Voted Best Meeting & Incentive Destination (Asia) at M&C Asia Stella Awards 2023, Thailand on track to achieve triple-digit growth in MI arrivals

Thailand’s ongoing efforts to develop a distinctive product portfolio for meeting and incentive visitors has again impressed industry stakeholders and meeting planners, who, for the third consecutive year, voted Thailand Best Meeting & Incentive Destination (Asia) at the M&C Asia Stella Awards 2023. The awards programme recognises outstanding performance in Asia’s MICE industry.

Travel and tourism industry deal activity decline by 35.7% YoY in January-July 2023, reveals GlobalData

• US and UK saw respective deal volume reducing to almost half
• China emerges as notable exception

Amidst a backdrop of challenging market conditions, various industries have grappled with subdued deal activity during January-July 2023. The travel and tourism industry is no different and saw deal activity decline by a massive year-on-year (YoY) 35.7%, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

OUTRIGGER Resorts & Hotels has finalised its acquisition of the iconic Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel, situated on the sands of world-famous Kā‘anapali Beach – recently ranked as the No. 1 beach in the U.S. and No. 10 Beach in the World by TripAdvisor. The 11-acre (4.5ha), 432-room property will now sail under the banner of OUTRIGGER Kā‘anapali Beach Resort, allowing travellers to experience the soulful essence of authentic Hawaiian culture fused with OUTRIGGER Signature Experiences.

Northstar Travel Group, the leading B-to-B information, events and marketing solutions company in the travel industry, announces the launch of a major hosted buyer led tradeshow for the Asia Pacific meetings industry. The Meetings Show Asia Pacific (www.themeetingsshow-apac.com), supported by Singapore Tourism Board, will take place from 17-18 April 2024 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, welcoming global exhibitors and an audience of pre-qualified and hosted buyers.

Member States of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) today elected Serbia as host country of Specialised Expo 2027.

No Special Expo in Phuket/Thailand

After four rounds of voting during the BIE’s 172nd General Assembly, a majority of Member States voted for Serbia’s project to organise the next Specialised Expo in the city of Belgrade under the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All”, between 15 May and 15 August 2027.

Prior Announcement of Host Country. Thailand shows strong sign of multi-sectoral support throughout the country for “Expo 2028 Phuket Thailand” prior to the official announcement of the selected host country on 21 June 2023. The Kingdom is competing for the hosting rights with four other candidates – Argentina, Serbia, Spain and the US.