Resilience to crises of Thai MICE stakeholders: A longitudinal study of the destination image of Thailand as a MICE destination

Abstract The COVID-19 outbreak has changed rapidly the business operation and travel behavior of global communities and calls for research on resilience. This study aims to identify the changing destination image of Thailand as a MICE destination during crises and examine the resilience of Thai MICE stakeholders. A mixed method of qualitative and quantitative design was employed using interviews, observations and questionnaire surveys. A longitudinal study of Thai MICE stakeholders during 14 years revealed that the Buddhist concepts of resilience and Thainess contribute to psychological resilience. Buddhism and Thainess cultivate the concept of crisis concierge. Surveys showed unchanged image of exhibition facilities during the political instability. Thailand's incentive travel benefits from the availability of bleisure (a combination of business and leisure) attractions. Good value for money, Thai hospitality, bleisure attractions, and international standard venues are key resilient factors.