Justin Powell, general manager of Bangkok Exhibition Services (BES), organiser of the event, said the number of exhibitors this would be up by 15-20 per cent from 2015, and the number of visitors would increase by 10-15 per cent to 30,000.

The event will take place in Bangkok from September 7-10.

Powell said about 700 food-processing companies in Thailand would attend the event and 300 companies from 20 other countries or territories. Denmark, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan will have food pavilions on display.

“Buyers and sellers will have a chance to meet and do business,” he said, adding that the value of deals discussed at the event was expected to be about Bt4 billion.

BES believes the food and hotel businesses will continue grow thanks to the flourishing tourism industry. The company believes that total tourism receipts this year will reach Bt2.58 trillion as tourism authorities have predicted. About Bt1.72 trillion will be generated by foreign visitors and Bt860 billion will be from the domestic market.

The company also expects the number of international arrivals will grow by 10 per cent next year. Powell said that would be good news not only for hotels and food businesses, but also for related businesses such as spas.

“However, spa operators may consider improving their products and services,” he said.

Recently, major hospitality and service firms led by GTA, part of the Kuoni Group, such as AccorHotels, Caissa Touristic, Compass Hospitality, DerbySoft, Far East Hospitality, Flight Centre, JTB, MakeMyTrip, MetGlobal, Minor Hotel Group, Onyx Hospitality Group, SiteMinder, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Thai Airways International, discussed the outlook for the travel industry.

They concluded that Thailand’s tourism industry had risen dramatically in recent years, drawing a total of 29.9 million international visitors in 2015, an increase of more than 20 per cent compared with 2014.

C9 Hotelworks, a tourism consultancy, said the country was keen to increase yields and the average length of stay by promoting the luxury market.

Ivan Walter, chief executive officer of GTA, said major travel companies would encourage more upscale travellers to visit Thailand.