The Thailand Shopping Festival will be set up at department stores, modern trade outlets, and retail and wholesale shops nationwide. Discounts of 20-40 per cent will be offered to consumers.

Meanwhile many Otop (One Tambon, One Product) items and those made by small or medium-sized enterprises will be on sale at tourist destinations including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ubon Ratchathani, Phuket, Surat Thani and Songkhla.

The ministry will also organise a “Thong Fa Therd Phra Kiat” low-price fair to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 84th birthday at Impact Muang Thong Thani. The event will offer discounts of 20-40 per cent for consumer goods, food, fresh fruits and vegetables, Otop and SME products, and those from projects initiated by His Majesty the King.

The low-price fair will take place from August 4-7.

Moreover, the ministry’s Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand will hold an “Innovation Craft Fair” as part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations from August 4-12 at SACICT in Bang Sai, Ayutthaya.

Also next month, in a further bid to promote economic growth as well as help lower the cost of living, the ministry will work with the Employee Council of Thailand to conduct events selling cheap food and fast-food dishes at factories, industrial estates and government agencies.

At the same time, the ministry has encouraged modern traders to distribute locally grown fruits at their outlets nationwide. It has also coordinated with many government agencies and state-owned enterprises such as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly to sell fruit at their places of business.

The ministry has also cooperated with 8,664 Biz Clubs in all 77 provinces to distribute fruit through the Farm Outlet markets. It has also helped farmers export fruit overseas to high-demand markets such as China.

The price of durian in the South is Bt93-Bt95 per kilogram, mangosteen Bt110-Bt115, rambutan Bt17, and langsat Bt14.

Normally, durian output in the South is a month or two behind the Eastern region. The major output is harvested in July and August. This year, about 226,840 tonnes of durian is expected to be cultivated in the South, while demand will be about 395,500 tonnes. About 65 per cent will go to China, 24 per cent to Bangkok, and the rest to other provinces in Thailand.

Mangosteen production is expected to come in at 104,580 tonnes, lower than demand, which is estimated at nearly 123,000 tonnes this year. About 45 per cent of the output will be for export, 32 per cent for markets in Bangkok and nearby provinces, 0.37 per cent for modern retailers, and 0.83 per cent for processing.

“This group of people needs more healthcare and medical service, while they have high spending power. Thailand has hospitality facilities to serve this group of the world population and could be a hub of medical and healthcare service in the world market,” she said.

These kinds of services are not as expensive here as in many other countries, while they have high quality and offer good hospitality. Thus many foreigners choose to use these services in Thailand each year.

The ministry has forecast that the number of senior people in Thailand will reach 13 million, almost one-fifth of the total population, by 2020. Their number is expected to reach 17.5 million by 2030.

Each year, more than 4 million foreigners who travel to Thailand use medical or healthcare services here.

Businesses developed

Under the idea of making Thailand a hub of medical and healthcare service, the ministry drew up a plan five years ago to provide such operations with knowledge on business operation, service, and cost reduction. Since then, 442 businesses have been developed as professional medical or healthcare businesses.

Among those, 55 companies have passed an international test and been accepted under an international standard.

The ministry has also promoted more funding and joint ventures by international investors in this type of business.

Senior-care businesses can be categorised into three types: day care, long stay, and nursing service at home.

Thailand now has about 400 healthcare service businesses. |Of these, 49.2 per cent are in Bangkok.

“The MICE industry is a hub of knowledge to be disseminated, exchanged and shared. And thus, it facilitates innovations in each sector” of the economy, the TCEB chief said.

He spoke on the topic “MICE as an Engine for Thailand 4.0” at a seminar held by the Thailand Management Association (TMA).

Weerasak said the global meetings industry was growing, even in Europe and the United States, and was expanding rigorously in Asia.

“In Asia, it is growing because of the [region’s burgeoning] middle class. We like the MICE industry the most, since we believe knowledge is a tool to help us improve our social and economic status,” he said.

The TCEB views MICE participants as not just “business travellers”, but as “business investors”.

Weerasak said TCEB research had found a need for Thailand to formulate a law dedicated to the MICE industry.

The proposed MICE Act is expected help MICE organisers overcome the problem of having to deal with as many as 165 regulations issued by 40 government agencies.

“For example, if one wanted to organise a grilled-food fair, it would be very difficult,” he said. “Because if there is a wood stick, it has to be approved by the Royal Forest Department. If there is a shrimp, you will have to go to the Fishery Department.

“If it is chicken, you have to go to the Livestock Department. If there is a bell pepper, you have to visit the Department of Agriculture Extension. If there are the sauces, you will have to go to the Food and Drug Administration.

“In some exhibitions, organisers still can’t get their souvenirs out [of the port] after their fairs are finished. This was not because of customs, but [the souvenirs] got struck by some of these 165 regulations.”

The TCEB also wants the government to set up a joint public-private-sector committee dedicated to the MICE industry that meets once every quarter to create a one-stop service for MICE applications.

The bureau also wants to be empowered to help foreign film crews in Thailand to shoot things like commercials and movies to promote the country effectively and free of charge.

“We’re taking care of [about] 500 film crews per year. This number is set to grow to 700,” he said.

Christian Mutschlechner, director of the Vienna Convention Bureau, told the TMA conference that the Vienna Tourism Board received 72 per cent of the bureau’s incomes from a local accommodation tax that was levied at 3.2 per cent of net room rates.

“It is not fixed, but is based on the success of hotels to sell the best prices to their customers,” he said.

Mutschlechner said the key success factors of his bureau included its neutrality and it accepting no membership, as well as keeping its management and staff in general largely in tact.

