Introduction to MICE Tourism

Summary

This video delves into the evolving world of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) tourism, exploring how the industry is adapting to global disruptions, particularly the impact of the pandemic. It discusses the shift towards hybrid and online events, the roles of various stakeholders, and the potential for individuals to capitalize on these changes. The script also touches on the future of event tourism, suggesting a move towards broader terms like 'event management' and highlights the importance of technology in shaping the industry's future.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The MICE industry refers to the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events sector, which is a subset of tourism focused on group travel for specific purposes.
• 📈 The industry is undergoing significant changes due to the global pandemic, with a shift towards hybrid and online events to accommodate travel restrictions.
• 🏨 Key stakeholders in the MICE industry include event organizers, suppliers, government bodies, regional associations, and commercial sponsors, all of whom collaborate to facilitate events.
• 📊 MICE tourism is not limited to one type of business or stakeholder; it involves a diverse range of players and requires extensive coordination.
• 🔄 The acronym MICE is sometimes being replaced with 'event tourism' or 'event management' due to the evolving nature of the industry.
• 💼 'Meetings' in MICE refers to business gatherings, which are increasingly being conducted online through platforms like Zoom.
• 🎁 'Incentive travel' was traditionally used by companies to reward employees but has become less common and is evolving.
• 📚 'Conferences' are becoming more digital, with new online event platforms facilitating discussions, panels, and breakout sessions.
• 🎭 'Events' in MICE are broad and can include cultural, sporting, or business gatherings, and are now often delivered through live, virtual, or hybrid formats.
• 🌍 Governments and regional associations play a crucial role in promoting MICE tourism, ensuring it is safe and sustainable, and balancing local concerns with economic benefits.
• 💡 The future of MICE tourism will likely involve more technology, with a focus on enhancing the interaction between in-person and online participants.

Q & A

What does the acronym MICE stand for in the context of the tourism and hospitality industry?

MICE stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events. It refers to a sector of the tourism and hospitality industry that focuses on group travel for business, meetings, conferences, and special events.

How has the global pandemic affected the MICE industry?

The global pandemic has caused significant disruption in the MICE industry due to travel restrictions and social distancing measures. This has led to an increase in hybrid and online events to adapt to the new normal.

What is the role of the Olympics in illustrating the complexity of MICE tourism?

The Olympics serve as an example of MICE tourism because they require coordination among numerous stakeholders, including government, hotels, restaurants, and transportation services, to successfully host the event.

Why are hybrid and online events becoming more prevalent in the MICE industry?

Hybrid and online events are becoming more prevalent as they offer a way to continue hosting events during travel restrictions and provide flexibility for participants who cannot attend in person.

What are the different types of stakeholders involved in the MICE industry?

Stakeholders in the MICE industry include event organizers, suppliers, governments, regional associations, commercial sponsors, and clients who are responsible for various aspects of planning and executing events.

How do governments and regional associations contribute to the MICE industry?

Governments and regional associations contribute by providing policies, funding, and promotional efforts to attract events and tourists, which can boost local economies.

What is the difference between a live event, a recorded event, and a virtual event?

A live event is one that happens in real-time, either in person or online. A recorded event has already occurred and is broadcast at a set time. A virtual event is held entirely online, often using platforms like Zoom or virtual reality.

Why might a company choose to sponsor an event in the MICE industry?

Companies may choose to sponsor events to promote their products or services, enhance their品牌形象, or to associate themselves with a particular cause or event that aligns with their business goals.

How can someone looking to start a career in the tourism and hospitality industry get involved with MICE tourism?

Individuals can get involved with MICE tourism by seeking employment with event management companies, hotels, conference centers, or by working with government tourism boards and regional associations.

What are some challenges faced when organizing hybrid events?

Challenges in organizing hybrid events include ensuring smooth technical execution, creating an engaging experience for both in-person and online participants, and managing the logistics of coordinating two different types of events simultaneously.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Introduction to MICE Tourism

The script begins by introducing the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) industry, which has been significantly impacted by the global pandemic. The speaker, Eric, explains that MICE tourism involves travel for specific purposes, such as large group travel planned in advance. He uses the Olympics as an example of MICE tourism, highlighting the need for various stakeholders to collaborate to facilitate such events. Eric also discusses the emergence of hybrid and online events due to travel restrictions, indicating a shift in the industry.

