The term MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) represents a sector of tourism which

includes business events and activities. Travelers attending MICE activities have a purpose beyond
leisure tourism, and are in fact business travellers. These business travelers are connected to different
sectors of the tourism and hospitality industry through their MICE activities

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 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 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 which are held by companies in the following
ways:

● Board meetings – Meetings of the board of the directors of a 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 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 to 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
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

1.3 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.

The major differences between a meetings and conventions is that a convention:

● Is a large event often lasting for several days and involving a social programme
● Is organized by associations:
o Professional and trade associations, e.g. the Dentist Association
o Voluntary associations and societies
o Charities
o Political parties
● Usually conducted once a year
● Generates income for the association
● Considerable amount of time spent on site selection of the convention

MEETINGS
Meetings are gatherings of people with a business intent and usually include an agenda and a simple
setup. In professional terms, the meeting is to make sure everyone involved understands how a project
is coming along.

CONVENTION
A convention is a gathering of individuals to discuss a certain topic or participate in activities related to a
shared interest or field. Conventions are often held to bring business or industry professionals together
to discuss important issues or topics in their field
1.4 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 their 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.

An exhibition is an event where goods and services are exhibited and demonstrated to the public.

Purpose:
o Get sales leads
o New product introduction
o Build a network for influential contacts
o Gather latest information about the competitors
o Build the company’s image

Industry Associations: o International Association for Exhibition Management (IAEM)

o Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR)
o HKECIA , Hong Kong - www.exhibitions.org.hk

Depending on the size and type, exhibitions could be categorized into:

For the public namely business-to-consumer (B2C):
o Show – Show, as name implies, is an event where companies in a specific industry gather to showcase
and demonstrate their new products and services.e.g. Hong Kong Car Show (New Edition)
o Fair – A fair is held at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year, and it usually
lasts for several days or even weeks. Its primary function is the promotion of trade. Historically, fairs
displayed many different kinds of products in specific commodity or industrial groupings. e.g. Hong Kong
Book Fair
o Exposition or expo – Expos can be both large and small and is where businesses showcase their
products An exposition is a display of works of art, science, or industry to stimulate public interest,
promote manufactured products, expand trade, or illustrate progress in a variety of areas.e.g. HKTDC
Food Expo

Open only to business buyers namely business-to-business (B2B):

o Trade show – e.g. Global Sources Gifts & Home
o Trade fair – e.g. Fashion Access
o Trade expo - e.g. HKTDC Hong Kong International Outdoor and Tech Light Expo
A B2B event is an event where you facilitate guest interaction with the brand and are primarily produced
for media and influencers where there is a need for educational components that highlight key brand or
product points to encourage the essential messaging through brand storytelling. B2B marketing events
allow you to get live feedback on what potential clients find valuable about your product or services and
how it has or will benefit them. It also allows real-time insight on shortcomings, drawbacks, and
improvements they want to be added.

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. Example – International Travel Expo, Hong Kong (ITE, Hong Kong)
Current supply of major convention and exhibition facilities in

Hong Kong: According to the Legislative Paper dated on February 10, 2015 prepared by the Legislative
Council Panel on Commerce and Industry - Development of Convention and Exhibition Industries in
Hong Kong, there are currently two major dedicated convention and exhibition facilities in Hong Kong,
namely HKCEC (Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre) and AWE (AsiaWorld-Expo), as well as
other smaller** and non-dedicated venues.

HKCEC is a dedicated convention and exhibition venue in Wan Chai. It offers about 91 ,500 M2 of
rentable area, including about 66,000 M2 of purposely-built exhibition facilities

AWE (AUGMENTED WORLD EXPO) is a dedicated convention and exhibition venue on Lantau Island. It
offers more than 70,000m2 of exhibition and convention space. Augmented World Expo is the biggest
conference and expo for people involved in Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Wearable
Technology. It is organized by a non-profit organization named Augmented Reality Org. with the mission
of "Advancing Augmented Reality to Advance Humanity".

The Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, shopping mall and
performance venue situated at 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was developed
by Hopewell Holdings

1.5 The Value of MICE

Many cities would like to develop MICE because of the benefits MICE brings to a city. According to the
Legislative Paper dated on February 10, 2015 prepared by the Legislative Council Panel on Commerce
and Industry, the Hong Kong convention and exhibition industries are currently estimated to worth
about US$0.5 billion, which is about 1% of the global convention and exhibition industries. The majority
of the convention and exhibition industries in Hong Kong is centred around exhibitions, in particular, the
majority of exhibitions in Hong Kong are currently business-to-retail (B2R) export trade exhibitions.

