The business events industry is facing a generational reckoning as Gen Z and Millennials, who will comprise the largest portion of the workforce by 2035, reject generic, “copy-paste” event formats.
A new 67-page report by the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and TrendWatching titled, Designing For The Next Generation, identifies seven transformative trends across three core themes designed to engage these values-driven attendees.
Supawan Teerarat, president of TCEB, noted: “You may define business events as meetings or exhibitions, but today it goes beyond that. We are talking about an ecosystem that creates high-value impact, focusing on personalisation, authenticity, and local wisdom.”
This shift is partly driven by changing demographics, particularly the rise of Gen Z executives who now form a significant portion of corporate travellers.
“An Expedia Group survey shows that 74 per cent of Gen Z travellers prefer experiences over material possessions, with 63 per cent seeking unique cultural destinations,” Supawan stated, highlighting an ‘experience economy’ where business events serve as a strategic tool.
To start with, the first core pillar of the report, “Calm & Connected”, addresses the depletion and social anxiety prevalent among younger professionals.
Recognising that 66 per cent of Asian Gen Z are at high risk for mental health challenges, forward-thinking events are prioritising “productive rest” and intentional stillness, such as Audible’s “Zen Commute” carriage filled with cherry blossoms, which provided a moment of calm for commuters at London’s Kings Cross station, or Nominom’s 12-hour sleep concert in South Korea, which replaced traditional seating with beds.
Networking is also being nudged from awkward small talk towards interest-based connections.
Tools like the JabberYak Meetup app allow event attendees to self-organise meetups around shared passions like yoga or entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, Eventbase’s voice-activated eventCopilot provides real-time personalised agendas and one-command meeting bookings to reduce friction.
Meanwhile, the report’s “Greenshift” pillar outlines how environmental action must be embedded by design rather than through superficial greenwashing.
“Eco by Default” systems, such as Tomorrowland Winter 2025’s RFID-enabled reusable cups, make sustainable behaviour intuitive and effortless for the attendee. Complementing this is “Circular Intelligence”, where smart technologies like the Lufthansa Group’s AI-powered tray tracker identify food waste patterns to optimise catering operations in real-time.
Finally, the demand for “Place-Made” experiences reflects a hunger for local culture over standardised hotel ballrooms.
Festivals like Wonderfruit in Thailand showcase this by elevating regional talent and rewilding ancestral forests, proving that specificity in local heritage drives international reach.
This theme also encompasses “Values Co-designed,” where attendees are transformed from passive spectators into active stakeholders.
Events such as ZCON flip the traditional hierarchy by inviting Gen Z creators to lead sessions while Fortune 500 executives listen, ensuring that diverse and marginalised voices are reflected in the event’s core DNA.
The full report is available for online download in both English and Thai at TCEB’s MICE Intelligence Center.
