Thai Airways International sponsors APEC SME Meeting

Thai Airways International is one of the official sponsors of the upcoming APEC 2003 Meeting hosted by Thailand. On this occasion, THAI will participate by setting up an exhibition booth at the APEC SME Meeting, to be held from 7-8 August 2003 in Chiang Mai. THAI will exhibit samples of SME products and products from the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) project that THAI supports.

THAI’s President, Mr. Kanok Abhiradee, said that THAI is one of the official sponsors of the APEC 2003 Meeting. The related event, APEC SME Meeting, will benefit small and medium size enterprises in Thailand by helping them to develop their products to world class standards. THAI itself has been a supporter of SME and OTOP products since 2002, with the cooperation of the SME Promotion Office in the selection process. The products supported by THAI are divided into five categories: snacks, inflight sale items, passenger giveaways, raw catering materials, and products from THAI Shop.

Among the SME and OTOP snacks served on board THAI flights are khanom pia with different fillings, cashew nut cookies and khao taen song krueng, with more items under selection. The THAI Shop is also working closely with the SME Promotion Office to include OTOP products at its various shop branches.

Since 2 August 2003, THAI has placed a catalog of OTOP products on all its domestic flights so passengers may make product selections, place their orders in the comfort of the flight, and receive products by home delivery. This service is currently only available on domestic routes.

THAI’s exhibition booth at the APEC SME Meeting aims to aid in promotion and sales for local manufacturers, allowing the public greater access to local products, and promote folk wisdom as well as quality local products to the rest of the world.