delegates will be safe - TCEB

With a large tourism convention involving many foreign participants opening yesterday amid growing violence on Bangkok's streets, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) joined Singaporean convention organiser TTG Asia Media in pleading for calm.

The two organisations said they wished to assure international media and delegates attending the Incentive Travel and Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia-Pacific 2008 convention that they were safe in Bangkok.

The convention opened yesterday at the Bangkok Convention Centre in CentralWorld and will close late tomorrow.

Electrolux Thailand and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Chaiyos both postponed scheduled press conferences yesterday out of fear that participants could be hurt in the growing violence. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Chaiyos planned to reveal the results of a study of Thailand's business ranking.

A public-relations officer at a Bangkok hotel expressed concern the violence could affect function room bookings.

"Bookings for October just returned to normal recently after the state of emergency in September," she said.