TCEB has won eight new bids to host major MICE events from 2016-18. The public agency says these corporate events will help the country welcome more than 5,000 high-quality visitors.

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has won eight new bids to host major events from 2016-18. TCEB president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai said the awards not only reflected Thailand's position as a premier MICE hub in Asia, but would also help drive the sector's annual contribution to the economy. He contributes the triumph to close collaboration between the agency's team, public and private organisations and professional associations.

The eight newly won bids are as follows:

• IEEE International Conference on Antenna Measurements and Applications
• 14th APacCHRIE Conference 2016
• 3rd Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Congress 2016
• 11th Asia-Pacific Poultry Congress and Exhibition 2017
• 10th International Convention of Asia Scholars
• 10th Biennial Scientific Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Paediatric Endocrine Society
• 23rd UIHJ International Congress Bangkok 2018
• 8th International Congress of Asian Society of Toxicology

Mr. Nopparat said the events would complement other coming major international festivals and mega events happening in Thailand. These include Photo Bangkok Festival (currently underway in Bangkok), TBEX Asia 2015, and the UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2016.

This year, Thailand's MICE industry is expected to generate about B106 billion in income for the country, up from about B87 billion reported last year. In the first half of the 2015 fiscal year (October 2014 to March 2015), Thailand welcomed 476,079 international MICE travellers, generating revenue of B41.7 billion for the economy.

The positive outlook remains for the rest of the fiscal year, as Thailand will play host to four major international conferences with 15,500 delegates. One major event is the FDI 2015 Annual World Dental Congress, a huge event that will bring together 10,000 dental health professionals from September 22nd to the 25th. Mr. Nopparat expects the number of international MICE travellers in the 2015 fiscal year to reach 1,036,300, up 17% from 2014, with revenue of B107 billion, up 22%.