Less expensive tier-two and tier-three cities are now trending for events, as cost has come to the fore with businesses grappling with economic uncertainty in the face of the Trump tariffs.

Event specialist, Daniel Chua, founder and CE of experiential communications agency, Aonia, noted cost is the number one consideration.

“In general, the economy is not doing well (with) president Trump drumming up uncertainty and job insecurity, so it it worthwhile to consider second- and third-tier cities if there are savings of more than 10 per cent.

“This trend is very specific to big countries like China and India where younger attendees are less ‘prestige-conscious’,” he added.

FCM Meetings and Events’ South-east Asia and Greater China lead, Wong Jing Wen, observed that “international events have been cut back”.

Wong explained: “It’s a similar trend among South-east Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, where budgets planned a year ago are non-negotiable, but expectations are high. So clients either have to cut short the programme by a day or change the destination.”

Apart from the cost factor, she pointed out that participants would have attended events in tier-one cities, and would like to experience something new in tier-two and tier-three cities.

Wong highlighted Danang, Hanoi, Osaka, and Fukuoka as up-and-coming event destinations appealing to a broad age range, particularly Gen Z and millennials, but also those in their 50s and 60s.

For events in Indonesia, Bali remains popular, she commented, as not enough has been done to promote other cities like Medan.

Naina Vishnoi, senior regional sales director, Cvent, speaking at a PATA webinar, titled The Future of MICE: Key Trends to Watch in 2025, said: “There are so many tier-two and tier-three APAC cities that are getting a lot of market share.”

She pointed out that the increased interest in emerging destinations and the growing adoption of hybrid event formats could also be influencing planners’ choices.