Veraded Jitsakdanont said that overall exhibition and consumer-fair business would drop by 15 per cent compared to last year.
“The economic slowdown is a major factor for the fall. Many small events will be out of venues. However, most big events will remain,” he said.
Home Show enlarged the space for the “Thailand Biggest Fair 2016”, held in May at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
“In terms of space, that was the largest consumer fair in Asia, with a total space of 47,000 square metres,” he added.
Convinced that huge fairs and events will still attract visitors, the company has organised the “Thailand One Stop Shopping Expo”, which will also occupy 47,000 square metres at Impact Muang Thong Thani, from October 15 to 23.
Veraded, who expects the event to draw 2 million visitors and spending totalling about Bt800 million, said some of the highlights would include a furniture fair, smart-electronics expos, and special displays for the weddings market and personal care products.
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau revealed in a 2015 study that Thailand’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry had helped generate expenditure of Bt220 billion and the creation of more than 164,000 jobs. In the conventions segment of the MICE sector, more than Bt66 billion was spent at such events in the Kingdom, with the creation of over 46,000 jobs.
Since last October, Thailand has won bids for 16 conventions, with more than 12,000 international delegates and targeted revenue generation of more than Bt1 billion.