MICE THE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to MICE Industry
• MEETING: Coming together of a number of people in one place to carry out a
particular discussion activity.
• INCENTIVES: it is tool for motivating people involved in an organization
success– employees, dealers ,distributors ,sales people, consultants & key
customers .it is also means rewarding them for job well done.
• CONVENTIONS : are generally large meetings with some form of exposition
or trade show included. A number of association have one or more
conventions per year.
• EXHIBITION : events at which products & services are displayed. An
exhibition may simply be few table top booths designed to display goods &
services.
Tourism
Travellers attending MICE activities have a purpose beyond leisure tourism, and are
in fact business travellers.
These business travellers are connected to different sectors of the and hospitality
industry through their MICE activities.
(See Figure1)
Think of business travellers who travel to a city to attend an exhibition. They will
need food, drinks, shopping, entertainment, transport, accommodation and more.
In general, MICE events are events and activities that involve attendees who share
a common interest and gather in a place. The place for the gathering needs to be a
venue arranged before and. The venue will provide space and facilities necessary
to satisfy the needs of those who attend the gathering
List of things required in a MICE
1.2 Basic terms and concepts in MICE
Meetings
Meetings bring people together in one place for the purposes of sharing
information and discussing and solving problems. Meeting attendance can
range from ten to thousands of people. During a meeting, there will usually
be food and beverage served. Meeting times vary depending on the meeting
type.
Most of the time, meetings refer to corporate
meetings Type of meetings which are held by
companies
Board meetings - Meetings of the board of the directors
of corporation, usually held annually
Management Meetings - The managers from different regions
of a corporation meet when necessary to make decisions for
the corporation
Shareholder Meetings - Investors who own a share in a company
meet quarterly.
Training Seminars- A company conducts these to train the employees
when needed.
Meetings with partners, suppliers and clients - A gathering to
discuss business deals, usually held with little prior notice
Product launches - Usually a meeting with clients, the public, and
journalists and reporters when new products are announced on the market.
Strategic planning - Managers meeting with employees discuss the future
of the company
Retreats - The entire company staff spends a day or two together to
participate in team-building activities, training seminars and strategic
planning sessions
Incentives
Incentive travel is a management tool for rewarding and
motivating sales representatives, dealers, distributors,
production workers, support staff, and in some cases,
customers.
The company rewards sales representatives who
reach sales targets by sending them on trips.
Usually, the incentive trip comes with hotel stays, tour
packages and planned activities such as dinners,
parties and games.
Basically, incentive travel does not have any
business-related activity. The incentive travel market
is mature in the U.S. and Europe, and is developing
in Asia; especially in Singapore and Japan.
Factors behind Incentive Travel Decisions
Incentive budget economy - How strong is the
economy in the country in which the sponsoring
group is headquartered?
Buying power - Strength of the exchange rate in the
countries being considered as the destination for
the trip
Political climate - Travel alert for destinations with
political turmoil
Safety and Security - Terrorist alert levels after the
911 incident
Value - How do facilities and services compare with other
choices of destination
Uniqueness of experience - Takes into consideration
whether these participants have experienced this type
of trip before
Conventions
Similar to meetings, conventions are gatherings of people
with common objectives, organized to exchange ideas,
views and information of common interest to the group.
An organization, usually an association, will organize a
convention each year with a theme related to the
organization’s topic. Those interested in registering for the
convention can pay the association a fee for all the
sessions, discussions, food and beverage, dinners, and
site visits.
In particular, conventions consist of a variety of events
include congresses (large-scale regular trade
gatherings ), conferences (small scale gatherings
aimed at information sharing), confexes (conferences
with small exhibition attached), and one to one events
(premium networking). All conventions can be
organized into different levels: international, national,
regional.
7 major differences between a meetings and conventions is
that a convention:
Is a large event often lasting for several days and
involving a social program
Is organized by associations:
Professional and trade
associations, eg the dentists
Association or Voluntary associations and
societies
Charities
Political parties
Usually conducted once a year
Generates income for the association
Considerable amount of time spent on site
selection of the convention
Exhibitions
Exhibitions are activities organized to show new
products, services, and information to people who have
an interest in them, such as potential customers or
buyers. The company showing its new products, the
exhibitor, typically rents an area from the organizer and
sets up a booth to meet with potential buyers. The
buyers or the public need an invitation or a ticket to be
allowed into the exhibition.
Purpose:
Get sales leads
New product introduction
Build a network of influential contacts
Gather the latest information about the
competitors or
Build the company’s image
Industry Associations:
International Association for Exhibition Management
(IAEM)
Depending on the size and type, exhibitions could be
categorized into: For the public namely business-to-
Trade Shows - e.g. Car Shows
consumer (B2C):
Fair - e.g. Book Fairs
Exposition or expo - e.g. Food Expo
Open only to business buyers namely business-to-business (B2B):
Trade show - e.g. Global Sources Gifts & Home
Trade fair - e.g. Fashion Access
Trade expo - e.g. International Outdoor and Tech Light Expo
A combined or mixed show
It is an exhibition that combines both trade and public and is open to both
corporate and public attendees. Most combined or mixed shows will have
different specific visiting time for each group of attendees
1.3 Definitions of different types of meeting
Congress : An international meeting /event ,generally
referred by Americans.
• Seminars: Face to face groups sharing experiences in a particular
field under guidance of an expert discussion leader.
Workshops: Usually a session with groups participants training
each other to gain new knowledge , skill , or insight into a problem.
Generally 30-35 pax.
• Forum: A panel discussion taking opposite sides of a issue by
experts in presence of audience.
Symposium: A panel discussion in a given field in presence of large
audience.
• Panel: Two or more people in a discussion ,supported by
moderator.
• Lecture: A formal presentation by expert followed by question
answer
1.4 Product knowledge of MICE
Business travel is a major source of revenue for airlines, taxis and car hire service
providers as well as hotels. A tourism product, including MICE product is “a
combination of heterogeneous elements separated in time and space, assembling
interrelated services and products. MICE also has a significant positive economic
impact on individuals, smaller specialist suppliers such as florists, audio-visual
companies and photographers etc
Knowledge and innovative solutions are required in order to offer products from
the MICE industry, which will provide both professional and memorable
experiences which will turn into many benefits for both participants, organisers
and destination.
The creation of a high quality MICE product requires the cooperation of
diversified entities which include : meeting planners, venue-finding agencies,
accommodation owners, PR agencies and event management companies,
associations organising conferences, catering companies, suppliers of
exhibition services (furniture, flowers, stand constructors), interpreters,
telecommunications facilities, conference/exhibition centres owners just to
name a few of them. Some of these entities identify themselves with the
local tourism industry only to a small extent. These cooperating entities
create a kind of MICE network
In line with the value chain definition, a tourism product consists of “its
production, distribution and marketing being configured along a value chain
involving many activities which are vertically, horizontally and diagonally
related and integrated in varying degrees
MICE Products
Provision of travel information, reservation and booking
Transport to the destination
Provision of information at the destination
Location of accommodation and food
Provision of manmade tourism attractions
Return transport to the sending region
After-sales services
Hospitality,
Freedom of choice
Involvement
Program handling ability
Responsiveness to participants’ needs
Language fluency of convention staff
Service attitude of convention staff
Technology
Comfort & and convenience of transportation service
Size of meeting, exhibition, banquet room
Speed of follow-up by convention staff
Accessibility; central location; air and road connections
Amenities (nightlife, food and beverage services, other attractions)
Image as a desirable place to visit
reputation for hosting successful events, for tourism in general
Safety and comfort of visitors
Support services to events
Number and type of local organizations and businesses capable of hosting
