40 events in Thailand will move online or achieve enhanced online presence this year with the support of Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) as a result of TCEB's Virtual Meeting Space (VMS) project.

The project supports two types of digital initiatives – webinar and offline to online (O2O) exhibitions. Three month after its launch in April, 2020, TCEB has confirmed support for 40 Virtual Meeting Space (VMS), with some events featuring both webinar and O2O components.

For webinars, the VMS support goes toward the preparation and management of the chosen platform. This includes production and preparation of a studio for LIVE as well as enhanced functionalities such as slide presentation, interaction, Q&A and a poll or survey during LIVE. VMS-supported webinars can accommodate up to 1,000 attendees.

For O2O exhibitions, the VMS support can be used for activities related to platform management, exhibitor engagement, and live streaming from a studio or the organiser's venue. These include sequencing, production, system monitoring and technical support to enable exhibitors to showcase their products and services, and conduct online transactions securely.

One mega event has taken place in late May, while the others are scheduled for June to December, 2020.

Significantly, VMS-supported events span a diversity of industries and locations. The mega events serve the toys, sports, design and digital content industries, while the international conventions cover tourism, digital, health, medicine, engineering, horticulture and design. International trade shows, which make up half of VMS recipients, serve the energy, food, infrastructure, franchise business, packaging, health/wellness/beauty and architecture sectors. VMS-supported domestic trade shows are all located outside of Bangkok – in Khon Kaen (northeast), Surat Thani (south) and Chantaburi (east). They serve the automotive, food, beverage, agriculture and franchising trades.

Initial results have been encouraging. Thailand Toy Expo 2020, a mega event, attracted an audience of 72,600. A local seminar by Thai Hotels Association called "Maximizing MICE: Winning the Thai & International MICE Business in a Post COVID-19 World" recorded 3,405 participants. The regional meeting by ASEAN Tourism Association called "A New Normal in Tourism and Creating Travel Bubble" garnered an audience of 3,018.

The VMS project was launched in April as part of TCEB's strategy to equip Thailand's event owners, organisers and associations with the digital expertise to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and thrive in a digitalized marketplace.