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The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revealed that Thailand has won 23 bids for international conferences from October 2022 to September 2023.
These are for events that will take place up to 2028. The largest among the wins is the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) to be held in Bangkok. Around 12,000 delegates are expected from both events.
Two are notable for being the first to be staged in South-east Asia – the FIFA Congress 2024 and World Diabetes Congress 2025. The FIFA Congress is expected to attract 2,000 delegates from 211 countries and the World Diabetes Congress, 10,000 delegates.
It is also noteworthy that 14 of the 23 wins are for medical conferences. They include the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Congress 2024 (8,000 delegates), and World Congress on Pain 2026 (5,000 delegates).
The bids were conceived, prepared and presented by TCEB. Other than bid strategy, TCEB was responsible for the production of the bid book, publicity, and securing the backing of the relevant government ministry through TCEB’s One Ministry, One Convention (OMOC) programme.
The OMOC programme allows TCEB to tap on the resources and support of a particular government ministry. It was instrumental in securing the Annual Meetings of IMF and WBG, the FIFA Congress as well as three global medical conferences, which, other than the World Diabetes Congress, include the International ISTH Congress 2024 and World Congress on Pain 2026.
Under OMOC, a relevant ministry will be the designated host. The Annual Meetings of IMF and WBG will, therefore, be hosted by the Ministry of Finance, the FIFA Congress by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the medical conferences, the Ministry of Public Health.
TCEB’s president, Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, said the latest wins prove how effective the OMOC programme can be when bidding for global events.
“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,” he added.
The 23 bid wins also include events in the fields of environment, education, digital, and business management.