Last Updated: 06 Aug, 2026 By Privage
After Global MarTech Integration Day in Manila in May 2026, the team at Privage, a CRM and loyalty program platform for Thai businesses, joined the same event again, this time in Chiang Mai on August 3–5, 2026. The challenge felt much closer to home: how can marketing technology help Chiang Mai become a Global MICE City, a world-class destination for meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions?
Themed "MarTech x MICE City", the event was organized by the MarTech Association (Thailand) and the Northern Digital Business Association (NDEA), with support from TCEB and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). The main day, August 4 in Grand Ballroom 3 of the Chiangmai Grandview Hotel & Convention Center, brought together about 300 people from 30 MarTech companies, more than 100 public and private organizations, and 5 innovation companies from South Korea: Alicorn Inc., DOWHAT, Studio Galilei, The Hyuil and Birdybee.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Boonlue Thammatharanurak, Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai, together with Chaiyapong Lapliengtrakul, President of the MarTech Association (Thailand); Dr. Nicha Singburaudom, Senior Manager of TCEB's Northern Office; Mrs. Sehee Kim of the Korea Tourism Organization; and Narong Tananuwat, President of NDEA.
Chaiyapong set the tone: cities no longer compete only on places and beauty, but on their ability to use technology, data and innovation.
The numbers shared at the event showed how big the challenge is. Papon Thepsan of NDEA said about 80% of technology providers' clients are in Bangkok or overseas, while businesses in the North use these solutions only 10–20% of the time. Supada Chaiwong of TCEB pointed to Chiang Mai's biggest pain point: data scattered across many places, to the point that the city still has no single event calendar. TCEB has set a 3-year plan, starting with a year of learning, then development and AI upgrades in years two and three.
Listening to this, our team couldn't help noticing that what the city faces is exactly what many businesses face every day.
An early highlight was the Panel Discussion, which brought marketing technology leaders together to discuss how MICE businesses can use AI, Marketing Automation, CRM, CDP and Data Analytics to improve visitor experiences and create business opportunities. It was moderated by Kulcha Uchukanonchai, Vice President of the MarTech Association and CEO of BeTask Consulting, with four speakers:
For our team, the topics on this panel are what we work on every day, especially CRM and customer data, the starting point for everything else, from automation to AI. Without customer data in one place, even the smartest tools have nothing to work with.
The whole Privage leadership team was there: Amat Suwannarat, CEO & Founder; Rusada Noisong, CMO & Co-Founder; and Pakpoom Somroop, Head of Development Team.
Rusada served as the event's host, guiding attendees through the day from the opening ceremony and the Panel Discussion all the way to the award announcements.
Meanwhile, Amat and the team ran our booth in the MarTech Solution Showcase, presenting our CRM and loyalty program to business owners who stopped by, and joined Business Matching with MICE businesses in the North, including hotels, restaurants and wellness operators. The conversations kept returning to the same questions: how do we get to know our customers better, and how do we bring back guests who only stay a few days?
From 9:00 a.m., the MarTech Solution Pitching got underway, with 10 teams from Bangkok and Chiang Mai building solutions for Chiang Mai's MICE industry. One of them was Team 3 CreateCNX, in which Amat joined forces with two other companies, each bringing its own strength:
Together, the team covered the full customer journey: drawing customers in, engaging them on site, then capturing their data and bringing them back. It's the same idea we saw in Manila: strong solutions usually come from connecting several layers of tools, rather than asking one tool to do everything.
At the end of the competition, team J2Win and its Thailand MICE Connect won Best Innovation of the Year, team Ngụd and POR MUANG won Best Technology Utilization of the Year, and team Eventmize and its Destination Intelligence & Experience Platform won Popular MarTech Solution of the Year. Congratulations to all three teams.
According to media reports, the event is expected to generate over 16 million baht in economic circulation and business opportunities through business matching and joint solution development.
If a whole city has no single place for its event data, individual businesses are likely no different. Customer data sits in booking books, LINE chats, Facebook pages and POS systems. When it's time to run a promotion, nobody knows who has visited before or what offer to send to whom.
Apply it: Start by bringing customer data into one CRM — for example, invite customers to join your membership via LINE OA on their first visit. This first-party data belongs to your business and powers every future campaign.
10–20% sounds small, but it's also an opportunity. Northern businesses that start using customer data now can pull ahead right away, and they don't need a big system to do it. Today's membership and loyalty tools can start at low cost, with no IT team.
Apply it: Choose tools your front-line staff can use immediately, set one measurable goal — such as the repeat-visit rate within 90 days — and expand once you see results.
Meeting delegates and MICE travelers usually stay only a few days. Businesses that capture contact details and offer perks on the first visit have a better chance of bringing them back for a personal trip or a referral. And if hotels, restaurants and wellness businesses in the city share points or coupons, guests have more reasons to spend across the city.
Apply it: Design a loyalty or coupon program that works across local partners — the same idea as the cross-border loyalty network we presented in the Philippines. Read more: Global MarTech Integration Day 2026 Philippines Recap
Two stages a few months apart, in different countries with different challenges, yet we heard the same thing: businesses want one system that keeps customer data in one place and helps customers come back. The Privage team will take what we learned from Northern business owners to make our CRM and loyalty tools easier for hotels, restaurants and service businesses outside Bangkok.
As one of the Community Sponsors of the MarTech Association (Thailand), we thank the Association, NDEA, TCEB, KTO and all partners for building a stage that brings marketing technology to regional businesses.
A seminar and business matching event themed "MarTech x MICE City", held in Chiang Mai on August 3–5, 2026, organized by the MarTech Association (Thailand) and NDEA and supported by TCEB and KTO. It featured a Panel Discussion, Business Matching and a MarTech Solution Pitching competition to help position Chiang Mai as a Global MICE City.
Team J2Win won Best Innovation of the Year, team Ngụd won Best Technology Utilization of the Year, and team Eventmize won Popular MarTech Solution of the Year.
Bring customer data from every channel into one system, capture it from the customer's first visit — for example through LINE OA membership sign-up — then use points or perks to give customers a reason to return.
Want to know your customers better and bring them back?
Start building your membership and loyalty program with Privage. Sign up for free
Written by: Varintorn Sinlapakitkosol, Marketing Communication Team, Privage
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