CONVENTIONS proved to be the top-scoring business event segment in Thailand over the past year with a congress in Bangkok by soccer world-governing body Fifa being one of the highlights.
Figures from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) show an increase of almost 200 per cent in convention delegates this year compared to 2023. This comes with an overall 42 per cent rise in overseas MICE travellers in the fiscal year of October 2023 to September 2024.
Figures show some 1.14 million business event arrivals in the last fiscal year compare to 810,000 in 2023.
The strong comeback from the pandemic period saw 1.16 million business event arrivals, which is close to the record high of 1.2 million in 2019, according to TCEB.
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian nation to host football’s world-governing body in May when the 74th Fifa Congress took place in Bangkok. Conference-organiser association ICCA also held its largest Asia-Pacific event when 1,100 delegates attended the ICCA Congress in Bangkok last month.
TCEB’s GLOBAL TOP 15
The top 10 market sources are China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, the US and Japan, respectively. Focusing on the European and UK markets, the top five are Germany, the UK, Russia, France and Italy.
TCEB is expecting an even better performance in 2025 as it prepares for a series of international events with attendances for each ranging from 5,000 to 10,000.
Money 20/20 Asia 2025, a fintech event, is scheduled to take place in April in Bangkok with 5,000 attending delegates expected representing start-ups, financial bodies and tech enterprises. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) World Diabetes Congress 2025 is planned for the same month with 10,000 attendees expected.
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The Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (APLIC 2025) in May expects 10,000 delegates in the same month as premier F&B trade show THAIFEX-Anuga Asia 2025 with an expected 85,000 participants.
“With the record performance in 2024, TCEB would like to thank overseas MICE travellers for their trust and confidence in Thailand,” said bureau president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya.
“TCEB and Thai MICE entrepreneurs will always strive to deliver high value to clients because we are well aware that the economic challenges are driving the need for more return on investment and return on experience. In this connection, we aim to achieve higher at 1.4 million overseas travellers in 2025 fiscal year.”
