Thailand's chances for the World Expo 2020

The first World Exposition was held in London in 1851. At the time it was called “The Great Exhibition” and was intended to promote the industrial achievements of the various participating countries. The United Kingdom hosted the event because they, at the time, were of course the most industrialised nation in the world and the Crystal Palace they built to house the national pavilions was received as a wonder of engineering.

This focus on engineering marvels has continued to the present day. The World Expo is seen as a chance for host nations to promote themselves through what is now called “national branding”. For this reason, the chance to host the World Expo in 2020 is extremely important to Thailand as it will be the perfect means by which to re-brand the country following the highly-publicised political instability that gripped Bangkok for several weeks in 2010.

Thailand’s qualifications are not disputed. The country is one of the most developed in Asia and is a Southeast Asian powerhouse with an emerging economy that recorded some of the greatest and most consistent growth in the world during the late 80s and early 90s. In addition, 2010 has proven to be the year of the emerging economies in terms of winning bids of major world events and actually hosting international exhibitions and events.

South Africa pulled off a FIFA World Cup that was as flawless as could be expected and Shanghai in China has astounded international visitors with its new development projects and architectural marvels during the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Brazil was chosen in 2010 to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and in the same year New Delhi in India hosted the Commonwealth Games, although the event was marred by some bad publicity initially.

All in all then, Thailand’s chances are considered strong and the three cities within Thailand that are competing for the prestigious right to host the World Expo 2020 are each strong contenders within their own right.

Pattaya in Chon Buri sits on a bay after which the city is named and contains a skyline that bears a close resemblance to the iconic images of Rio de Janeiro. It is the most visited city in the country after the capital and is therefore adept at managing large tourist numbers. The city has a number of advantages over its other local competitors.

Senee Jitkasem, the governor of Chon Buri, has been drumming up support for Pattaya and recently told Thailand news media that the city is the best-suited for hosting the event because of its public infrastructure and geographical location. The city is less than an hour’s drive by car from Bangkok and is close to the airports of Pattaya, Suvarnabhumi and U-tapao (Suvarnabhumi and U-tapao are 30 and 10 minutes away by car respectively).

A 1,500-rai plot of land has been set aside for the hosting of the main features of the Expo, such as the national pavilions and such, and this locality is close to major attractions within the city as it is located near Thammasat University's Pattaya campus, Pattaya Country Club & Resort Golf Courses and Bira Circuit, the only internationally ceritified racetrack in Thailand.

The Laem Chabang deep-sea port, the 20^th largest port in the world, would provide localized access to major transport routes for the import of building materials and a high-speed railway line is being considered for construction in the run up to the Expo in order to link the city with Bangkok.

Jitkasem has insisted in interviews with Thailand news media that Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai are too far from Bangkok and from major airport to be of any real consideration for hosting the World Expo 2020.

Ayutthaya is the capital of the province by the same name, the city’s bid to host the World Expo encompasses the province as a whole, although the 4,000 rai of land that will be set aside for use in core and non-core World Expo events is located in the city itself, according to a feasibility paper obtained by Thailand news provider, Bangkok Post.

The Bang Sai Arts and Crafts Training Centre would be the main site for the hosting of the World Expo and the city and wider province would be extensively modernised to host the event, according to Thossapol Wangsilabat, chairman of the Ayutthaya Industrial Council. But, the city is fairly isolated, the closest major airport is an hour’s drive away, which is roughly the same driving time to Bangkok, while train and riverboat connections are the primary forms of direct access to the city.

Chiang Mai is the most culturally and commercially significant city in the north of Thailand and has excellent transport links to the rest of the country and the wider region, as it is a trade center for member of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and the Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIST-EC).

The city’s huge advantage is that it is already a tourist mecca and features world-class infrastructure, as was shown by Travel and Leisure Magazine when it ranked the city as one of the world’s greatest tourism destinations. The praise from the US-based magazine has formed an integral part of the city’s bid.

The city’s hotel sector is geared toward meeting, conference and exhibitions services and the 36,000 hotel rooms make it capable of hosting the large visitors numbers expected with relatively little need for further extensive hotel development, which is seen as not only unfeasible due to the limited nature of the World Expo, but also economically prohibitive.

Chiang Mai is also considering a high-speed rail link to Bangkok. High-speed rail is a national government policy to improve transport in the country generally, with discussions taking place in China, a country that has shown interest in investing in the national transport network. But, the hosting of the World Expo 2020 would give the project added drive.

However, disharmony in government and mass transit is the greatest impediment to Thailand’s chances. The political turmoil in Bangkok did great damage to the country’s reputation, casting the entire nation as unstable when in fact the opposite is true, furthermore, massive investment is needed to harmonise the mass transit systems in the country.

There is no easy transition between air, land and water travel and these linkages need to be developed, as they have been in Shanghai. Analysts have also warned that the intercity railways and busses of the country must be upgraded to meet international expectations.

The World Expo 2020 will indeed be a great event for the country to host. It will cost around Bt20 billion to prepare facilities at the event's venues, but Bt160 billion could potentially be injected back into the country’s economy. Thailand has ten years to prepare if we win the bid in 2011.