Issue 42

Horizon Thailand interviews Japanese flower artist and designer Yuichi Maetani, who is also an advisor to the DITP in promoting Thai wedding products in Japan. Maetani presented three different wedding themes at the BIG/BIH fair in September 2015 – Natural, Luxury and Modern Black.

Can you tell us how you started working with the DITP?
Three years ago I came to the BIG/BIH fair in Thailand and I saw the potential of Thai goods. If we present Thai products as part of wedding packages Japanese people will be much more interested. In 2014, I worked with the DITP to look into Thai goods for hotel interiors and weddings in Japan, however, in 2015, I focused more on products for wedding packages.

Why is the DITP promoting Thai products for hotels and weddings?
In Japan, 40% of hotel incomes are from weddings, as most Japanese people hold weddings in hotels. Hotels would usually sell all-in-one wedding packages, so the bride and groom would compare wedding packages from each hotel. Therefore, hotels have to be ready to present different wedding themes. The wedding trend changes every two years so hotels have to impress brides and grooms. Big hotels need to have a variety of themes so they have to prepare and work hard because the competition is extremely high. Also, if we present individual items to hotel purchasing managers they won’t understand the overall image, so we present the different wedding themes so they see the potential of products from Thailand

What do you think are the strengths of Thai businesses?
Thai entrepreneurs have the high skills to produce quality goods. In the past they may not have focused too much on the market, however, if Thai SMEs have the information on what target markets want they will be able to produce things that match the target better.

Can you tell us about some of the hotels you’ve worked with?
I’ve brought Thai products to the Sheraton Maihama in Tokyo. It’s the hotel that holds the most weddings in Japan, with about 3,000 weddings per year. The nature of the Japanese market is very competitive. If Thai products can enter this hotel, other hotels that keep an eye on the latest trends will become interested in wedding products from Thailand too.

How can Thai entrepreneurs ensure competitiveness in the international market?
Now websites can be used as a portal to promote any new products they may have, eliminating the need for buyers to fly to Thailand. Thai entrepreneurs should keep up with the market to stay relevant.