After chairing the opening ceremony for the “Creative Thailand 2016” exhibition, Somkid said foreign investors were currently keeping a close eye on whether the Kingdom suffers a loss of confidence.
He insisted that the government would press ahead with investment projects and policies to drive the country’s economic growth, and also called for private enterprises to continue their businesses and investment plans.
“More investment will come to the Kingdom in the future if foreign investors acknowledge that Thailand will continue to grow. All sectors could adopt the sufficiency-economy philosophy, as well as the creative economy, to drive sustainable growth,” he added.
The deputy PM said the government was also paying high attention to the creative-economy policy.
Many policies of the current military-led regime relate to the creative economy, including “Thailand 4.0”, the digital economy and “Start-up Thailand”, as the government is fully aware that such developments will help drive the country’s growth in a sustainable way, he explained.
All of these policies will be effective if both the government and private sectors coordinate their efforts and adopt creativity and innovation in their plans, he said.
“In the future, if we want to create innovation, we must establish five or six clusters, and allow local and international entrepreneurs to participate in them. However, thought leadership, educational reform, investment in museums, art and culture centres, and in hard and soft infrastructure, as well as funding support, are all key factors in the success of the clusters,” Somkid said.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, vice president of administration and strategic support at the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, said the bureau was also taking part in the “Creative Thailand” initiative, demonstrating how the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector would support the creative economy through the target clusters.
Meanwhile, the “Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair” (BIG & BIH 2016)” kicked off yesterday and runs until Sunday at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec) in Bang Na district.
The show, which is the largest international lifestyle-products trade-negotiation platform in Asean, is also accepted as an outstanding event featuring creativity.
Malee Choklumlerd, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s International Trade Promotion Department, said the event was expected to attract more than 60,000 potential buyers, with the goal of generating a purchase-sales value of more than Bt1.5 billion.
“Creative Thailand 2016” is being held at the same time as BIG & BIH, and in conjunction with the major fair.
BIG & BIH has gathered more than 500 companies and 1,300 booths over an area of more than 40,000 square metres to showcase gift and houseware firms’ capacity by exhibiting achievements with outstanding design, creativity and quality for domestic and foreign buyers.
The major event has been organised under the concept of “Asean Life + Style” to reinforce Thailand’s outstanding significance as a hub for trade and lifestyle products, she said.
“Foreseeing a global economic recovery in 2017, BIG&BIH, which is being held later than normal this year, will attract more interest from buyers than in the previous year. This year, global buyers from America, Japan, [mainland] China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Germany and the United Kingdom will attend the event.
“About 60,000 visitors are expected to join the fair, with about 10,000 visitors coming on business negotiation days and 50,000 for retail sales days during the weekend,” the director-general added.
The “Creative Thailand 2016” event, meanwhile, is being hosted under the “Think Big” concept “to dare to think, do, create and build the country”.
It includes several zones to allow visitors to get a full picture of what the creative economy in Thailand is all about.
Zone 1 – “Baht and Brain” – gives a general overview of what makes up the creative economy, while Zone 2 – “Creative World” – has attractions to inspire creativity.
Zone 3, meanwhile, showcases the “Creative District” with a range of interesting exhibitions and fun activities.
A 30-square-metre circular cinema will screen motion-graphic documentaries on eight top destinations in Thailand that have creatively turned local values into tourism earnings without compromising the cultural integrity of the local people.