The Meeting Incentive Conference and Exhibition industry, better known as MICE tourism, has rapidly become one of the fastest growing segments within the tourism industry. According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “MICE Industry by Event Type: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023” , the global MICE industry was valued at $752 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $1,245 billion in 2023, registering a CAGR of 7.5% from 2017 to 2023.

According to an Economic Times report, industry experts and analysts attribute increasing MICE events, including investor summits, to an improved economic sentiment amidst growing competition among states to score better ratings in ease of doing business and attract investments. These have directly boosted average room occupancies and returns. For example, Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), India’s largest convention centre managed by AccorHotels, had hosted more than 800 events in 2016, averaging more than 2 parallel events daily, highest in a decade.

This highly competitive sector is known for high-end events, generates significant revenues and has clients that are always on the look-out for a venue to serenade its guest list. Many big players in the hospitality industry, especially hoteliers, are stepping up their MICE game to make the most of this trend.

As a hotelier, how can you increase your MICE sector bookings?

1. Focus on diversity – MICE events can be both big or small. Your hotel may be able to hold large dinners, exhibitions, conferences, and annual summits, but that doesn’t have to mean that you let go off other meetings and regular events that take place quarterly or even monthly. This way you can be assured of guaranteed room sales and revenue, and better manage your hotel’s finances.

2. Plan your marketing strategy well in advance – The MICE market needs to be marketed effectively for it to be effective. Think through your customer experience from the beginning till the end. Pore over details regarding your brand image, your facilities and services, and even the commute to your venue. To be successful in attracting events, you must actively come up with a strategy that highlights all these features and targets the right audience through strong branding, social presence and state-of-the-art facilities.

3. Customize your activities – There is a rising demand for alternative options for team building exercises and incentive programmes, such as horse-riding lessons or even cooking classes. For instance, the African wineland of Paarl has stepped up its game as an attractive MICE destination by not only offering great spaces to host events, but also organizing activities like wine-tasting, to keep guests thoroughly engaged. By offering unique experiences for corporate events, your hotel can cater for clients in a way that other exhibition centres can’t compete with, thus building a strong case for differentiation.

4. Create a seamless experience through technology – With technology playing such an important role in the online booking process, it is vital for your hotel to make it easy for clients to reserve rooms and make other arrangements. Make sure your hotel has a great booking engine that is seamlessly integrated to your website. Respond to any query as soon as possible. Optimize your website to provide the best details about the event destination and your hotel, including blogs and other insider tips, in order to help the event planners with their decision-making.

What are some of the other ways that you can think of?

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For long, Africa’s tourism potential – the scenic landscapes, wildlife, beaches and wineries – have kept luring travellers to the continent. However, business tourism is now also on the rise, acting as a key contributor to the tourism industry’s growth. For instance, in recent years, the global meetings industry has begun to recognize Africa as a sought after destination; it currently accounts for R155 billion of the South African GDP, thereby leading to immense growth of the tourism economy in the African continent. By targeting business travel, the number of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, Africa is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that MICE events increase over the coming years.

South Africa’s third oldest town of Paarl has also joined the MICE bandwagon and is eyeing the market in a big way. Located an hour’s drive from Cape Town in the Drakenstein Municipality, Paarl is famed for its age-old wine farms, top performing schools, and a stretch of land where former President Nelson Mandela took his first steps of freedom after being incarcerated for 27 years. Drakenstein Municipality itself is the largest local municipality (outside the City of Cape Town) in South Africa’s Western Cape province, and has been rated the 18th top municipality in the country and adopted secondary city status in 2017.

An aerial view of Paarl

A fast-growing, progressive region and investment destination, Drakenstein’s main economic sectors include finance, insurance, real estate and business services. Paarl has become internationally renowned for its award-winning wines and its unique terroir has proven to be ideal for creating world-class Chenin Blanc and Shiraz. Additionally, between 2016-2017, the municipality submitted R2.2 billion in building plans, setting the stage for major growth of the region.

