Meaning of MICE

MICE is an acronym for meetings, incentives, conferences, conventions, and exhibitions industry.
The MICE industry is one of the fastest-growing and lucrative areas of the tourism and hospitality
industry.
In discussing the MICE industry as a whole in this book, the terms
"MICE" and "conventions, meetings, and events" are used interchangeably.

Definition of Terms
The following are the definitions of each sub-sector of MICE:
1. Meeting - gathering of people for a common purpose such as business, social, or religious
purpose. Meetings do not include exhibits.
2. Incentive - reward event intended to showcase persons who meet or exceed sales or
production goals. It is also called incentive
program.
3. Conference - participatory meeting designed for discussion, fact-finding, problem-solving, and
consultation. It is used by an organization to exchange views, convey a message, open a debate,
or give publicity to some area of opinion on a specific issue. No tradition, continuity, or
periodicity is required to convene a conference. Compared to a congress, a conference is smaller
in scale.
4. Convention - gathering of individuals in which the planning activity of the attendees is to
attend educational sessions, participate in meetings/ discussions, socialize, or attend other
organized events. Conventions include exhibits. Congress is the European term for convention.
5. Exhibition - the display of products or promotional materials for purposes of public relations,
sales, and/ or marketing. It is an activity designed for suppliers of products, goods, and or
services to demonstrate and promote to a certain market. It is the European term for exposition.
6. Exposition - larger in scale than an exhibition. It generally consists of a huge public display of
the goods and services of a particular industry.
7. Event - an occurrence, happening, and activity designed around various themes in order to
create or enhance interest in a destination.

The Role of MICE in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

The MICE industry is an exciting and profitable segment of the tourism and hospitality industry. A
major source of revenue for the tourism and hospitality industry comes from the meetings,
incentives, conventions, and exhibitions segment of the industry. As the tourism and hospitality
industry saw great increases in expenditures, meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions
experienced great growth as well. With the many changes the tourism and hospitality industry
has undergone in the past 20 years, the importance of MICE has become more recognized. The
need to communicate with one another face-to-face has been the driving force behind the
growth of this industry.

Components of the MICE Industry

There are four major components of the MICE industry, namely:
planners and groups they represent, host facilities, services, and exhibitors.
Planners are individuals or groups that plan meetings, conventions, and exhibitions. Planners are
classified into a number of categories such as corporate meeting planners, association meeting
planners, and independent meeting planners. Corporate meeting planners work exclusively for a
corporation.
Association meeting planners work exclusively for an association. Independent meeting planners
contract their services to both associations and corporations.
Host facilities provide lodging, meeting rooms, food and beverage, as well as a number of other
services for groups attending meetings, conventions, or exhibitions. Host facilities include hotels,
conference centers, resort hotels, universities, bed and breakfast inns, etc.
Services refer to individuals and organizations that provide support for the meetings,
conventions, and exhibitions segment of the tourism and hospitality industry. Service suppliers
include transportation companies, attractions, tour guide companies, and entertainers.
Exhibitors are financially linked with all segments of the MICE industry.
They provide much of the revenue needed for the planners to hold meetings, conventions, and
exhibitions. Exhibitors are persons who work for the company.
Other names for an exhibitor are advertising director, communication director, or director of
marketing, who is involved with the corporate exhibit program.
The main aim of exhibitors is to introduce their products, both new and old, to an interested
audience.

History of the MICE Industry

Archeologists who investigated ancient cultures have found ruins that served as places where
primitive people gathered to discuss common interests such as hunting plans, war activities,
peace negotiations, and tribal celebrations. Each village or hamlet had its common gathering
place. As geographical areas grew, cities became the meeting places for people who wanted to
trade goods or discuss common problems. As cities became the center of activities for
geographical regions and transportation improved, the desire of the people to gather and discuss
things of common interest became more widespread. Trade associations, professional, fraternal,
and religious organizations assembled to discuss relevant issues. Discussions of trade regulations,
as well as selling or trading of goods, were the main reasons for convening. Many trade,
professional, fraternal, and religious associations have historical roots in Europe. In the United
States, such activity took place only in the mid-1800s. As America grew, so did its trade,
professional, fraternal, and religious associations.
In the Philippines, Manila, its capital, is proud to have pioneered the international meeting
industry in Southeast Asia. 1976 was a memorable year for the region. It was in this year that
Manila opened its door to Asia's first full-fledged convention center - the Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC) - to the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Meeting. Since then,
Manila has developed its professionalism and expertise. It has developed an infrastructure of
deluxe accommodations, efficient transportation network, and modern telecommunications to
support a versatile range of meeting facilities.
In 1996, Manila celebrated 20 years as a leading destination for meetings, conventions, and
exhibitions.

