Thailand’s business events industry posted a remarkable 42 per cent increase in overseas travellers recorded in the 2024 fiscal year (October 2023 – September 2024).
The country welcomed a total of 1.2 million overseas business events travellers, up from 810,000 in 2023, nearly reaching the pre-pandemic record of 1.2 million achieved in 2019, according to the statistics from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
The top 10 sources of overseas business events travellers came from China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, the US, and Japan. For European markets, Germany, the UK, Russia, France, and Italy were the leading contributors.
The convention sector witnessed the most significant growth – followed by incentive travel, exhibition and meeting – with a staggering 200 per cent increase in delegates compared to 2023.
This success is attributed partly to major events such as the 74th FIFA Congress held in Bangkok – the first time a South-east Asian nation hosted the governing body’s congress – and the ICCA Congress, which achieved a record-breaking attendance of 1,100, making it the largest annual gathering of ICCA ever held in the Asia-Pacific region.
This positive trajectory is expected to continue in 2025, as Thailand gears up to host a series of large-scale international events.
Money 20/20 Asia 2025, a fintech event, will take place in April in Bangkok with an anticipated 5,000 attending delegates representing start-ups, financial bodies and tech enterprises.
International Diabetes Federation World Diabetes Congress 2025, which will also take place in April in Bangkok, aims to advance research in diabetes treatment and push the disease into universal coverage of the public health policy globally. With an expected 10,000 attendance, it will be the first time that this world congress is held in the South-east Asian region.
In the following month of May, the Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress in Bangkok is expected to attract 10,000 delegates comprising life insurance agents and professional financial consultants.
THAIFEX-Anuga Asia 2025, a tradeshow dedicated to food products and beverages, innovation and technology, will also be happening in May in Bangkok. It is expected to attract 85,000 participants.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of TCEB stated that the aim is to achieve higher, where the target is now 1.4 million overseas business events travellers in the 2025 fiscal year.
