Messe Düsseldorf Asia ready to support Thailand’s position as an international medical hub by organizing Medical Fair Thailand 2023, the largest healthcare exhibition in Southeast Asia, featuring over 800 exhibitors from 40 countries. With highlights 3 major future medical trends: aging society – mental health – emerging diseases, Thailand’s changing economic landscape, society, environment, and lifestyle will increasingly support new innovation and business, especially care services for the elderly.
Mr. Gernot Ringling, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf Asia, revealed that due to the growth of medical businesses and continued investments in healthcare technologies, Messe Düsseldorf, as a partner with over 20 years of hosting global events in Thailand, is ready to support economic growth by organizing “Medical Fair Thailand 2023”. The event bolsters Thailand’s position as an international medical hub, featuring over 800 exhibitors from more than 40 countries, presenting all aspects of medical and healthcare innovations, such as diagnostic tools, infection control systems, rehabilitation equipment, medical electronics, etc. These innovations are ready to be expanded to businesses and medical cooperation in the ASEAN market. The latest Medical Fair Thailand was held in 2019, and after 4 years, the event is back to invigorate the medical industry. All exhibition spaces have already been reserved since June.
Medical Fair Thailand is a leading platform for sourcing and procurement – where distrbutors, manufacturers, brand names come together with the healthcare industry in the heart of Southeast Asia. There are 3 main sections in the Medical Fair: 1) Startup Park, fostering business collaboration and promoting startup growth together with public health; 2) Community Health Pavilion, focusing on innovations and solutions that align with future healthcare trends, including smart devices for disease management, elderly care, and physical rehabilitation; and 3) Medical Equipment Industry Pavilion, the special pavilion debuted in Thailand for the first time, presenting innovations related to materials, products, packaging, advanced services, microprocessors, and nanotechnology. This health tech growth will significantly boost investment and regional economic development,” remarked Mr. Gernot
Dr. Chaiyatorn Limapornvanich, Director of Innovation Strategy Department and Innovation Foresight Institute (IFI) emphasized that IFI, as a specialized institute under the National Innovation Agency (NIA), promotes and supports the use of foresight to monitor social trends, analyze, systematically plan for future societal developments, and establish the direction for long-term development. Thailand’s changing economic landscape, society, environment, and lifestyle will increasingly impact mental health every year. However, access to mental health services is not yet comprehensive, thus technology and innovation are essential to improving Thai people’s mental well-being. Numerous Thai startups have introduced various innovative services to cater to different aspects of mental health, such as deep listening courses, an application that introduces health-promoting events, and chatbots that collect data for depression risk analysis.
In addition to this, Thailand must be prepared to address the emergence of new diseases, which are associated with various factors such as the increasing population straining natural resources, decreasing biodiversity, and changing climate conditions. These factors create an environment conducive to the spread of bacteria and viruses, leading to the potential emergence of new diseases that could impact health security, and cause economic and societal damage. Therefore, these factors must be taken into account regarding the country’s development.
Dr. Khanat Kruthkul, President of the Health and Elderly Establishment Confederation (HEC) stated that global research indicates that by 2050, the world’s population aged 60 and above will account for more than 21.5% of the total population, equivalent to over 2.092 billion people. By 2033, Thailand is projected to enter the advanced aging society (with the population aged 60 and above constituting more than 28% of the total population). This population is expected to possess substantial spending power. There are prosperous businesses catering to the elderly, including health service providers, health food businesses, furniture companies, beauty businesses, and elderly tourism. Especially noteworthy is the business of elderly care services. According to TTB Analytics, businesses providing care services for the elderly will receive a boost from the current population structure, characterized by a decreasing birth rate and reduced reliance on families. This is projected to expand the value of the elderly care business to approximately 19.2 billion baht by 2033.
Dr. Khanat further explained that the elderly market has a tendency to grow, yet it is still insufficient and unable to keep up with the increasing number of elderly, rising life expectancy, and decreasing mortality rates. Hence, the market needs to adapt and expand rapidly. The health tech industry can experience sustained growth in B2B formats, such as patient data management systems, staff and medication allocation, telemedicine consultation platforms, comprehensive health service linking platforms, early-stage disease AI diagnosis, and B2C formats, such as health data applications, virtual fitness classes, home healthcare services, at-home elderly and patient care, and at-home medical equipment.
The Medical Fair Thailand 2023 is supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization). The event will take place from 13-15 September 2023 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Bangna, and from 16-22 September 2023 on a virtual platform to expand accessibility. In addition to the medical and healthcare sectors, the event will encompass import-export businesses, education and research, technology, innovation, and various industries. The exhibition will feature medical and healthcare products from leading global organizations, including world-class medical conferences. For more information on the 10th Medical Fair Thailand, please visit www.medicalfair-thailand.com.
