CHIANG RAI– Growers of coffee and tea took a big step forward as a city for MICE events, hosting the Global Coffee and Tea Association Forum 2025 . The event featured a mix of conferences, exhibitions, and hands-on visits to leading farms.
Experts from 11 countries joined forces to boost the Thai coffee and tea industry and put Chiang Rai on the world stage.
Phuripan Bunnag, Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), shared that Chiang Rai is pushing to prove itself as a top destination for coffee and tea.
The city hosted the “Global Coffee and Tea Association Forum 2025: Shaping the Future Together,” drawing 46 international delegates from 11 countries, including Australia, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. The event welcomed a total of 211 participants.
Attendees exchanged ideas, built business connections, and explored new ways to grow. They toured both tea and coffee farms, visited processing factories, and sampled local products. This helped open new doors for Chiang Rai’s coffee and tea sector to thrive.
The forum took place from 17-20 July 2025, thanks to teamwork between several key players like the Tea and Coffee Institute of Mae Fah Luang University, Singha Park Chiang Rai Co Ltd, and TCEB.
This forum followed international symposiums held in 2023 and 2024, aiming to promote knowledge sharing and new business opportunities. The event also gave Chiang Rai’s tea and coffee producers a chance to meet with overseas buyers and showcase their strengths.
Chiang Rai used this opportunity to shine as a host city for major business events. The forum showed how MICE events can support local agriculture, helping the area become a centre for coffee and tea production and sales in Thailand and the region. Looking ahead, Chiang Rai is set to become a regular host for both national and international coffee and tea festivals.
Sharing Coffee and Tea Knowledge on a Global Stage
The event began with a conference and roundtable at Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort. Experts and entrepreneurs from countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Denmark, Australia, Vietnam, and Thailand joined in.
They talked about industry challenges, product development, sustainability, reducing carbon footprints, blending and flavour innovations, and changing consumer trends with a focus on health. Research findings, processing techniques, and production innovations were also presented.
The exhibition “Chiang Rai Brewtopia Green Season” took place at the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. Mr. Rujtisak Rangsi, Deputy Governor of Chiang Rai, Phuripan Bunnag, and Assistant Professor Dr. Piyaporn Chuemchaitharagul from the Tea and Coffee Institute led the opening.
More than 40 local tea and coffee businesses took part, offering products from hill tribe growers, new start-ups, and community artisans. Both local and international visitors had a chance to shop, taste, and build business links. Workshops, business talks, and live demonstrations rounded out the event.
Field Visits Highlight Chiang Rai’s Strengths
To showcase the area’s reputation for quality coffee and tea, the “A Cup to Village” activity took international guests to some of Chiang Rai’s model farms and factories.
Stops included Choui Fong tea plantation in Mae Chan, known for its organic step-farming and award-winning oolong, and Wang Putan tea farm at Mae Salong, which has helped develop the local community with high-grade oolong and black tea. The black tea there won the Grand Gold Prize at the World Green Tea Contest 2021.
Guests also visited Doi Chang coffee in Mae Suai, a standout example of successful Arabica farming introduced through royal projects and now exported to more than 10 countries, with GI certification from the EU. The tour ended with a coffee cupping session at the “Queen of Coffee” café.
Being the host of the Global Coffee and Tea Association Forum 2025 is another big step for Chiang Rai as a MICE city. In 2024, the city entered the ICCA rankings for the first time, holding two qualifying events. In 2025, Chiang Rai will welcome the AIPH Spring Meeting and Green City Conference by the International Association of Horticultural Producers in February, along with the PATA Destination Marketing Forum in November.
Phuripan Bunnag added that TCEB’s strategy focuses on spreading MICE events to secondary cities with unique qualities. Chiang Rai’s strong heritage in tea and coffee is clear proof of its appeal to international organizers. The city is now firmly on the map as a global MICE destination.
