The shift away from mass tourism activities towards the low-profile yet meaningful and potentially high-yield “micro-experiences” embedded in daily life took centre stage at the PATA Destination Marketing Forum (PDMF) 2025, hosted in Chiang Rai earlier this month, with industry experts urging destinations to monetise daily life without eroding local identity.
Leading a dedicated workshop on the subject, Hannah Pearson, director of Pear Anderson, defined these experiences as small-scale activities rooted in the everyday rhythm of a destination.
Unlike standard tours, she noted that true hyperlocal products are shaped or led by the community and prioritise activities that are “high authenticity, low footprint”.
Pearson challenged delegates to identify mundane aspects of their daily lives, such as a visit to a local forest or a morning market, and reimagine them as visitor products.
However, the session moved beyond simple product development to critically assess the friction between tourism and local living. Participants were tasked with evaluating potential trade-offs, such as environmental degradation or the displacement of residents, to ensure the benefits of attracting travellers outweigh the costs.
“We (also have to factor in) the trade-offs if we have this new experience – what the impact could be on the community, on the environment, and on the local economy,” Pearson said.
For Somsak Boonkam, CEO of Local Alike, the solution lies in uncovering the “delicate truth behind all the visible layers” rather than creating a performance.
He warned delegates against “staged authenticity”, noting that modern travellers are not looking to observe life from behind the glass but to participate in it.
To achieve this without turning communities into commodities, Somsak advocates for a reversal of traditional hospitality roles. The model shifts the traveller from “king” to “student”, while the local moves from “service provider” to “teacher” or “host”.
Implementation requires a strict methodology to protect the community’s soul.
Somsak outlined a process of “co-discovery” where operators ask locals what they are proud of, rather than simply asking what they can sell. This involves co-designing programmes that fit existing daily routines and setting strict capacity limits to ensure depth of connection over volume. By limiting numbers and charging a premium for access to genuine heritage, such as learning an ancient pattern from a master artisan, tourism funds the preservation of the very culture it celebrates.
Somsak noted that this approach attracts international travellers who are willing to pay more for what is real, allowing operators to “sell the truth, not the fantasy”.
Pearson concluded the session by reminding delegates that impactful tourism does not always require massive investment or new infrastructure.
“Small is powerful. It is not necessarily something that we have to build. We already have those within our community, within our environment. It is about harnessing them,” said Pearson.
