Surviving today’s shifting economic landscape requires venues to step far beyond the role of silent landlords, according to industry leaders at two panel discussions at Thailand MICE Week 2026.
According to industry experts on the The Future of MICE: Global Trends & Leadership Insights panel, venues are now actively stepping up to unlock government collaborations and vital funding.
Prakash Ramajillu, general manager at Koelnmesse, noted that new host countries often fail when organisers operate in isolation. He emphasised that for an event to be a success, there must be active collaboration between the venue, the government, and the tourism board.
In Hong Kong, this collaborative ecosystem has yielded tangible commercial results.
AsiaWorld-Expo’s (AWE) CEO Enid Low highlighted the impact of a recent three-year, 100 per cent rental subsidy scheme for exhibitions – launched by the government during Covid – that helped the venue secure 13 new exhibitions last year.
However, Low added that the venue wanted the events to be sustainable and around for the long-run, not just during the subsidy period.
To ensure long-term viability, AWE connects organisers with local associations, contractors, and alternative government funding streams – such as grants from the Commercial, Cultural or Sports Bureaus – tailored to the event’s specific scope and objectives.
Over on the Beyond Tenancy panel, Ryan Adrian, managing director of Nusantara International Convention Exhibition in Indonesia, noted that his commercial staff are now officially positioned as sales and relationship managers.
Transitioning from an operational to a collaborative mindset is essential because we need to work hand-in-hand to support everyone. In these challenging times, NICE prioritises the relationship aspect of our roles because, ultimately, it is a relationship-driven business, Adrian explained.
Janz Ng, senior director of partnership & sales at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, echoed this sentiment, stating that commercial teams must view organisers not as customers, but as “client partners” working toward shared business outcomes.
“It’s a mindset shift where I’m not just earning revenue from you; I’m presenting you with partnership opportunities. Additionally, the MICE spaces we have is not just the convention space. All the MICE spaces under my purview includes any possible space within the attractions, within the hotels, and even the restaurants,” Ng said.
Pitipatr Buri, CEO of Bhiraj Buri Group in Thailand, concluded: “In the past, the role of the venues and organisers had a very clear line. For us, it was being a silent operator.
“But now it is more about how we can help the organisers by using past databases and providing much better predictability on current shows. Stronger partnership is the key that will lead to better navigation of uncertainties.”
