With the ongoing oil crisis, Asia’s MICE outlook “remains cautious but not significantly weakened”, with incentive travel as the most affected segment, said Stephan Roemer, CEO of DTH Travel.
Incentive trips are “more discretionary in nature and therefore more sensitive to cost pressures, making them more likely to be postponed or reduced in scale,” explained Roemer.
The DMC’s incentive trip cancellations, however, remain limited, with most groups choosing to postpone or adjust their plans instead”, he said, citing that incentive requests for 2027 to the Philippines remain with no cancellations.
“The flight disruption in the Middle East affected two incentive groups due to arrive last March (in the Philippines), but both have rebooked their trips for later this year,” Roemer told TTGmice.
As for business events, corporations are still proceeding with events, though with more attention to cost and efficiency. Some companies have shifted toward short-haul or regional destinations, with shorter programme durations and tighter budget controls.
“Rather than completely canceling their plans, many companies are opting to postpone or scale down their events, indicating that MICE remains important for business continuity and engagement,” said Roemer.
As for what corporate clients look for in these uncertain times, he cited that “safety and sustainability are becoming more prominent in decision-making”.
DTH Travel will actively work with its partners to offer full flexibility and customisation through scalable programmes, hybrid-ready solutions, and more favourable booking terms. It also ensures that its contingency plans are up-to-date to anticipate and address possible uncertainties.
Roemer added that: “what increasingly differentiates MICE products is the ability to combine unique, memorable experiences – especially for incentive groups – with strong infrastructure such as quality venues, hotels and digital capabilities.”