“We’re in the business that plans for 2020, 2023, 2024. And thus stability of staff is key to success,” he said.

“In an attempt to increase the value of rice export, the government will set up a strategy to promote rice in various markets. Singapore is one of the targeted markets for increasing sales of Thai rice as it is a main staple [there], while its consumers have high purchasing power,” she said.

During the mission, Apiradi will meet with rice importers in Singapore and survey modern traders and restaurants in the country on the feasibility of getting them to sell Thai rice.

Besides Hom Mali rice, the ministry will promote other speciality grains such as Riceberry, Sung Yod rice (which is a geographical-indication product) and organic rice.

Products made from rice will also be promoted, such as cooked rice for senior people, vitamin-added rice for children, cosmetics, snacks and supplements, aiming to increase value-added for rice exports.

Singapore is a major importer of rice from Thailand, and favours Hom Mali rice.

In 2014, Thailand exported 162,977 tonnes of rice to Singapore worth Bt4.3 billion. The volume dropped to 128,941 tonnes worth Bt3.63 billion last year. In the first five months of this year, export volume dropped 7.9 per cent to 51,194 tonnes, while value dropped 11 per cent to Bt1.34 billion.

Apiradi said producers should focus more on adding value to agricultural products including rice. The government will also support innovation in the rice industry by setting up the country’s first rice institute for commercial operations.

Rice can be developed as a value-added “super food” in the form of various products. The commercial rice institute would contribute to adding value to rice so that farmers would receive more income.

Legal and information technology specialist Paiboon Amornpinyokiat said personal information such as addresses, age, gender, religious beliefs and blood group would show up in the PromptPay database since the concept is to link all data in the Interior Ministry’s national ID card system.

At present, applicants for the PromptPay service need to use their national ID number and at least one of their mobile numbers to link with a chosen personal bank account.

Money transfers of Bt5,000 or less will be free of charge while those receiving government welfare or tax returns will receive the money electronically.

According to Paiboon, a proposed data-privacy law is needed to protect people using the service since there could be abuse or mistakes in data processing.

The proposed law has to include penalties and other punishment for violators, he said, adding that safeguards should also be added to existing regulations.

There are also concerns about the government’s ability to monitor people’s finances as well as their personal activities and health information in connection with various welfare programmes such as social security, national health insurance and tax records, all of which are highly sensitive.

Even the National Credit Bureau is governed by the Credit Information Business Act, but the PromptPay service has been launched without any specific law being passed.

Another expert source said the PromptPay scheme also has political consequences since it would help the government to monitor political opponents’ finances, which might affect voting patterns.

Meanwhile, Prinya Hom-anek, an IT expert and founder of ACIS Professional, said the PromptPay contract should have an “opt-in, opt-out” condition, which would allow people to choose whether their accounts could only receive money, or if they could send money as well.

He said banks also use existing Internet banking services on top of the PromptPay contract so there are risks to users who are unaware of Internet banking conditions.

Art Wichiencharoen, first senior vice president of Kasikornbank, said PromptPay should be viewed as an alternative for people who want to transfer money since they can use a mobile phone number, instead of a bank account number, while the fees for transfers of more than Bt5,000 are still cheaper than the existing rates.

In addition, PromptPay would also benefit the digital economy and e-commerce since it makes payment easier and reduces transaction cost, he said.

He added that PromptPay is not a new programme but an evolution of electronic services.

Regarding data privacy, he said, people’s ID numbers are already being used by the government for tax refunds.

In addition, ID numbers are used by employers along with bank account numbers to pay salaries in the corporate payroll system.

Art said some government organisations also have the authority to ask banks to release personal financial information as mandated by law.

On cybercrimes related to the PromptPay service, he said banks have followed international security standards required by the Bank of Thailand but users also have to be careful with any kind of financial transaction, including PromptPay, to avoid potential risks.

The government also aims to use PromptPay to send welfare funds directly to recipients such as senior citizens aged over 60 who currently receive a monthly allowance.

The system could also be used to provide benefits to low-income people who are also being requested to register.

He said there is also huge demand for energy plants, but big projects like expansion of infrastructure may need time, as the government is not pushing too hard, except in special economic zones.

Speaking at a conference on “AEC Focus: Myanmar 360” last week, Aung Kyan pointed out that Myanmar has emerged as a new place for education business and the country now can attract many international schools and universities from overseas to open their campus in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, education service is booming as many in Myanmar want to study overseas.

The company last year sent 300-400 students overseas, mostly to Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, the United States, and Europe.

According to Aung Kyan, medical and healthcare is also booming in Myanmar. The Bangkok-based Bumrungrad Hospital has just opened its clinic in Yangon to serve the high demand. International hotel chains like Shangri-la, Novotel, and Intercontinental already have set up base in Yangon or other major tourist destinations.

Visanu Jaroensilp, deputy governor for tourism products and service of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the agency planned to appoint a marketing representative in Yangon this year in order to boost the number of tourist arrivals from Myanmar and also to seek quality tourists particularly in the medical and education segments.

“Apart from general tourists, Myanmar has high potential for niche markets like medical and education segment,” he said. Last year, 259,678 Myanmar people travelled to Thailand, a 25.5-per-cent increase from 2014. Average spending per head per day by Myanmar tourists is Bt4,700 per day while the length of stay is eight days.

The top destinations for Myanmar tourists are Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai. TATexpected to see an annual 10-per-cent increase in arrivals from Myanmar.

The government is promoting Thailand as a gateway to Southeast Asia through the AseanConnectivity project, which is part of intra-regional strategies and cross-border tourism development plans.