What are MICE Events: Definition, Opportunities, and Solutions

Written by Max Li | Feb 21, 2023 1:00:00 AM

What Is MICE?

As the scale of companies and corporations expands, the need to publicize your product is greater to generate more business interactions.

4 main components, namely Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE), comprise the business interaction model.

1. Meetings

Meetings are the most common type of MICE event. They are usually small in scale, don't last longer than a day, and involve fewer than 50 people.

They are less flashy and entertaining compared to other MICE events. Basic catering is provided and usually occurs in offices or hotel conference rooms.

Participants mainly aim to set goals and plans (annual budget plans/ monthly targets/ etc.) and reach agreements (dealing with clients/ business negotiation).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a prevalence of online meetings.

2. Incentives

Incentives are widely regarded as a reward that companies grant their employees.

The scale of this type of MICE event depends on the company's size, and it could be held at a resort, a theme park, a cruise trip, or any recreational location.

Such events are planned to boost team morale, tighten bonding, and for employees to relax. Yet, a 2020 survey indicated the COVID-19 pandemic was the top concern in holding such events.

3. Conferences

Conferences could be loosely interpreted as more extensive meetings.

This type of MICE event usually has more representatives from more parties, which could be the more significant members or groups of a specific industry or country. Recent influential conferences include SXSW (Texas, 2020) and Sibos (London, 2019).

Conferences are also not limited to business and commerce. Some are targeted to tackle universal issues, assembling politicians, experts, officials, and even national leaders, such as the 1992 Earth Summit and 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

Since they are more prominent in scale, the time, effort, and cost required for production and planning are elevated.

Still, due to the pandemic, there are also virtual and even hybrid (virtual and in-person) alternatives, creating a new scene for the MICE industry.

4. Exhibitions

Exhibitions are by far the most massive type of MICE event.

They usually allow visitors to participate and there could be activities and areas of interest making up an exhibition.

They could be industry/business specific, drawing all experts and specialists of a particular field, or entertainment and profit-based, such as the San Diego Comic-Con or World Expos.

Exhibitions can last months and usually have mutual objectives of introducing new products, outreaching potential partners, gaining exposure, and tightening connections with the industry.

How COVID-19 Impacted The MICE industry

All these interactions could be conducted in person and virtually.

However, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that boosted the call for virtual events due to public health concerns, marking a watershed in MICE development.

The MICE model mainly comprises in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Attending in-person events requires business trips, while virtual events may implement AR/VR technologies. Let’s take a look at the reasons behind MICE’s importance.

Read: What will happen to events in post-Covid Asia?

Why Is MICE Important?

1. Business Opportunities

An innovative and professional channel, MICE is the cornerstone of contemporary business relations, from assembling talents and fostering innovations to building connections.

Even though they seem less intriguing than music festivals and concerts, MICE is essential because it provides business to the hospitality industry.

Attendees create a demand for accommodation and catering services. Since some MICE events may last for days or weeks, hotels, food and beverage, retail, transportation, and more tourism-related aspects would benefit from the influx of visitors.

All MICE events take time and effort to plan, allowing production houses and event-planning companies to profit. Studies have shown that MICE visitors in a region spend 17.5% more than the average leisure guests- this may be because companies cover most of the necessary expenses of the MICE trip, leaving visitors more money to spend on themselves.

The same study also pointed out that MICE-related events compose 54% of business tourism, reflecting their impact in boosting local businesses.

2. Attracting Visitors and Community Contribution

Some exhibitions, such as the annual US NAMM Show and Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong, may attract high-spending attendees to visit.

The 2020 NAMM Show attracted 115,000 visitors worldwide, showing the immense potential and impact of MICE events. These hobby-based events could generate huge profits from fans and enthusiasts.

MICE events generate revenue for regions as well. The 2022 NAMM Show, based in Anaheim, California, generated over $77 million USD for the community.

3. Encourages Technological Advancement

Some of the most prominent MICE events are technology-themed conferences, such as RISE, Techtonic Summit, and many more.

