Index Creative Village Plc, the country's largest event organiser, is ramping up exposure in Vietnam with a plan to use Hoi An city in Quang Nam province in central Vietnam as a springboard to expand business to cover bigger cities such as Hanoi next year.
Founder and chief executive Kreingkrai Kanjanapokin said he strongly believes Index's success in Quang Nam province will build up credibility and lead the Vietnamese government to grant more event management rights in bigger cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Index Creative Village was selected late last year by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province to develop unoccupied areas in Hoi An into an Economic-Tourism City through a number of creative projects, including hosting festivals and special events to lure Thai and international tourists, driving Vietnam's expanding economy.
The five-year contract calls for the company to create events and activities at Hoi An, such as the Hoi An Light Festival 2017 held on Jan 27-Feb 5 and the Hoi An International Marathon 2017 on Sunday.
Hoi An tops Vietnam's must-visit list for tourists, boosted by Unesco granting the city World Heritage status for beautiful scenery, arts and culture.
According to Mr Kreingkrai, Hoi An International Marathon 2017 is the first sports event management the company handled.
"I hope next year's Hoi An International Marathon will be much better and more professional in terms of attracting both local and international participants, " said Mr Kreingkrai.
According to the latest report from Index, Thais accounted for 65% of the total runners while 30% were locals and the remaining runners were from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, the UK and France.
He believes hosting the marathon will pave the way for a successful year-end Hoi An Festival during Christmas and New Year holidays, as December is usually the peak season for Hoi An tourism.
Mr Kreingkrai said the Hoi An Festival will be the biggest fair the city has ever held, and Index will introduce a beer park festival, which is a new concept in Vietnam, especially in the historical Hoi An.
The Hoi An Festival will be held for two weeks at the end of this year, and will comprise music and entertainment activities, similar to Thailand's countdown events.
Mr Kreingkrai believes Index will help local beer manufacturers get more engaged with locals and international travellers who join the year-end festival.
According to the Vietnamese government, Da Nang city in 2016 saw 5.51 million tourists, increasing 17.7% from 2015.
The city welcomed 1.66 million international tourists and 3.82 domestic tourists.
In 2016, Hoi An welcomed 2.6 million tourists, up 31% from 2015, and expects to welcome 6.1 million people this year.
In 2016, Vietnam welcomed 10 million international visitors, growth of 26% from 2015, generating about US$18 billion (595 billion baht) worth of revenue.
Total international arrivals in the first eight months this year reached 8.47 million, an increase of 29.7% over the same period last year.
Mr Kreingkrai said the increasing number of flights from low-cost airlines such as Air Asia and Bangkok Airways will attract more Thai and international tourists to Hoi An.
Index Creative Village vowed earlier this year to rev up expansion in Indochina to cash in on opportunities arising from strong economic growth in the region, with Mr Kreingkrai saying this year will see an emphasis on consumer events such as concerts, trade shows and marketing campaigns in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV).
Through its subsidiary ICVeX, Index has had a presence in Myanmar since 2011, and it will strengthen its operations there by focusing on lifestyle and entertainment events that target specific consumer groups.
Activities will include organising concerts, trade shows, product showcasing and marketing campaigns to stimulate consumer spending, and develop economic and human resources to strengthen business ties between Thailand and Myanmar.
In Myanmar, the local subsidiary has held many events such as Myanmar FoodBev 2017, Myanmar Academy Awards 2012 and 2015, Myanmar Countdown 2013 and 2014, Forever Thingyan 2013, and two seasons of Dandaree.
ICVeX also held Cambodia Architect & Decor 2017 in June this year.
Mr Kreingkrai voiced confidence that Index Creative Village will earn 1.7 billion baht in revenue this year, thanks to its new creative business development unit that was recently restructured to focus on three core competencies comprising creative business development, marketing services and I-Project, which provides services for special projects in Thailand and Asean countries such as music festivals, live concerts, seminars, workshops, special courses, exclusive business tours and trade fairs.
Last year, creative business development accounted for 34% of the company's revenues, with marketing services contributing 61% and I-Project 5%, generating 580 million baht, 1.04 billion baht and 85 million baht, respectively.
Thailand's event organising sector was valued at an average of 10 billion baht during 2015-16. Last year, the market reached 12.3 billion baht.
He said the event organising industry was flat in the first half, but activity tends to be more intense and competitive in the second half of the year as many brands are holding more events to drive their sales revenue.
He insisted Thailand's event organising segment is highly competitive and the industry has been facing a slowdown for more than a decade. Expanding to Asean countries, where the market is not as developed, is the most appropriate way to expand.