MICE tourism is a result of globalisation and economic reforms. Since the beginning of the time, people have been gathering in the form of meetings and archaeologists have found primitive ruins and debris that were used for specific gathering places by ancient societies to discuss hunting plans, wartime activities, crop harvesting, or the planning of community celebrations. Today, MICE tourism targets a large number of travellers who travel for attaining specific professional activities.
MICE events across the world
US, Countries in Europe and also Asia (specifically China, Japan, Korea) and Australia continue to dominate the meeting space market holding more than 250 meetings/ annum. In addition to Central European and Nordic countries, Brazil leads the fray as far as 200+ meetings. India is at par with Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore Smaller countries in Europe, South East Asia, and a few Central European countries in leading the 150+ meetings. India has considerably improved its ranking over 2016. A few countries of Latin America, South Africa, a handful of European nations in addition to Malaysia have clocked 100+ meetings.
Industry Segments investing in MICE
Major contributors to the MICE segment worldwide are healthcare, Auto, IT, Textile, Engineering, Manufacturing, Publishing, Electronics, and Medical. These industries rely heavily on MICE for their business and GTM activities. Healthcare contributes a major share to the Global MICE market.
Leading MICE associations
The secret of success for the organisations has been the continuous adaptation in order to stay relevant to the changes the industry has to offer. There is a need to stay at the top of the mind through publication, flagship events to possess a global footprint. Predominant Associations are either US or UK based, only one each based in the Netherlands (ICCA) and Sydney (MEA) and have international footprints with members from different countries. Each organisation is a professionally managed one with dedicated professionals. These associations are independently visible for their activities, whether it is organising events or knowledge dissemination.
Convention Promotion Bureau
Most Convention Promotion Bureaus such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Vienna Convention Bureau are city-based organisations which have a formal dedicated structure. These are either Government controlled or autonomous body which is professionally run by full-time individuals comprising a CEO, Manager-Business Development, Bidding and Operations. Convention Promotion Bureau positions the city as a prime MICE destination, identify a business opportunity and provide leads. It works with empanelled PCOs/ Destination Management Companies to successfully bid for the city and promote government and industry collaborations. These bureaus take a statistical analysis of events to generate insights and intelligence which help in developing the pipeline and have a presence across the globe.
