Two years ago Thailand’s capital Bangkok became the most visited city in the world, overtaking destinations like Paris and London. Tourism is thriving in the country accounting for 22% of its GDP in 2018 and Thailand is expecting a record 41.1 million foreign tourists in 2019. Unsurprisingly, air travel companies are taking note. Bangkok is becoming one of the top attractions for aviation industry giants and new government initiatives are utilizing flourishing economy to make Thailand a technology and aerospace hub of the future.
That’s why one of the biggest international aviation events AIR Convention – conference, exhibition and awards – is moving to Bangkok, bringing with it over 1500 leading industry companies with over 100 airline reps. Among the participants are Thai, Air Asia, Virgin Australia, Air France, Finnair, London Stansted, Manchester Airport, Toronto Pearson, GE Aviation, Rolls Royce, Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and hundreds of others.
During the event, nearly 100 speakers will examine Asia’s and especially Thailand’s booming growth, dealing with capacity and Bangkok’s future as an aerospace hub. The conference will focus on four major themes in the industry – commercial aviation, aviation technology, finance and customer behavior – covering everything from A to Z in the market.
According to the event organizer Skaiste Knyzaite now is the perfect time to get in on the ground floor for what is happening in Bangkok. “It’s becoming the new Singapore. Travelers are already flocking to the region on unprecedented rates and the country is quickly catching up – the infrastructure getting built will handle massive volumes of passengers, cargo and other industry demands like MRO facilities. It‘s truly becoming Asia‘s hot spot for the aviation industry, yet there is still so much explore,“ shares Skaiste Knyzaite.
Thai government is also taking significant steps to boost innovation. Most notably, Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Development Plan under scheme of Thailand 4.0 aims to drive the country’s innovation and advance technology. Its goal is to build a regional aerospace hub anchored by U-Tapao Airport that includes facilities for MRO, cargo logistics, manufacturing and aviation training.
Currently Thailand’s Ministry of Transport is collaborating with foreign partners including Airbus and, possibly, Air Asia to grow its aviation maintenance workforce and expand its MRO capabilities to cater to Asia’s aircraft boom.
„The conference will also focus on MRO industry in Asia and its role on a global scale. Experts will overview best practices in dealing with growing demand, efficiency reducing costs, implementing latest technology and more,“ ads AIR Convention organizer.
The in-service fleets within Asia are expected to nearly triple from 6900 to 2000 aircraft in the next two decades. And considering the golden age for infrastructure and technology going on in Thailand, it’s no wonder why industry leaders are looking to Bangkok. Its potential as Asia‘s aerospace hub is yet to be fully discovered, but events like AIR Convention aim to solidify Bangkok’s role as the center of Asia’s aviation.
„AIR Convention back in September, 2018 held in Vilnius, Lithuania welcomed great success attracting over 700 attendees to network and share insights with companies like Emirates, United, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) , and Etihad Airways, Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and more. The event in Bangkok is expected to double that number – currently we estimate that over 1500 industry leaders will be at AIR Convention Asia including Air Canada (ADH2) , Flydubai, NOK Air, Turkish Airlines, Etihad, Delta, United and hundreds more,“ says Ms. Knyzaite.
The conference will explore Thailand‘s and Asia‘s growth, market trends, technology innovations and dealing with booming air travel capacity. The event takes place on May 1st – 3rd in Bangkok, Thailand. For more information visit: https://asia.airconvention.com/.