Thailand is taking a major step to develop itself into an international medical convention and exhibition centre.
The step is part of efforts to realise the Government’s medical hub policy to contribute to spurring the country’s economic development, according to Public Health Minister Prasit Sinthawanarong.
The Department of Health Service Support, under the Ministry of Public Health, recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the issue with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
Public Health Minister Prasit Sinthawanarong said that Thailand is well-recognised for its quality of medical services. The move to develop Thailand into a medical convention and exhibition centre would attract more international academics to visit Thailand.
He said that the Prime Minister had assigned the Ministry of Public Health and TCEB, a public organisation supervised by the Prime Minister’s Office, to work out a strategy for the medical convention and exhibition centre.
There are several provinces that can serve as venues for international conventions and exhibitions, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Songkhla, and Phuket.
Healthcare is one of the key industries identified by TCEB as helping with expanding Thailand’s market for “meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions,” or MICE. In 2012, Thailand hosted about 7,300 events, of which more than 2,600 were involved with international meetings and 1,900 were MICE activities.
It is expected that about 940,000 MICE tourists will visit Thailand in 2013, bringing in 88 billion baht. In the next three years, the amount is likely to increase to more than 117.7 billion baht.-VNA
The step is part of efforts to realise the Government’s medical hub policy to contribute to spurring the country’s economic development, according to Public Health Minister Prasit Sinthawanarong.
The Department of Health Service Support, under the Ministry of Public Health, recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the issue with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
Public Health Minister Prasit Sinthawanarong said that Thailand is well-recognised for its quality of medical services. The move to develop Thailand into a medical convention and exhibition centre would attract more international academics to visit Thailand.
He said that the Prime Minister had assigned the Ministry of Public Health and TCEB, a public organisation supervised by the Prime Minister’s Office, to work out a strategy for the medical convention and exhibition centre.
There are several provinces that can serve as venues for international conventions and exhibitions, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Songkhla, and Phuket.
Healthcare is one of the key industries identified by TCEB as helping with expanding Thailand’s market for “meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions,” or MICE. In 2012, Thailand hosted about 7,300 events, of which more than 2,600 were involved with international meetings and 1,900 were MICE activities.
It is expected that about 940,000 MICE tourists will visit Thailand in 2013, bringing in 88 billion baht. In the next three years, the amount is likely to increase to more than 117.7 billion baht.-VNA
