Thailand reports over 60,000 Meetings and incentive

THAILAND REPORTS OVER 60,000

MEETINGS AND INCENTIVE ARRIVALS FROM APRIL TO JUNE, VOTED BEST MEETINGS & INCENTIVES DESTINATION (ASIA)

• Meetings and incentives travel industry in Thailand is showing a positive sign. 68,700 arrivals of overseas groups were registered from April to June 2022. • The positive outlook is backed up by the votes in 2022 selecting Thailand as the Best Meetings and Incentives Destination (Asia)

he figure of arrivals is drawn from Thailand T Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). Another 4,143 is scheduled for September under TCEB support and an estimate of 30,700 from 87 leads that TCEB is tracking is scheduled from October to December. This will put Thailand’s meetings and incentives travel haul for the year well over the 100,000 mark. The largest group to date has been the 2022 Unicity Global Leadership & Innovation Conference in August with 10,000 attendees from 50 countries. The top three destinations for hosting Meetings and Incentives are Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya. Other destinations popular with planners are Hua Hin, Krabi, and Khao Lak.Thailand’s favourable standing is mirrored by the sentiment of Asia’s MICE professionals, who voted Thailand the Best Meetings & Incentives Destination (Asia) for the second consecutive year at M&C Asia Stella Awards, an annual award organised by Singaporebased travel trade publisher, Northstar. Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of TCEB, who received the award online on behalf of Thailand during the hybrid award ceremony held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore on 23 August 2022, said: “Thailand’s win in the Best Meetings & Incentives Destination (Asia) category is a recognition of the hard work put in by all MICE stakeholders in Thailand to support each other over a very challenging period. As we emerged with a greater sense of our strengths and weaknesses, we are more aware than ever that great product quality and variety are key to a destination’s appeal. TCEB will be working with our industry partners to translate our resources, creativity, and market insights into winning products that match the evolving needs of planners and visitors. Now that Thailand has fully reopened for MICE and our industry is going all out to woo the world, we are heartened to see the strong response from planners near and far. As we gear up for 2023, let me assure you that we will do our utmost to deliver on the honour of being Asia’s best meetings and incentives destination.”

JUMEIRAH HOTELS AND RESORTS

ENHANCES AND EXPANDS ITS PORTFOLIO IN 2022

Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, the global luxury hospitality company and member of Dubai Holding, is continuing to foster and build new relationships in key source markets, including India. A key strategic partner to the UAE, India is a key source markets for Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, especially across Dubai, London and Asia Pacific.

With India accounting for 12% of visitor arrivals to Dubai in H1 2022 (858,000) – an increase of over 109% YoY - Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts hosted events in Mumbai and Delhi to share key updates on its ongoing investment in guest experience and product enhancements at its Dubai properties, as well as key new resorts opened in popular new markets with Indian audiences, including the Maldives and Bali. Key enhancements at Jumeirah properties in Dubai include the current renovation of the beachfront at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, designed to deliver a unique lifestyle destination in Dubai with access to the very best leisure, health, and wellness facilities, and the full refurbishment of its ultra-exclusive Malakiya Villas at Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf to impress the most discerning guests. Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts also shared information about the upcoming Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, Dubai, due to open in late 2023. This new property will lead a new generation of Jumeirah Group’s ultra-luxury portfolio. The new property designed as a futuristic superyacht will complete Jumeirah’s oceanic trilogy, which includes the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel and sailboat-inspired Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Internationally, Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts has also continued to expand its offering with new openings in other locations popular with Indian travellers, including the reopening of The Carlton Tower Jumeirah in London last year, following the most extensive makeover in its history. The group also opened its new, all-villa Jumeirah Maldives Olhahali Island resort in October 2021, marking its entry into another top location for Indian tourists.

The luxury hospitality leader continued its path of international expansion in 2022, with new resorts opened in Bali and Muscat earlier this year. Further new openings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are expected to launch in the coming months.