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Magazines Archives - 2010 Oct
FHT2010 a success on all fronts
Story 4 - Special Review
 DESPITE concerns over the recent political uprisings in Thailands capital, over 26,000 trade professionals turned up at FHT2010, reasserting the events strong international appeal, said David Aitken, managing director of Bangkok Exhibition Services Ltd (BES), the organiser of the show.
Before the show took off, a lot of signals were positive, so we were already expecting good growth. Our pre-sold space exceeded last years by 21%, with a majority of that coming from international sales. So we were clear of the fact that international confidence in Thailand had certainly returned, and people saw Thailand as not only a resilient market, but also a very wealthy one, as far as the tourism and hospitality industry is concerned, Aitken elaborated.
Held from September 15-18, FHT2010 continued to see support from various local industry associations such as the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Thai Hotels Association (THA), the Thai Restaurant Association, the Thai Chefs Association, the Thai Retailers Association, the Food & Beverage Association of Thailand (FBAT), the Executive Housekeepers Association of Thailand, and the Hotels & Building Chief Engineerings Club.
One of the features at this years event was the Thai Hotels Associations 12th Hospitality Industry Congress, which had the theme Thailand Moving Forward. The seminar saw participants from across the hospitality industry attend discussions that explored the future of their industry in Thailand and what lessons they could learn from the crisis in order to move forward.
This is a historic assembly that provides a combined effort to fulfil the needs of Thailands growing tourism and hospitality sectors as well as that of neighbouring countries. In the next five years, when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be effective, the role of the country as the regional gateway to trade, investment and tourism will be very much strengthened, and it will result in rising demand for products and services by these two sectors, said Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the THA.
The show also saw seminars and competitions such as the FBAT International Wine Challenge; various cooking contests; ice-, fruit- and vegetablecarving showpieces and competitions; and wine seminars organised by Siam Winery Trading Plus Co Ltd. Another new addition at FHT2010 was the Thai Spa Associations seminar on the evolution of hotel spas.
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