Friday, May 23, 2014

TCEB: Business as usual in Bangkok

News this week: The president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Mr. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, has reassured that Bangkok is operating as usual despite the country’s army declaring martial law earlier this week. TCEB’s president stated that all MICE venues and tourist attractions in the capital are operating as usual.

However, since his comments were made, Thailand’s military has officially taken control of the country in a coup and has suspended its constitution as of 24th May. The military has also suspended normal broadcasting on television and radio as well as political gatherings. A nationwide curfew running from 22:00 to 05:00 was also put in place. This is Thailand’s 12th coup since absolute monarchy ended in 1932.

While speaking at the IMEX 2014 in Frankfurt before the coup, Nopparat Maythaveekulchai said, “We think this [martial law] is a good sign and things will end soon. Our targets will remain the same… There have been a few cancellations in meetings and incentives, but on the exhibition part there are no cancellations at all. The quality of business traveller is more important than the number of people who come to Thailand and we’ve put in place a policy to increase quality.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

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