Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) has always been a significant contributor to Thailand’s hospitality sector. Bangkok Post, citing the country’s Convention and Exhibition Bureau, reported the industry has enjoyed twice as much spending as its leisure counterpart for the past few years.
As Thailand continues negotiating the post-Covid era, this edition of Muse explores some noteworthy MICE industry trends to expect in 2023.
The rise of hybrid events
The Covid-19 pandemic has promoted a culture of less direct physical contact and touchless or virtual experience. However, in-person events are still indispensable because they offer chances to build rapport with industry experts, consumers, and the media.
Hybrid events, which allow interested guests to opt for either physical or digital participation at their convenience, began to gain popularity once social distancing restrictions eased. Despite the day-to-day impacts of the pandemic fading into memory, hybrid events are expected to continue an upward trajectory in 2023.
By taking a ‘phygital’ approach, organisers can facilitate seamless interactions among their attendees and accommodate the varied needs of participants, creating events that are more inclusive and accessible.
INBOUND by HubSpot and Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2022 are prime examples of successful hybrid events that integrated different technologies ranging from pre-recorded videos, in-app networking, and personalised avatars for audiences’ immersive on-site and online experience.
Common sights of robotics in the MICE industry
MICE’s comeback in the post-Covid world warrants some adaptations of industry practice, particularly through leveraging robots and machinery.
Although many are thrilled by the return of in-person events, some are simultaneously conscious about hygiene and safety throughout venues, the lack of which has been attributed to the spread of Covid-19.
Organisations rely more on automation because manually upholding the hygiene and safety standards expected by attendees can be labour-intensive and expensive.
Several known cases of delegating basic event management tasks to robots to deliver enjoyable and memorable experiences to participants include organising football fans with concierge robots during big events like the World Cup, Super Bowl or Tour de France.
Internal events are brought into focus
Amex 2023 Global Meetings and Events Forecast reported that as many as 50% of all organizations had adopted a hybrid working mode after the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, maintaining connections among dispersed personnel has become a challenging yet crucial task for the sake of its culture and team dynamic.
Even though events open to internal stakeholders aren’t about lead generation or sales, they are essential to retaining employees’ engagement and motivation, which enables optimal productivity.
The comeback of the MICE industry after significant disruption requires organizers to adapt to ensure success
Continue to our next Muse post to learn how to be proactive to major changes in the lucrative MICE industry.