A stronger recovery in flight seats and numerous large-scale international events each expected to draw between 10,000 and 100,000 attendees are expected to help drive revenue of the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) segment to 200 billion baht, according to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported that the number of airline seats in December has increased 23% to 4.62 million, from 3.77 million in December 2023, with at least 30 new routes on the way.
TCEB president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya said in fiscal 2025, the number of business travellers should tally 34 million, generating 200 billion baht, an increase from 148 billion baht recorded in fiscal 2024, which ended in October.
Of the 2025 target, the international market is expected to contribute 92 billion baht from 1.4 million visitors, while the domestic Mice market should generate 108 billion baht from 32.6 million travellers.
The positive momentum that has been observed since this year includes a strong increase in flight capacity as well as the visa-free policy applied to several key markets, such as China, India and Taiwan.
At present, there are at least seven large-scale events that have been confirmed for next year, starting with VIV Asia 2025 in March with around 45,000 attendees expected, followed by the International Diabetes Federation World Diabetes Congress 2025 in April with around 10,000 participants expected.
The second quarter will commence with the Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress and the THAIFEX-Anuga Asia 2025 in May, drawing at least 10,000 and 85,000 attendees, respectively.
During the low season in the third quarter, Thailand is expected to gain healthy traffic from two large events, namely the Thailand Coffee Fest 2025 in July, which is expected to draw 100,000 attendees, followed by the Bangkok International Digital Content Festival 2025 in August with 10,000 attendees.
In the final quarter, IEEE PES GTD Grand International Conference and Exposition Asia Bangkok 2025 -- an academic conference for the electrical and energy operators -- will be held in November, attracting 10,000 participants.
Meanwhile, the TAT reported that the trend of flight recovery remained positive in December, with 4.62 million seats. Of the total, flights connecting Northeast Asia account for 1.85 million seats, followed by Southeast Asia (1.25 million seats) and Europe (560,000 seats).
Among the 30 new routes, destinations in China, South Korea, India, Scandinavian countries, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and Australia have been added to the market, as they fly directly not only to Bangkok, but also to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Krabi.