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Lesson 3: MICE Industry

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Describe the evolution of the modern meeting;
2. Define what is MICE industry;
3. Define the meaning of each sector of MICE;
4. Identify the types of meetings;
5. Explain the factors behind incentive travel decisions;
6. Differentiate meetings and conventions;
7. Identify the purpose of exhibitions; and
8. Identify the possible career opportunity in the MICE business.

EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN MEETING (Starr, 2003)

In the early times, people have held meetings. In the ancient Greek city-
states, there is agoras, market squares where merchants sold their wares
and citizen debated issues. Romans had forums. Human are social
creatures, and whether we call a meeting a gathering of the clans, a
political convention, a professional get-together, a sales group, a
corporate meeting or simply a chance to network with peers, it fills the
fundamental need to get together. And gatherings, small and large, mean
business to the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

The invention of the jet plane played its part in the growth of the meetings
and incentives business. Forty years ago, except for the largest political
conventions and corporate gatherings, meetings were local affairs held
strictly among men Now men and women alike can hop on jet and be
cross-country in a matter of hours, not days; the workforce is international;
hotels have been redesigned to welcome groups; and management has
discovered that travel motivates its sales force.

The introduction of teleconferencing (individuals or groups assembled in

different places and brought together by video technology and satellite
communication) in the early 1980s was though to offer a method of
information exchange that would diminish the need for traditional business
meetings. So far, it has not satisfied people’s need for interaction.
Teleconferencing has instead become a complement to meeting activities
rather than competition for it.

More than 1 million meetings, conferences, and conventions are attended

by 81 million people every year, contributing more than $50 billion annually
to our economy. Even in a slowing economy, demand and spending by
corporations do not slack off. Companies continue to meet, even if only it
finds out what their problems are.
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THE MICE BUSINESS

The term MICE represent a sector of tourism which includes business events
and activities.

Travellers attending MICE activities have a purpose beyond leisure tourism,

and are in fact business travelers. These business travelers are connected
to different sectors of the tourism and hospitality industry through their MICE
Activities (see Figure xx).

Attendees

Meetings Incentives Conventions Exhibition

Travel,
Tourism &
Hospitality

Figure x. Nature of MICE

In general, MICE are events and activities that involve attendees who share
a common interest and gather in a place. The place for gathering needs
to be a venue arranged beforehand. The venue will provide space and
facilities necessary to satisfy the needs of those who attend the gathering.
We can further explain the gatherings by their different formats:

M = Meetings (Corporate)
I = Incentives
C = Conventions (Congress, Conferences, and Confexes)
E = Exhibitions

Meetings
Meetings brings 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 the time, meetings refer to corporate meetings which held by

companies in the following ways:
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1. Board meetings. Meetings of the board of the directors of a

corporation, usually held annually.
2. Management meetings. The managers from different regions of a
corporation meet when necessary to make decisions for the
corporation.
3. Shareholder meetings. Investors who own a share in a company
meet quarterly.
4. Training seminars. A company conducts these to train employees
when needed.
5. Meetings with partners, suppliers and clients. A gathering to discuss
business deals, usually held with little prior notice.

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.

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 levels after the 911 incident
• Value. How do facilities and service compare with other choices of
destination.
• Uniqueness of experience. Takes into consideration whether these
participants have experienced this type of trip before.

Exhibition
Exhibition 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 their 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 for influential contacts
- Gather latest information about the competitors
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- Build the company’s image

Industry Associations:
- International Association for Exhibition Management (IAEM)
- Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR)
- HKECIA, Hong Kong

Depending on the size and types, exhibition could be categorized into:

• For the public namely business-to-consumer (B2C)
o Show
o Fair
o Exposition
• Open to business buyers namely business-to-business (B2B)
o Trade show
o Trade fair
o Trade Expo
• A combined or mixed show
o It is an exhibition that combines both trade and public
together 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.

CAREER GUIDE IN MICE

In MICE business, one possible career is to become an Event Manager in an
event company or your own company. Salvador (2009) defined event
manager as the one tasked with making such events happen through a
process that includes information gathering, concept development,
planning, coordinating and evaluation.

The following is the job description of an event manager: (Salvador, 2009)

• Meet clients to determine objectives and requirements for the
planned event.
• Plan and develop programs, itineraries, budgets and services
according to the client’s requirements.
• Coordinate with the organizing committee and sponsors to plan
scope and format of events, to establish and monitor budgets or to
review administrative procedures and event progress.
• Draft specializations and select suppliers for events requirements
• Monitor event activities to ensure conformity to plan, compliance
with venue regulations and local laws and resolution of any problems
that may arise.
• Check event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
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Did you know?

References:

Andrews, S. (2008). Introduction to Tourism & Hospitality Industry. Tata

McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limites, New Delhi

Cruz, Z. (2013). Principles of Tourism Part II. REX Bookstore, Philippines

Cooper, C. (2012). Essentials of Tourism. Pearon Education Limited, England

Ismael, A. (2005). Front Office Operations Management. Delmar, a division

of Cengage Leaning, Inc.

Marcini, M. (2012). Access: Introduction to Travel and Tourism Second

Edition. Hiyas Press Inc., Philippines

Orpia, C. & Bueno, R. (2018). Assessment of Tourist Attractions and Facilities

in Ilocos Norte. Mariano Marcos State University

Roldan, A.S. (2007). Introduction to Hotel and Front Office Operation.

Paranaque, Metro Manila AR Skills Development and Management
Services Inc

Salvador, Germaine Angelica. (2009). Event Management: Envision,

Execute, Evaluate. C&E Publishing, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines

Santos, B. & Manzano, R. (2010). Principles of Tourism 2. C&E Publishing,

Philippines

Starr, N. (2003). Viewpoint: An Introduction to Travel, Tourism and Hospitality.

Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey