Thailand’s premier venue management company N.C.C. Management & Development Co., Ltd. (NCC) is confident of a strong growth of its business this year despite domestic political uncertainties and simmering global trade tensions.

The company, which manages the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center since it opened in 1991, hosted about 10 international exhibitions in 2018 and this year 13 events are being planned.

“Our projection this year is about 20 to 30 per cent growth and the company’s policy is to promote new [trade] shows. We will focus more on building construction and scientific expos.

“Thailand will host the Asean Summit in November and lots of conferences are being held,” NCC President Sakchai Pattarapreechakul told The Post in an interview in Bangkok.

Backed by world class facilities, quality accommodation and good air connectivity, Thailand, known for its vibrant tourism sector, has emerged a major player in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) segment in the region.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association, Thailand was ranked 6th in the Asia Pacific region after it hosted 163 meetings in 2017, ahead of Singapore which was a venue for 160 meetings.

The Kingdom’s MICE sector is on a growth trajectory. Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau announced that the Kingdom recorded a 13 per cent growth in MICE travellers during the first half of 2018.

While, revenue generated by MICE events touched a staggering 219 billion Thai baht ($6.9 billion) and welcome 34 million domestic and international business visitors.

Sakchai is unruffled by the prevailing political conditions in Thailand, which held its general elections on March -- and the formation of a new government is still pending.

“We are positive of the Thai election, it will build good image [of the country], it is about democracy and good for FDIs [foreign direct investments),” he added.

And, even the China-US trade disputes may not impeded the exhibition sector’s growth, added Sakchai.

“Many companies from China and Europe are expanding to this region because CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) is emerging market and they need technology to increase productivity and to sell their products at a lower price,” he added.

Agriculture, food processing animal, live stock feed, manufacturing and coffee from Indonesia and Vietnam are key focus sector for exhibitors coming to Thailand.

“Organic products are becoming more popular in this region because people are more concerned about their health and looking for healthy food,” said Sakchai.

Ajinveat Vhonthong, Senior Project Manager of NEO, said that Asean’s construction market is expected to have an average growth of 5.2 percent between 2014 and 2020.

“Within the next five years, the investment in construction industry is speculated to be worth up to $2.9 trillion. Particularly, Thailand’s construction market has grown by five per cent in 2018 and is expected to expand up to seven to none percent in 2018 and 2020.

“At present green building has received increased attention and has been growing by 13 per cent every year and until 2020,” said Vhonthong, who is also the project director for Architect ‘19 that will be held in Bangkok from April 30 to May 5.

Backed by a solid two decades of experience in organising world-class events and exhibitions, NCC offers customer-friendly one-stop services to industries that include food and beverage catering, booth design and construction, professional conference organizer (PCO) & professional exhibition organiser (PEO) services, supported by full local and international logistics.