The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently revealed that Thailand secured 23 bids for international conferences from October 2022 to September 2023. These events extend until 2028. The largest win is the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) in Bangkok, with an expected attendance of 12,000 delegates.
Notably, two first-time Southeast Asia events are the FIFA Congress in 2024, set to attract 2,000 delegates from 211 countries, and the World Diabetes Congress in 2025 with an estimated 10,000 delegates.
Additionally, 14 of the 23 successful bids are for medical conferences, including the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Congress in 2024, expecting 8,000 delegates, and the World Congress on Pain in 2026, projected to host 5,000 delegates.
TCEB conceptualized, prepared, and presented these bids. Besides bid strategy, TCEB managed the bid book’s production, promotion, and securing backing from the relevant government ministry through TCEB’s One Ministry, One Convention (OMOC) program.
“Thailand’s latest wins prove how effective TCEB’s OMOC programme can be when we bid for global events such as the IMF/WBG Annual Meetings, FIFA Congress and World Diabetes Congress. We created OMOC as a mechanism to attract more international conventions to Thailand by extending the support of the related government ministry. Through more targeted collaboration and promotion in related sectors and agencies, we hope to help convention owners and organisers achieve breakthrough success when they bring their events to Thailand. We are pleased to note that Thailand continues to inspire strong trust as a destination for conventions.”
Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, TCEB President.
Other than finance, healthcare and sports, the 23 bid wins also include events in the fields of environment, education, digital, and business management.