Higher expenditures – A business traveller usually spends more than the average tourist, as they stay in
better hotels and dine at fine restaurants since they are meeting with business clients. According to the
2014 Annual Report of HKTB, the per capita visitor spending of MICE tourists are more than HK$9,400
which is 17.5% more than the regular visitors to Hong Kong.
□ Even out travel demand – Many destinations have different travel seasons. Because the business
traveller travels to a destination with the main purpose of attending a MICE event, the MICE event does
not have to be scheduled during the peak season when most tourists tend to travel. The business
traveller can help the city by taking up some of the empty hotel rooms available during off seasons.
□ Prior arrangement– A MICE event is usually planned one to two years in advance, and even three to
five years for internationalevents due to the number of participants at the event. The event planners
also need to book well before the event in order to select their preferred rooms and venues.
□ Large scale – Most MICE events may have a large number of attendees. An international convention
usually requires 500 hotel rooms per night and big conference rooms in the day. An exhibition, either
local or international, expects to have over thousands of attendees and requires several large exhibition
halls.
□ Standardized services – All attendees for the same MICE event will have very similar requirements as
to service standards while similar MICE events would usually have similar programmes and thus
standardized services are required
□ Enhance secondary businesses – Many suppliers are needed for MICE events. Booth set-up
companies and decoration experts are necessary for the exhibition.
□ Improve host city image – The city which holds the international MICE event can give travellers a
professional image
□ Independent of tourism attractions – Business travellers travel primarily for the purpose of attending
a MICE event, not for the attractions of a destination. Even if a city does Meetings, Incentives,
Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) 12 not have unique attractions, it can still be chosen to hold an
event due to other reasons, such as ease of access.
□ No fixed destination– Many MICE events are not fixed on a host city or country. As long as a city has
adequate MICE venues and facilities, it is possible for the city to be selected to hold the event
□ Flexibility of venue selection – Other than traditional venues such as exhibition centres or conference
halls, MICE events can make use of existing facilities that may originally have other purposes, e.g.
universities

Sectors Involved in MICE Business

There are industry sectors directly involved in the MICE industry, such as hotel, and transportation
industries. These industries may benefit from MICE business by offering their services and facilities to
the planner and attendees of MICE events. There are a range of participants in the event (i.e. convention
and exhibition) industry, including event organisers, venue operators, marketers and event attendees:

Attendees refer to convention and exhibition attendees.Convention attendees mainly use conventions
for networking and learning. Exhibition attendees use exhibitions to source and evaluate the products
and services offered by marketers, networking and learning.
Sector Involved – Hotel
Hotels are the main suppliers of MICE and are the main beneficiaries as well. Business travellers who
attend MICE events spend over 65% of their money on hotels for rooms and hotel dining while 15% is
spent on other restaurants outside the hotel. Around 10% is spent on shopping and another 10% on
local transportation

Roles of Hotel
One of the most common sites for a MICE event is a hotel. Hotels can provide facilities, space and
function rooms for MICE activities; accommodations, housing for business travellers who attend the
MICE event; and food and beverage services at the event, as well as meals for travellers who stay in the
hotel. Typical hotels have accommodation rooms, restaurants, ballrooms, meeting rooms, swimming
pools, a business centre and more. In relation to MICE activities, a hotel plays different roles depending
on its facilities and the size of the MICE event:
1. Inclusive residential conferences and meetings
□ All the activities related to the convention are held and delegates stay at the same hotel
2. Facilities for associated receptions, banquets and support events
□ When some of the convention activities are held elsewhere and delegates stay in other hotels
3. Accommodation and meals
□ When all the activities of the convention are held
Venue Facilities
The facilities in a hotel vary in size and set-up, ranging from a small meeting room for 10 people to a
large theatre for thousands. Different types of facilities can be suitable for the different functions of a
MICE event.
Accommodation
When providing accommodation for business travellers to stay during the MICE event, the hotel needs
to provide the following services for the delegates or attendees, the business travellers who attend the
MICE event; and entourage, persons who travel with the delegates, usually the spouse, children,
personal assistants, secretaries etc.

1. When delegates and their entourages stay in the same hotel where the convention activities are held:
□ Large hotels can take advantage by housing all related activities (in the case of a convention),
including all accommodation and food and beverage services
2. When delegates and their entourages stay in other hotels where the convention activities are not
held, the hotel or convention/exhibition centre which holds the convention activities should:
□Provide a range of facilities, such as transportation
□The hotels and main event venue must keep in close contact

Food and Beverage

Other than supplying meals such as breakfasts, lunches, afternoon teas and dinner banquets for
different sessions included in a MICE event programme, and hotels also need to provide delegates and
entourages with food and beverages through its restaurants, cafes and coffee shops, as well as through
room service.

Facilities on Information Technology

To facilities a smooth running of the event, hotels install the most advanced technology, such as
□registration networking – to support the online registration system
□attendee email kiosks – a centre for attendees to access their email
□attendee messaging centre
□office and press room communications centres
□speaker Internet access for presentations
□live Web conferencing for sessions – streaming audio and video via the Web

Large Properties vs. Small Properties

Hotels of different sizes are suitable for different types of MICE activities.
Large properties
O can cater to a wider range of MICE activities, from small corporate meetings of 30 to international
association conventions of 1,000
O tend to host international MICE activities
Smaller properties
O can take advantage of nearby convention and exhibition centres by hosting all food and beverage
functions such as banquets and housing supplementary sessions such as small talks
O tend to hold local MICE activities such as local corporate meetings and small local shows
MICE Planning

The planning process components:

1. What to achieve?
Organization’s mission and objectives
2. Which types of activity namely meeting, incentive, convention or exhibition best works for the
organization?
Conduct feasibility study
3. Who to ask for direction?
identify stakeholders / hierarchical organizational structure
4. Identify those deciding factors?
Conduct external and internal analysis
5. Identify the risk factors as well as the challenges?
Look for opportunities and threats.
6. Is it ready to move forward with the plan?
Select appropriate strategy and operational plan.
7. Who is/ are in charge?
Take up the roles and responsibilities.
8. Ensure doing the right thing?
Adhere to the control system.
9. How to do it better next time?
Evaluation and feedback are collected to enhance the planning process.

Organization Goals
Different types of organization have different goals when producing events.
Private for Profit

● Companies producing events on their own or under contract

● Corporations creating events for marketing reasons

● Hotels, resorts, facilities using events as attractions and image makers