05:00

📈 Breakdown of MICE Components

This paragraph delves into the acronym MICE, explaining each component. 'M' stands for meetings, which are business-related gatherings that require travel. 'I' represents incentive travel, a reward system for employees, which is becoming rarer. 'C' is for conferences, which are increasingly moving online. 'E' stands for events, and there's a trend towards referring to this aspect of tourism as event tourism or event management. The paragraph also discusses the changing nature of incentive travel and the broader definition of events in the industry.

10:01

🤝 Key Players in the MICE Industry

The speaker outlines the various stakeholders involved in the MICE industry, emphasizing that it's not limited to one type of business or stakeholder. Key players include event organizers, suppliers who provide services like venues and entertainment, governments and regional associations that promote and regulate tourism, and commercial sponsors who fund events. The paragraph discusses the interdependence of these players and their roles in facilitating MICE travel.

15:05

🌐 Event Types and Future Trends

This section discusses the different types of events within the MICE industry, such as cultural, sporting, and business events. It also addresses the future of event delivery, with a focus on technology's role in amplifying and disrupting traditional event formats. The speaker introduces terms like live events, recorded events, in-person events, virtual events, and hybrid events, suggesting that the industry is evolving to include more online and hybrid options.

20:07

🚀 Engaging with MICE Tourism

The final paragraph encourages viewers to consider local examples of MICE tourism and to think about organizing their own online events. It suggests that online events are becoming easier to manage and invites viewers to share their ideas and engage in a discussion on Discord. The script concludes with a prompt for viewers to reflect on the MICE industry and what they've learned from the video.

Keywords

💡MICE Industry

The MICE Industry is an acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions. It represents a significant sector within the tourism and hospitality industry, focusing on planning and facilitating events and group travel for specific purposes. The video discusses how this industry has been disrupted by the global pandemic, leading to changes in how events are organized and attended, including a shift towards hybrid and online events. The MICE industry is integral to the video's theme as it sets the context for discussing current changes and future prospects in event tourism.

💡Disruption

Disruption, in the context of the video, refers to the significant changes and challenges that the MICE industry has faced due to the global pandemic. These disruptions have led to a reevaluation of traditional event planning and execution, with a move towards virtual and hybrid event models. The term is used to describe the current state of flux within the industry, emphasizing the need for adaptation and innovation.

💡Hybrid Events

Hybrid events are a blend of physical and virtual gatherings, allowing for participation from both in-person attendees and remote online viewers. The video mentions that hotels may need to incorporate hybrid event spaces as part of their offerings to cater to the changing needs of business travelers. Hybrid events are a key concept in the video as they represent a potential solution to the challenges posed by travel restrictions and social distancing measures.

💡Stakeholders

Stakeholders in the MICE industry include a variety of individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in the successful planning and execution of events. The video outlines the roles of different stakeholders, such as event organizers, suppliers, governments, and commercial sponsors. Understanding the stakeholders is crucial for grasping the complexity of organizing MICE events and the collaborative efforts required for their success.

💡Event Tourism

Event tourism is a term used in the video to describe the broader concept of traveling for the purpose of attending specific events, which may include meetings, conferences, or exhibitions. The video suggests that the term MICE may evolve towards 'event tourism' to encompass the changing landscape of the industry, including the rise of online and hybrid events. Event tourism is central to the video's exploration of the industry's future direction.

💡Incentive Travel

Incentive travel is a type of reward offered to employees or sales teams for achieving certain goals or quotas. The video discusses how incentive travel has become less common, with companies opting for other forms of rewards. However, it remains a part of the MICE industry and is an example of how event-related travel can serve as a motivational tool for businesses.

💡Virtual Events

Virtual events are entirely online gatherings that do not require physical attendance. The video highlights the increasing prevalence of virtual events due to the pandemic, which has necessitated a shift towards digital platforms for event hosting. Virtual events are a significant part of the discussion as they represent a major trend in the adaptation of the MICE industry to current global circumstances.

💡Live Events

Live events, as mentioned in the video, refer to in-person events where attendees gather at a specific venue to participate in real-time. The video contrasts live events with virtual and hybrid events, discussing the challenges and opportunities of each format. Live events are a key component of the MICE industry, and their future is a central topic in the video as the industry navigates the impact of the pandemic.

