Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau launches virtual meeting space

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau launches virtual meeting space

The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has launched a new project to help Thai MICE professionals keep their businesses alive amind the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘Virtual Meeting Space’ project will provide support for holding webinars, offline-to-online events and e-learning platforms.

The latter has been set up to allow MICE professionals to upskill during a time of significantly reduced work, due to travel and social distancing restrictions in place in much of the world to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the TCEB has also implemented the ‘COVID-19 Free Meetings’ project, providing grants of 30,000 Thai baht ($1,465) to eligible MICE venues for upgrades to health and safety standards.

The TCEB forecasts that the project will be able to support up to 216 MICE venues nationwide under the 6,480,000 Thai baht (more than $316,000) budget.

Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya (pictured above), president of the TCEB, said it will implement the two projects as part of the government’s economic relief measures.

These include offering tax reductions, extending the tax filing period, offering higher tax deductions, reducing interest rate for debt, providing soft loans, extending electricity bill payments, and providing wage compensation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the postponement and cancellation of MICE events worldwide,” he said.

“Online or virtual platform has become an alternative for events that can ensure business survival. Thai entrepreneurs need to adapt themselves to such business platform.”

Apart from the two projects, the TCEB has also set up a COVID-19 information centre to provide communications during the pandemic.

The centre will monitor, compile, examine and assess the information, especially the impacts of the disease on the MICE industry, and produce recommendations for the industry.

Featured image: iStock.com/tortoon

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