World Expo gets a public hearing
February 12, 2010 by Chanida Sa-ngiamphaisalsuk
Filed under News
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau will seek opinions from the private sector over its plan to bid for a World Expo in 2020.
The “public hearing” event, called “Open Day World Expo,” will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok, Monday 22 February.
TCEB estimates that 400 to 500 participants from events-related industries will attend to listen to presentations and make comments.
World Expo 2010, from 1 May to 31 October, in Shanghai, China
TCEB president, Akapol Sorasuchart, said a feasibility committee headed by former Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Phornsiri Manoharn, was preparing a presentation.
“The team has gained information from the organisers of World Expo, held in Aichi, Japan, in 2005. Now they are travelling to China to gain information from the organisers of the upcoming World Expo 2010, which will be held in Shanghai this May.”
Also, the selection of a suitable venue for the venture would need to go through the public bidding process as it would require significant budget support from the government to upgrade infrastructure and provide suitable transport to the site.
Earlier, Mr Akapol had prepared a proposal to be presented to the Thai Cabinet later this month or in March. He postponed that schedule until after the public hearing when he hopes to gain enough feedback and comment to add weight to a revised proposal.
Based on TCEB’s estimates, World Expo 2020 would cost the government about Bt20 billion. The breakdown is: 0.2% for a feasibility study; 0.8% for bids; 42% for infrastructure development; 30% for venue construction; 15% for surrounding area development; 7% for accommodation construction and 5% for public relations and road shows.
TCEB claims the event could earn the country as much as Bt167 billion in direct revenue, based on 30 million domestic and international visitors paying an entrance fee of Bt200 per head per day, as well as collateral spending during the event itself.
However, the bureau has already established what it calls plan B. If the committee fails to gain approval for a World Exp bid, it will then hand in a comparative bid study on the International Expo, during 2022-2033, which is a smaller version of World Expo.
The nearest dream for TCEB’s leader is to create stronger demand for Thai MICE business. Over the next several years there will be more new convention facilities coming up. Consider your nearest mission first to prove that you can achieve it before dreaming the impossible dream.
The positive side of the coin is that Thailand infrastructure (both hardware and software) must be speedily developed to cater for the large number of visitors coming for the World Expo 2020.
I want to know what “Positively yours” is on, because they don’t appear to serve it at Soi Cowboy.
I invite other TTR readers to think about this: I have NEVER MET anyone who even considered visiting an Expo. Does anyone out there know anybody? It’s the most absurd waste of resources and thus perfectly suited to this waste of space.
Just look at Greece and the fact that they lost the farm on the Olympics. Nothing more to say here, because Thailand will never be ready for such an event. Montreal is still paying for Expo 67, almost 40 years later. Thailand is too small, backward and corrupt to handle such an enormous project. Nice junkets, though, for the chosen few to Shanghai. Time to grow up and accept third world status.