RX to Launch IBTM Bangkok Event in 2027

RX is launching IBTM Asia Pacific through its local subsidiary, RX BITEC. The event is set for June 9–10 2027 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). It will follow the IBTM model, gathering corporate, association, and agency buyers from the region to meet with suppliers in pre-scheduled appointments.

"We are delighted to be launching a new event for the region, opening the door to a market with immense potential and introducing our proven model to a dynamic region with a strong appetite for growth," said Claudia Hall, exhibition director of IBTM World and IBTM Asia Pacific.

The announcement comes weeks after RX rescheduled another major event in its travel portfolio. Arabian Travel Market 2026, originally planned for May, was moved to August 17–20 at Dubai World Trade Centre, with RX citing "the safety and well-being of customers, partners and colleagues" and "recent developments in the region" — a reference to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The co-located IBTM@ATM hub — focused on the meetings and events sector — will run on the same revised dates.

Reviving APAC Ambitions

RX aborted its previous attempt to revive a regional IBTM event in APAC — planned for Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo in March 2025 — citing growing APAC buyer participation at the global flagship, IBTM World, in Barcelona.

The Hong Kong announcement followed in November 2023 at IBTM World in Barcelona. In the meantime, rival Northstar Travel Group launched its Meetings Show Asia Pacific, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board. The first show was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on April 17–18 2024.

The IBTM brand has a longer history in the region. IBTM China — previously known as CIBTM — launched in Beijing in 2005 and ran annually at the China National Convention Center until 2019. The event did not return after the Covid pandemic.

Even before the Covid pandemic, RX had made plans for an additional regional Asia-Pacific IBTM event. The first edition was planned for Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in 2020, but did not happen, with a hybrid Singapore MICE Forum (SMF) x IBTM Wired running the following year. Further attempts in 2022 and 2023 — also Singapore-based — were similarly postponed. 

The Bangkok Appeal

RX has pointed to Thailand's visa access policies — e-visa or visa-free entry for travellers from China, India, the UK, the EU, and the U.S. — as well as its infrastructure and hotel capacity as factors in the location decision. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) was named as the Official Host Destination Partner.

"Thailand is honoured to welcome IBTM Asia Pacific 2027 and global MICE partners to Bangkok," said Supawan Teerarat, president of TCEB. "This landmark event is more than a regional gathering. It is a bold statement of Asia's rising influence in the global business events industry."

IBTM Asia Pacific joins the flagship IBTM World (Barcelona, November) and IBTM Americas (Mexico City, August) in the brand's active portfolio. Further details on the Bangkok event's exhibitor and conference programme will be announced in the coming months.