Thailand has won the rights to host the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2030, the largest global conference on AI, robotics, and automation.
The flagship event of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society first staged in 1984. Slated for June 13 to 17, 2030, at Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), the event will be held in Thailand for the very first time.
It is expected to draw between 10,000 to 12,000 delegates, including 8,000 international participants, and to generate around 1.1 billion baht (US$31.5 million) in direct economic circulation, 590.6 million baht in value added, 745 jobs and 36.4 million baht in government tax revenue.
This win aligns with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s Strategic Direction 2026, themed From Change that Matters to Impact that Lasts. The strategic plan sets a 10 per cent growth target for the country’s business events industry, while naming advanced manufacturing and digital and AI technologies among its priority sectors.
Jittanun Techasarin, TCEB’s director of conventions, said the bureau valued IEEE ICRA for spanning the entire tech value chain.
“We see IEEE ICRA as an upstream-to-downstream event that brings together every part of the technology sector… which is why investors and major companies are drawn to attend,” she said.
After a failed previous bid, TCEB treated this attempt as a national coalition effort, partnering with Mahidol University’s Faculty of Engineering, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Thailand Chapter, and IEEE Thailand Section.
Central to the win was a host site inspection. “We invited (the panel) to survey the country’s capabilities and brought in network agencies to demonstrate that… there are local allies ready to support them. The cooperation we received across many sectors… left a strong impression,” Jittanun said.
Sanchai Noombunnam, country general manager of Informa Markets Thailand, added: “Bringing this event to Thailand gives our industry a clear signal of the direction in which we can grow.”
Given the event’s scale, Jittanun emphasised that cross-sector preparation must begin long before 2030. “For an event of this scale, we will need to plan together from the start and set up a large working committee, then present the plan to the government to seek its support… We see this as a national event, so it should be a collaboration rather than each agency working separately.”
