halls.
The 16th Thailand National Book Expo and 46th National Book Fair & Bangkok International Book Fair are being held from March 29th to April 8 under the concept "Re-Read", highlighting Thai and international history books, some of which are integrated with augmented reality technology to enhance the reading experience.
Thanks to the smash hit Thai soap opera Love Destiny, broadcast on BEC World's Channel 3 HD, Ms Suchada said people are paying more attention to history books.
"Love Destiny is encouraging a broad range of Thais to read more," she said.
The book expo and fair feature 420 publishing houses and 945 booths.
Ms Suchada said Pubat will hold a book review, in the same vein as movie reviews, to give people more information on interesting offerings.
The event will also feature reprints of the first Thai textbook, Jindamanee, which Ms Suchada said will surprise participants because of the Love Destiny effect.
A number of computer events like Commart Thailand and Commart Connect by ARIP Plc, which are held annually at QSNCC, will settle into new venues by the second quarter, said Pornchai Jantarasupasang, director of IT and digital media business at ARIP Plc.
ARIP normally uses 10,000 square metres for its computer fairs, held three times a year in March, June and November.
Opas Cherdpunt, managing director of M Vision, the organiser of Thailand Mobile Expo, said next year's event will move to Bitec Bangna, which could attract new buyers.
Bitec has five times the parking space as the last venue and can be reached via skytrain, he said.
