Has the MICE sector rebounded back to good health one year after the World Health Organization’s 2023 declaration that the pandemic was officially over?

To answer this, Asian Trails’ MICE Manager for Thailand, Suriwipa ‘Gift’ Dalliston took time out of her busy schedule to give a current overview of MICE from a Thailand perspective.

Gift said: “Like the popular social media term ‘revenge travel’ that refers to the desire to travel after the global borders reopened, the MICE sector in Thailand has also seen an increase in business after we returned to normalcy.

“Some days I have had up to 15 enquiries. Besides business bouncing back, the interest in Asian Trails’ MICE services is also linked to the fact that some of our competitors didn’t survive the pandemic. We did and the staggered demand arose quickly.

“But a lot has changed in the sector, so accordingly, we have changed some of our approaches to meet clients’ differing demands and budgets.”

One such strategy is a focus on alternative destinations, away from the more established MICE centres – a response to a request for fresh experiences in new destinations.

Gift said: “We are providing clients with new options, such as Kanchanaburi which has emerged as a MICE destination in its own right, not just as a stopover.

“As I am from Phetchaburi, I am a personal fan of my home province for meetings and incentives. It has nice, quiet beaches and boutique resorts of 30 to 40 rooms for smaller groups, in less crowded locations.

“This province also has a wealth of attractions off the established tourist trail, including hidden temples and community-based tourism activities that we have developed with our partners, so visitors can interact more with the local people.

“Phetchaburi has the country’s spiciest chili, the best limes and the best salt, so we have incorporated these into a new and unique incentive.

“Instead of just taking clients to a cooking school, we take them to farms to hand-pick these products, so visitors can interact with the growers, followed by a cooking class with a more holistic element. This farm to table activity is like creating a story about a location that leaves lasting memories.”

Increased interaction with host communities is also prominent in areas in the south that lie in the shadow of MICE magnets, such as Phuket.

Gift said: “We take our clients beyond the bright lights of Phuket so they can enjoy culturally rich activities, such as engaging with the indigenous Moken people in the Surin and Similan islands.

“Or they can absorb Sino-Portuguese architecture in Takua Pa in Phang Nga province. This sleepy town has architecture like Phuket Old Town, but with fewer crowds and a stronger connection to the Thailand of old.”

One recent activity was to invite members of a small community in Koh Yao Yai island to set up their stalls on a beach and sell their traditional street food to a MICE group.

Gift said: “The local people were very happy when they saw the visitors were not just coming to stay in an idyllic place. They appreciated the support for them. This was a very wholesome experience.”

Looking forward to the ongoing challenges as MICE opportunities expand, Gift said she has a young team who have the energy and drive to go the extra mile to accommodate every client’s request.

“What sets us apart from our competitors is we are young. We are willing to investigate. We don’t assume we know everything. If a client asks for a product that doesn’t exist, we don’t say ‘sorry we don’t have that’, we will go out and get what the client wants.”

Gift was recently appointed to the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association’s (TICA) Young Executive Committee, one of seven rising stars selected to represent the new generation of MICE talent among TICA’s cohort of over 400 industry professionals. All aged under 35, the young executives were selected for their talent, dedication and passion for promoting Thailand as a preferred destination for MICE events.

Looking to the future, Gift said it is important to maintain a balance between visitor numbers and the quality of an incentive experience.

“Personally, I think you cannot allow unlimited numbers of people to visit attractions. If you look at Machu Picchu in Peru, they keep their visitor numbers to a strict limit per day. There is a need to book in advance, but the tourism authorities make it very easy for MICE organisers to easily obtain group tickets.

“It is important to provide special experiences that enable clients to enjoy Thailand’s riches, without overtourism and this goes back to my earlier point about dispersing MICE events across the country – not just in the capital and the established tourism areas.

“With this approach, guests get to enjoy pristine nature and unseen environments and host communities previously denied the benefits of MICE revenue get a share of the rewards. This is a win-win situation for all.”