The Growth of the MICE Industry

The growth of the MICE industry has been remarkable. Most of this development has occurred
within the past 10 years. This growth has been due to several factors: meeting planners
associations, the airline industry, the lodging industry, convention centers, conference centers,
meeting technology, and ground handlers.

Meeting Planners Associations

Development of associations is connected with meeting planners.
These associations not only grew in numbers but also expanded the list of services they offered
to their members. Majority of these associations increased their emphasis on education. Other
growth factors included the rise of the independent meeting planners, the increase in the
number of women planners, certification and development of standards, and the integration of
travel agents into the profession.

Airline Industry
The advancement of the airline industry enabled people to travel quickly and efficiently. This was
made possible by the introduction of the jet airplane-an invention that revolutionized
transportation worldwide. A relevant factor was the deregulation of the airline industry which
resulted in vigorous competition among airlines to attract more passengers. This caused a
reduction in the cost of air travel.

Lodging Industry
The lodging industry recognized the financial importance of MICE.
Hotels grew and became convention centers. Hoteliers learned to adapt their services to different
clients. Property marketing directors learned how to work with meeting planners.

Convention Centers
Convention centers expanded in terms of exhibition spaces, accessibility, and storage facilities.
They were able to accommodate all the activities of a convention and trade show under one roof.
Traffic was improved, allowing large numbers of people to move quickly from one area to
another.

Convention Bureaus
Convention bureaus grew rapidly both in numbers and size of operations.
The number of bureaus has doubled since 1980, from 100 to more than 250.
Their operators have become more professional. They actively participate in industry and
association affairs.

Conference Centers
Conference centers changed their appearances during the past two decades. For some time they
maintained a "business only" appearance. This has been replaced by modern restaurants,
recreational facilities, and the latest high-tech audiovisual equipment.

Meeting Technology
Modern audiovisual equipment gave meeting planners a greater degree of flexibility and
creativity that was never possible in the past. Video projectors,
360-degree projection techniques, multi-image presentations, and unique sound systems have
become very common.

Ground Handlers
Effective ground arrangements became necessary as MICE became more complex. Ground
arrangements include planning tours, transportation, sightseeing, banquets, and hotel
reservations. Convention service companies were established in the 1970s to develop creative
meeting programs.

Importance of the MICE Industry

One of the most rapidly growing segments of the tourism and hospitality industry is the MICE
industry. In the United States, it has developed into an industry that is worth more than $25
billion. The international convention and exhibition market has grown considerably in Western
Europe mainly in France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Switzerland.
Conventions and exhibitions generate a tremendous amount of revenue within the tourism and
hospitality industry. Travel sales, from meetings, conventions, and exhibitions are so important to
the economy that all levels of government have organized, advertised, and provided services to
attract these groups. The United States has offices in major industrial countries to help
organizations with travel arrangements to the country. Each state allots a major part of its budget
to advertising to encourage conventions and business travel to their state. Majority of cities with
a population of around 200,000 have visitor and convention centers that aim to attract and
support meetings, conventions, and exhibitions.
Over the years, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus has undertaken
an assessment of the economic impact of MICE. It was found out that out-of-town convention
delegates spend an average of $638 for a 3.5-day stay. Delegates to international, national, or
regional conventions/ exhibitions stay an average of 4.1 days and spend an average of $818.
Trade show delegate expenditures exceed $1,000, including exhibitor and association
expenditures.
The International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus has conducted these studies for
several years involving the United States and non-U.S. cities. These studies showed that
approximately 82 million delegates attended 267,810 meetings with a direct economic impact of
more than $56.6 billion.