While the sound and fury of AIME 2026 has calmed down since it closed its doors on 11th February, the Asia-Pacific’s first major event for the year has imparted several vital lessons for the tourism, travel, hospitality, and MICE communities to ponder on as they move forward.
Throughout the three-day event, participants were regaled with industry updates which will change the way MICE is done in the region and beyond moving forward.
From the inspiring keynotes of Knowledge Monday to the various sessions for learning offered throughout two days on the show-floor, we share the game-changing wisdom from the event that was.
Lesson I: Contemporary MICE sets its sights on the Asia Pacific
One of the highlights of AIME 2026 was the industry-wide outlook presented by the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC).
This particular report pointed out that BRICS nations now represent 50 percent of the global population whilst accounting for 30 percent of the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP.)
As two of BRICS’ founding nations, China and India, have long been considered global powerhouses for travel and tourism, it isn’t surprising that a greater number of event organisers are bringing their shows and conferences to the Asia Pacific, especially as economic power redistributes globally.
The power of this development was further bolstered by Indonesia’s induction as a BRICS member-state last year, along with the potential inclusion of Azerbaijan, Malaysia, and Thailand in the bloc this year.
AIPC experts also pointed out that APAC is, compared to much of the rest of the world, less affected by internecine / interregional conflict, along with climate-related disasters that could severely disrupt event operations, yet another point in the region’s favour.
Lesson II: The changing face of event marketing
One very insightful session from Knowledge Monday 2026 was one helmed by George Hawwa, growth director of social and digital marketing agency Attention Experts.
In the session Digital Marketing: Looking towards 2030, what does ROI look like?, Hawwa challenged participants to shift their thinking from content creation to platform mechanics.
As he explained: “The role of social media marketers is to analyse platform algorithms and optimise distribution, not to be photographers, videographers, or graphic designers. Their job is understanding how content performs within platform mechanics, similar to a mechanic analysing an engine.”
For event marketing to become more effective, Hawwa recommended what he referred to as a dual storytelling strategy.
Per his explanation, successful brands tell two stories equally: the first is the business-to-customer journey that up to 95 percent of customers don't see which includes the curation process, judging panels, and other things behind-the-scenes.
The second involves the customer-to-business journey which shows stakeholders how to buy, attend, and participate.
This two-pronged approach thus creates authentic connection and trust before pushing sales.
At the same time, participants were advised to capture digital IDs from attendees, exhibitors, and visitors for post-event remarketing, as these would serve as the basis for a monetisable database that could be shared with sponsors or used for future events.
Lesson III: Get immersive and experiential
Let’s be blunt about it: contemporary events, regardless if these are for business and leisure, need to be both immersive and experiential.
The time for droning conferences and run-of-the-mill booth visits ended along with the old pre-pandemic way of thinking, and event visitors now want to be part of the action as opposed to being mere spectators.
In the talk The ROI of Delight: How Experience Marketing Drives Business Results in Meetings and Events, experts pointed out that the first ten minutes of any event are the most crucial of all
In which case, event organisers and ground staff need to focus on immersing guests into the event experience rather than processing (or even grilling) them the way a very strict security service would.
Attendees ought to be welcomed in the same way we welcome guests into our homes: valuable acquaintances as opposed to mere numbers for an end-of-day / end-of-event headcount.
Likewise, event organisers would do well to consider the placement of hidden experiences at their functions: sub-events or immersive activities open to only about ten percent max of attendees, but would be widely talked about or speculated on by everyone.
Spurred on by a fear of missing out (FOMO) mindset, this type of event architecture turns the attendee journey into a game that makes the overall experience more meaningful whilst amping up the hype for the function.