💡Recorded Events

Recorded events are those that have been pre-recorded and are then broadcast at a set time. The video discusses how recorded events can be incorporated into live or virtual events to provide content and engage audiences. This concept is relevant to the video's exploration of innovative event formats and the blending of traditional and digital approaches in the MICE industry.

💡Regional Associations

Regional associations, such as the Kyoto City MICE Office mentioned in the video, are organizations that work to promote and facilitate event tourism within a specific region. They often collaborate with government bodies and local businesses to attract events and travelers, which can boost the local economy. These associations are highlighted in the video as important stakeholders in the MICE industry, emphasizing the interconnected nature of event planning and execution.

💡Commercial Sponsors

Commercial sponsors are companies or organizations that provide financial or in-kind support for events in exchange for promotional opportunities. The video uses the Olympics as an example of an event with significant commercial sponsorship, illustrating the symbiotic relationship between event organizers and sponsors. Commercial sponsors are a key concept in the video as they play a crucial role in funding and promoting MICE events.

Highlights

Introduction to the MICE industry and its rapid changes due to the global pandemic.

Definition of MICE as an acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events.

Explanation of how the MICE industry involves coordinating various stakeholders for group travel.

Discussion on the impact of the pandemic on the MICE industry, including the rise of hybrid and online events.

Description of the different components of MICE: Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences, and Events.

The evolution of incentive travel and its decline due to the shift towards online meetings.

The increasing prevalence of online conferences and the platforms used to facilitate them.

The potential rebranding of the MICE industry to Event Tourism or Event Management.

The various stakeholders involved in the MICE industry, including clients, suppliers, governments, and commercial sponsors.

The role of government and regional associations in promoting MICE tourism.

The importance of commercial sponsors in funding MICE events.

The different types of events covered by the MICE industry, including cultural, sporting, and business events.

The future of event delivery methods, with a focus on technology and disruption.

The concept of live, recorded, in-person, virtual, and hybrid events in the context of the MICE industry.

Challenges in designing hybrid events to ensure interaction between in-person and online attendees.

Invitation for viewers to share local MICE tourism examples and their thoughts on organizing online events.

Transcripts

hello there together learners eric back

again

ever asked yourself about a career in

the tourism and hospitality industry

well there's a big change that's been

happening and happening a lot more

faster in the tourism industry because

of the global pandemic there's big

disruption everywhere and we're talking

about something called the

mice industry in this video and how it's

changing and how you might take

advantage of some of this disruption

and the basics

of the mice industry coming right up

[Music]

