Currently at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in south-east central Bangkok, diving enthusiasts and business representatives are being offered great deals and making new business relationships. Representing Similan Diving Tours and No Troubles, Just Bubbles, we had a very successful day today.
Trade Expos mean different things to different people. Potential customers go in search of the best deals on diving packages and equipment. Companies who rent a booth for the weekend do so to drum up some business which they may not get otherwise. Then there’s companies like us, who walk around aiming to build new relationships for the future, both in Thailand and around ASEAN. We also gave away hundreds of goodies to the staff and public.
TDEX is free to enter for the public, although the entry process is a little drawn out. Every vistor must fill in a form about themselves and their reason for coming, then queue up to have the details entered into a computer system by the staff. However, once inside, it’s all good. There are presentations on stage and lots of good things to see, buy and get for free. Everyone’s in a positive mood, and there’s no pushy-pushy sales.
We were very surprised to see such little promotion of the west coast of Thailand, including almost nothing at all for The Similan & Surin Islands National Marine Parks. We appreciate that the event was badly timed for the closure of those parks, but this is without doubt the best diving area in Thailand. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see more than the expected number of dive operators from outside Thailand, including Indonesia, Malaysia and The Maldives. This gave us the opportunity to meet and greet and begin some partnerships which we expect to be long and fruitful.
The expo is open from 11.00am to 8.00pm for the rest of the weekend, and with such a good location and public transport Bangkok’s underground MRT system) it’s well worth a visit. There’s lots to see and do in the building, with plenty of places to eat inside.
