Thailand, a land of fascinating cultures, bustling cities and spectacular islands, is quickly becoming one of Asia’s hottest destinations for the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry. The country of nearly 70 million residents wasn’t hit by the global economic crisis nearly as hard as Europe and the United States, as evident in its recent growth numbers.

In 2012 alone, Thailand’s economy grew 5.5 percent thanks to a combination of public and private monies. The meetings industry was a significant driver in this growth. More than 895,000 visitors flooded into the country in 2012, a figure nearly 19 percent higher than expected, according to the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, or TCEB. That number is on pace to grow by 10 percent in 2013 to around 940,000 visitors.

More than 9.4 percent of all tourism earnings came from the meetings industry in 2012, which accounted for .58 percent of the country’s total gross domestic product. Conventions accounted for the largest share, at 33 percent. Corporate meetings and incentive travel came in a close second and third at 25 percent and 24 percent, respectively. All of this business added the equivalent of more than $2.5 billion into Thailand’s economy.

Around 65 percent of Thailand’s MICE business comes from Asian countries. India leads the pack by having brought 74,941 meetings visitors in 2012, followed by China (63,955), Japan (45,424) and Korea (37,175). The United States is Thailand’s eighth-most frequent MICE customer, sending 21,786 delegates to the Southeast Asian country in 2012.

The effect of MICE meetings on Thailand’s economy is tremendous. Last year, the country hosted more than 7,300 meeting events (a 6.84 percent increase from 2011). Delegates stayed an average of 5.54 days and spent the equivalent of around $515 per person, per day.

BANGKOK IS Thailand’s largest meeting hub and is considered by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau as one of the country’s four “MICE Cities.” With 9.1 million residents, the bustling city offers Suvarnabhumi International Airport just 20 minutes from the city center and reliable mass transit systems via a skyway, subway and bus services. Nearly 300 hotels and 60,000 hotel rooms (just in the Central Business District) reside in Bangkok. The city offers 1.1 million square feet of meeting space; its largest venue is IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Center, which houses some 640,000 square feet of group gathering space.

The Challenger Building at IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Center, Bangkok © Mooindy | Dreamstime.com

Other major meeting facilities in Bangkok (there are seven convention and exhibition centers in the city) include the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC, for short), which houses 540,000 square feet of useful event space; and Royal Paragon Hall Exhibition & Convention Center, which has 129,000 square feet of space.

Meeting hotels abound in Bangkok. One of the most popular (and largest) is The Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, with 1,250 guestrooms and a 14,800-square-foot ballroom. Other popular MICE hotels include the 799-room Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok with 26 function rooms for group gatherings; and the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers, which has 726 guestrooms, sits on the Chao Phraya River and provides groups with 28,000 square feet of conference space.

CHIANG MAI IS ANOTHER TCEB-deemed “MICE City.” It is located about 430 miles north of Bangkok in the country’s northernmost region and offers 33,000 hotel rooms. The city has an international airport (the third largest in the country) and is a serious player in meetings space (especially craft meetings space), having attracted more than 420 events in 2011 alone.

The biggest meetings news out of the city is the spring 2013 opening of the Chiang Mai International Convention and Exhibition Center — formally named The International Convention and Exhibition Centre Commemorating His Majesty’s 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary. The complex houses 1.4 million square feet of space dedicated to MICE-related events.

PATTAYA CITY, LOCATED about 100 miles south of Bangkok on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, is a city of around 1.2 million known as a beachy tourist destination. It has nearly 400 hotels, more than 28,000 guestrooms and more than 100 hotel meeting rooms.

The city’s grandest meeting facility is the beachfront Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel, self-dubbed “The World’s Largest Resort Complex,” which sits on 40 acres and offers 4,210 guestrooms and 74,400 square feet of space for events. The versatile Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, known as PEACH, is another option for meeting planners looking to head to the coast; the property offers views of the Gulf of Thailand.

PHUKET PROVINCE is Thailand’s fourth “MICE City” and is located in the southernmost part of the country. It is Thailand’s largest island and is home to around 500,000 residents. Meeting delegates can access the destination by road, water (there are more than 30 ports, piers and jetties) and air; the Phuket International Airport welcomes 6.7 million passengers each year.

Groups looking for sand and sun head to Phuket and are welcomed by more than 600 hotels and some 37,000 guestrooms. Most of Phuket’s meeting space can be found within its hotels, such as Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort, which offers 14,100 square feet of meeting space for indoor and outdoor events; and the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, which features 15,600 square feet of space.

Set among landscaped parks and gardens, the Royal Phuket Marina also offers space for groups to meet, with a 26,900-square-foot indoor exhibition space and a 43,000-square-foot outdoor exhibition space.