Meetings that gather specialists from around the continent or even the world are an effective way to develop and acquire more advanced technology since the event serves as a platform to exchange ideas and insight in a professional environment.

Statistics of The Global MICE Trend

The global MICE industry was valued at $658.5 million USD in 2021, and a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.6% is expected from 2022-2030.

With the revival of in-person MICE events and our gradual proficiency in virtual utilization, the industry is expected to be worth $501.3 billion USD by 2028. MICE is a highly profitable industry, reflecting its economic importance.

Meetings are a significant part of the MICE model, forming 41.3% of worldwide MICE in 2021. This is further backed up by Macau’s 2021 statistics where meetings comprise 85.1% of the region’s model.

We can anticipate more significant growth in all sectors due to the alleviated pandemic, with meetings continuing to make up the most essential proportion of events.

MICE Events in Asia

Asia is one of the top MICE destinations in the world due to its cities having fine accommodations and facilities.

Dubai was named the leading MICE destination in 2022, and 7 out of the top 10 airports in the world in 2022 are in Asia, reflecting how well-equipped and MICE-friendly it is.

Being such a MICE-friendly destination, Asia hosts a variety of MICE events. Some of the most significant of them held in Asia in recent years include the IBTM Asia Pacific (MICE-related), ViBac 2022 (Public health-related), Music China (music-related), RISE (technology-related), and many more.

The Asia-Pacific region MICE market was valued at $229 billion USD in 2017. We are estimated to experience an 8.6% CAGR to reach $441 billion USD by 2025, which may result from the diversified MICE scene in Asia.

It is evident that MICE is a flourishing and blooming industry there.

Application of technology in MICE

Technology implementation is prevalent in every industry. We contribute to the MICE industry by applying technology that eases logistics and smoothens operations, allowing us to hold online, in-person, and hybrid events quickly.

Business opportunities arose as a result of EventX’s efficiency and user-friendliness, converting leads into our customers in Asia, such as Cyberport (Hong Kong), DBS (Singapore), Yonsei University (South Korea), and many more.

We strive to perfect our features to generate more business leads, making our name synonymous with the MICE industry.

Virtual Events

We all witnessed the deprivation of the traditional MICE model which depended heavily on tourism and transportation development during the pandemic.

Yet, it was this period that propelled the advancement of virtual events.

We fully accommodate all aspects under these conditions where physical contact stays unfeasible. Our adaptation and adjustments under bleak conditions established us as one of Asia’s leading competitors in the MICE management industry.

We were honored to produce Malaysian ICT giant Acestar’s SEA Connect creative conference in late 2020. Our registration features, virtual event site, post-event exportation, and overall user-friendliness were highly appraised as they proved efficient by saving the hosts a great deal of time educating exhibitors.

In-person Events

Our tech proficiency could also be visualized in regular in-person events.

We successfully utilized a single event management platform to cover event registration, event check-in, email confirmation, Event badge printing, and more at the 2019 Techtonic Summit, the largest tech conference in the Philippines.

The integrated platform was proficient in handling all logistics required, receiving praise from the hosts. A breakthrough facial recognition technology was also implemented by us at the IES 2019, showing our utilization of multiple technologies in events.

Hybrid Events

Moreover, with public health measures varying in different countries, we could also cater to hybrid events (virtual and in-person combined).

By combining our online and offline event attributes, we won acclaim from The International Virus & Bacteria Industry Expo 2022 (ViBac 2022).

Our QR code scanning and instant name badge printing feature highly smoothened the registration of the in-person event, and our web-based online event with free customization of the lobby allowed the organizers to implement VR and metaverse-based content, granting a download-free solution with efficient information delivery.

By saving time and space, we proudly receive acclaim from ViBac 2022.

Want to know more about hybrid events? Read the article to find out!

Conclusion

In a world where we can hardly keep up with all the technological advancements, businesses, and industries would only require more advanced technology to compete in the future. EventX is present to provide every solution for the needs of the MICE industry.

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