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TTM trials table-top talks

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BANGKOK, 8 June 2018: Thailand’s premier travel show TTM, to be hosted in Pattaya, 13 to 15 June, will showcase the government’s ambitious plans to extend trade and tourism along the Gulf of Thailand’s eastern seaboard.

With an inventory exceeding 50,000 hotel rooms, Pattaya will have a pivotal role to play as mega projects unfold along the eastern seaboard.

The government’s master plan outlines an ambitious USD 45 billion investment in Thailand’s eastern seaboard region.

Ocean Marina site plan for TTM 2018

Tagged the Eastern Economic Corridor, the region stretches from just north of Pattaya along the coast eastwards to Rayong and Chanthaburi provinces covering a distance of more than 250 km.

A key component is the massive upgrade of nearby U-Tapao airport 36 km south of Pattaya.

Other projects include the opening of fast speed rail lines by 2023 that will link the east coast airport to Bangkok’s two gateway airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.

Phase one of a long-term expansion at U-Tapao airport is already underway. Initially it will upgrade terminal capacity from 3 to 5 million passengers annually by 2020.

Today, airlines offer flights from 26 cities to U-Tapao, mainly in Asia. Qatar Airways introduced services last year that cuts the travel time for European tourists who can reach U-Tapao and the resorts of the eastern seaboard on a one-stop route via Doha.

In light of these developments, hosting the country’s national travel show backs the government’s long-term vision for the region.

“To host the country’s biggest B2B tourism event in Pattaya is a part of the government’s plan to promote the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)… it will transform the ECC into a leading economic zone in Southeast Asia,” the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Weerasak Kowsurat, told a preview press conference last week.

Adopting the theme, ‘Million Shades of Romance’, Thailand Travel Mart Plus Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion (TTM+) opens at the Ocean Marina complex on Jomtien Bay, Pattaya, next week.

The event will spread out on the forecourt of the luxury yacht marina with networking and dining kiosks, while the trade show will be hosted next to the Ocean Marina’s main building and parking lot in two interconnected, custom-built marquees.

Around 176 international buyers have been invited to attend and they will have pre-arranged appointments with 313 seller organisers from Thailand and neighbouring Mekong region countries.

Buyers will have an opportunity to check out destinations along the eastern seaboard by joining post-show tours.  For European buyer the fact that Qatar Airways now flies to U-Tapao direct from Doha could encourage them to create new east Thailand itineraries from the eastern seaboard airport covering east coast Thailand and even Siem Reap in Cambodia.

TTM’s post tours are focusing on Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces and the neighbouring GMS country of Cambodia, which borders Trat province and is easily accessible by both road and sea.

TAT post show surveys suggest that the TTM’s business platform is instrumental in securing an estimated THB 1.5 billion (USD 41.2 million) in business between tour operators and travel content suppliers.

Over the duration of the show, each buyer has 32 pre-arranged appointments with sellers.

Of the 313 seller organisations around 90% are from Thailand with the others from Greater Mekong Subregion countries (Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam).

Hotels and resorts comprise the largest group of sellers and they also record the highest value of business, estimated at THB 1 billion (USD 30 million) for the 2017 show.

For the first time in its 17-year history, TTM changes the format from booths to table tops to accommodate the space restrictions imposed by the marquee dimensions.

The lack of  an exhibition hall at the Ocean Marina prompted the switch from booths to table-top rentals in order to fit the venue’s available space and the use of marquees. It may have also led to a downsizing in buyer and seller registration. Last year, TAT reported that 419 buyers and 358 seller organisations registered.

This year, TAT confirmed 336 tables (as opposed to booths) for 313 seller organisations, including 71 newcomers and 265 return sellers.  (Late confirmations, or registrations on site could change the final tally.)

The sellers’ list includes 16 organisations in the luxury and romance business, five associations, nine entertainment businesses, 240 hotels and resorts, 22 tour companies, two transportation companies, and eight other travel related services as well as 11 from the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries.

In its latest update in May, TAT confirmed 176 buyers with a breakdown of 126 first time buyers and 150 return buyers. There are 124 buyers from the EU, Africa and the Middle East; 66 from East Asia; 65 from ASEAN, South Asia and the South Pacific; and 23 from the Americas.

This year TAT affirmed that the buyers list would major on tour companies involved in romance travel (weddings and honeymoons) and luxury travel content and tours.

Official hotels for buyers and media:
Movenpick Pattaya Hotel;
Ravindra Beach Resort & Spa;
Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa;
Royal Cliff Grand Hotel;
Pullman Pattaya Hotel G.

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