The MICE industry has been particularly hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic as organisers around the world have seen their events forced shut in order to limit transmissions. In Thailand events are slowly starting to return and the local authorities as well as various government and private organisations have issued guidelines for operating events during these challenging times.
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently launched their Recovery Campaign for the Exhibition Industry, a comprehensive push to re-energise the industry and guide organisers in how best to adhere to the new regulations to ensure the safety of exhibitors and visitors alike.
The campaign outlines how TCEB will support the exhibition industry by offering various incentives and assistance, including a 25 percent government subsidy, easing criteria for the number of international participants, supporting hybrid exhibitions with a focus on virtual events, and assisting organisers in following the disease control measure issued by the Thai Ministry of Health. TCEB is also committed to promoting local businesses by supporting exhibitions that partner with local firms.
The Thai Exhibition Association and Event Management Association have also published comprehensive guides with concrete steps that organisers can implement to optimise safety. The guides include detailed recommendations for a wide range of aspects in organising and executing events, including screening measures for entering an exhibition building, measures for exhibitors and visitors during an event and for personnel during setup and teardown, general hygiene measures, guidelines for organising meetings and seminars during an event, emergency plans in the event that someone falls ill or experience symptoms, communication, and keeping health records.
Concrete examples include having hand sanitisers available at the entrance to an event as well as throughout the premises; to organise hourly cleaning in particular of touch points and toilets, and make sure that people have enough space to maintain a safe distance at all times. The guides also encourage the use of technology such as QR codes (but avoiding touch screens) and high speed internet to ease registration and enable contract tracing.
With no end in sight for COVID-19, it is paramount that organisers and all stakeholders inform themselves about and adopt best practices to ensure the safety of exhibitors and visitors and increase the likelihood of the industry rebounding as fast as possible. For more information on how to conduct safe events in Thailand during these times, visit www.businesseventsthailand.com.
Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. is an independent marketing consultancy based in Bangkok, Thailand specialising in commercial sponsorship and partnership marketing, working with both rights holders and brands - acting as a catalyst by bringing them together and maximising the relationship.
We have packaged, sold and managed sponsorship and partnership opportunities for a wide range of rights holders and worked with many of the world’s leading brands to source and engage the right sponsorships and partnerships for them to maximise.