However, Paarl is not just about the ambiance; it makes good business sense, too. The easy flight access to the airport at Cape Town allows the region to position itself as an attractive MICE destination for international conference and incentive organisers. Moreover, it has ample facilities like convention centers, good transportation, along with good accommodation in the form of luxury stays, with great sightseeing, entertainment and hospitality.

A heritage conference venue at Paarl

From the Diamant Estate in the heart of the Cape Winelands, to the Domain Brahms with its spectacular surroundings and friendly personnel, from the luxurious Freedom Hill that caters specifically to events, to the Historium Conference Centre located right in the heart of Paarl; the city has no dearth of historic, hospitable accommodations that not only cater to leisure travellers, but have also stepped up their game as formidable MICE destinations. (Also read: What the global MICE industry needs to learn from the Meetings Africa 2018 show)

Paarl’s hospitable accommodations have stepped up their game as formidable MICE destinations

For instance, the Diamant Estate can host up to 100 guests for events, amidst a dramatic background of the Paarl mountains, while also providing organizers with projectors, boards, and refreshments required for any meeting. On the other hand, a venue like Nantes Estate can host close to 200 people in an exquisite historical setting, at affordable full-day rates of R460 for each delegate. Paarl has more than 20 such event venues that cater to every need of event organizers and business travellers, including leisure activities to keep them thoroughly engaged.

The meetings industry is now evolving around developing events that integrate business needs and entertainment, and engage delegates in new ways. From pushing innovation to acting as brand marketing platforms, business meetings and events are moving away from being simply networking hubs to becoming more experiential centres. Paarl’s unique appeal and its booming infrastructure are coming together to fulfil all these needs and develop as a comprehensive MICE destination.

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The MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry is one of the major drivers within the tourism industry and has experienced tremendous growth in the past years. The understanding of what’s driving MICE travellers and how to attract them in future can give companies a competitive advantage and drive millions in revenues for them.

As most meeting planners and event organisers know, technological disruption is one crucial factor that has brought profound changes to the MICE industry. Digital tools are becoming an integral part of strategic event management, given their proven ability to reap substantial benefits, such as cost savings, and better exposure and image building. Linked to this is the fact that digitization has created a direct connection between the organisation and management of events and the field of user experience.Conferences, meetings, trade fairs, seminars, and similar events rely on deep networks and meaningful connections to prosper. This is where companies like EVINTRA facilitate the emergence of communities and play a role in keeping them alive, enabling meaningful conversations between all parties involved.

Born from a simple idea of connecting buyers and suppliers, Andreas Thölken founded EVINTRA in Germany in 2011, which stands for EVents, INcentive and TRavel. The company is focused on destination management through an impressive online platform offering businesses to find and also be found with a one-click approach based on search parameters. This platform strives to connect the event industry worldwide providing transparency and quality for agencies, DMC’s tourism boards, businesses and more who are looking to hold an event in a different destination.

EVINTRA also developed the GMCS – Global MICE certification standard ensuring high-level quality across all companies listed on the database. The certification is run by real industry experts providing each company listed with a score and ranking on the platform.

Learn more from CEO Andreas Thölken, about the company’s vision, its plans of launching a dedicated premium profiles website and the key trends that will dominate the MICE industry in 2018, in this video –

The company currently has a huge database of 53,000 subscribers, close to 3000 registered public profiles, 16,000 buyers, across 180+ countries. With a sharp focus on DMCs, EVINTRA is growing with around 10-20 companies joining the network every day. The company has partnered with many MICE and tourism exhibitions worldwide to deliver high quality buyer programs, and believes in providing transparency and quality for the global MICE business. It provides a quick gateway for connecting different service providers from all around the world, so they can get together for events of highest quality and service standards.

The company’s revenue channels include buyers programmes, fam trips, media marketing, premium profiles and lead generation services, among others. Its buyer network consists of over thousands of corporate agency contacts that they have been developing and forming since 2003.

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