all right mice tourism

it's an acronym it means a bunch of

things i'm definitely going to tell you

what it means but in large part it just

means

travel and travel for a specific

purpose

largely it just means traveling

for meetings or for events basically if

you're going to travel in a large group

that's been planned ahead of time

there's a lot of

partners a lot of stakeholders in the

travel industry that have to kind of

come together to facilitate this type of

travel think about the olympics right

it's not only the olympic committee

where you every each country has to get

involved somehow so they can arrange

participation of all the athletes and

guests but that host country has to

get consensus from the people and the

government and hotels restaurants all

have to kind of work together to make

the olympics a success and in the last

olympics that even involve policy makers

and

the health industry and

doctors and all types of other new

things that are happening as well as as

we'll talk in this video the inclusion

of hybrid and online events to augment

the

disruption that's happening

with these restrictions of travel all

around the world so mice industry in

essence is all about putting on events

facilitating events and all the

stakeholders that are

kind of a part of making that happen

it's not just one type of business or

one type of

stakeholder right there's a lot of

different

facets involved and if you wanted to get

involved in the

tourism industry you might find yourself

very likely at least

tangentially related to mice tourism

right so let's talk about those acronyms

right this first one is m which means

meetings and it's any type of occasion

where you have to travel for business

and think about a sales uh traveling

salesman that puts meetings together and

maybe travels all over a country or even

the world

to meet with potential clients or to

meet with

you know ongoing business situations

maybe to make a new sale or to

sure

relations right you have to go

break bread as it were with potential

people that you want to do business with

and you have to facilitate this in some

way so that's one of the reasons why you

have

business offices and hotels and and sort

of meeting rooms and and convention

centers

uh to facilitate these small and large

meetings usually for business right

you see this all the time but it's

happening less and less

for especially when

it's not as important as we get to do

these online type meetings using zoom

and teleconferencing people are getting

much more comfortable doing it although

this is never going away completely and

you could start to see maybe some hybrid

type events and maybe hotels are going

to start to have to

incorporate more teleconferencing hybrid

situations in their offerings to

their

um guests especially business travels so

they can

host these type of kind of hybrid slash

meeting events moving towards the future

next one is incentive travel incentive

tourism um this is kind of becoming a

rare thing really um

a lot of businesses especially in sales

used to incentivize their

workforce by offering some large group

travel at the end of the year if the

company met their quota or their safety

margins or whatever that meant right

i worked for microsoft for a couple

years and every year we would rent out

an amusement park and everyone would get

to travel there and have the whole place

to ourselves and it's kind of like a a

team building thanks for everyone type

in situation

back in the day magazine sales people

you know nobody who nobody reads

magazines anymore but if they sold a

certain amount of magazine subscriptions

in a year they got a trip to hawaii or

something like that it's supposed to

motivate you incentivize you

to

work as a team meet your sales quotas

and work harder and there you got

rewarded with travel so

uh companies travel companies and in

specifically would put together these

packages and offer them through

companies to offer their employees for

these

um for these incentive type situations

and they maybe they'd buy them in bulk

and there'd be all the type all types of

kind of deals set

and um

kind of

uh selling in

at wholesale as it were and setting up

with with hotels and businesses so the

companies and employees could travel

together in this way as well

next one is conferences

conferences now are happening more and

more online

we have tons and tons of new online

event

platforms

some of them are using things like zune

on top of what they are to organize you

know breakout sessions or

discussions and panels and all those

type of things that happen maybe in for

example an academic type conference but

there's all types of conferences

and they need to get together or not and

online and it's a big part of

the mice industry conventions

conferences there is a different couple

of type of c type situation where you

could put this in instead

really these are kind of larger scale

um usually based around a specific

kind of um industry like there's

conferences for perhaps like

bank executives or people that work in

textiles or whatever have whatever have

you and people need to get together for

that specific reason that do business

and network and share ideas etc so

it's based around a topic or common

interest

and they have a reason to get together

and exchange and

again break bread as it were uh

see each other and build relationships

make new ones and keep old ones

now

the last one is events and really a lot

of people in the tourism industry are

kind of moving away from the word mice

because a lot of these are getting

outdated for example incentive travel

is really starting to evolve and change

into something new so

a lot of

people that are talking about the mice

industry now will often just refer to it

as event tourism or event

uh

travel

something that's related to an event a

meeting maybe you could call an event or

could not a call event but i would argue

easily that conferences are events as

well right any type of situation

where you have a large group of people

small as well trying to get together for

a specific purpose you could call an

event and now

these events are now online and hybrid

and

also coming back to in person so

events have a lot more meanings and it's

much more broad and so i think

possibly this is not something said in

estonia we could see basically

uh the mice term kind of just turn into

event tourism or event management

and kind of have that blanket term for

the rest of the type of travel around

this topic around the mice tourism

right so let's go back and talk a little

bit more about the stakeholders and the

key players here because

this is at the essence what you need to

know about the mice industries because

it's not just one type of player there

are many different types of players in

the mice industry and they all kind of

have to

communicate with each other

and coordinate with each other to really

facilitate

uh mice

travel because

it needs a lot of different things you

need to

have the policy to bring in large groups

of people from for example if it's an

international travel large group of

people from different countries at the

same time into the country you need to

coordinate with hotels and restaurants

to be able to facilitate them staying

somewhere in the transportation industry

needs to get them from place to place

restaurants and bars and then also

convention centers and places that hold

these events and then you're getting

into entertainment and

being able to

televise

broadcast and now put stuff online to be

able to connect with people that are

there physically and also

using

the internet or some sort of

teleconferencing whatever that platform

might be virtual reality we talk a lot

about here at together learning as well

so you have these clients uh

they're basically the people who want to

put on the event the people that are

putting the money up front usually for

the event and they sometimes they're

putting on an event and they hope to

make money by selling tickets

or they're they're putting on the

the event

to

for for a sponsor or commercial sponsor

we'll see at the end here so these are

people that are

basically uh procuring the venue getting

advertisers getting all the things that

are necessary the caterers

and working with the hotels to put on

the event

so they're the players they're the kind

of like the event organizers many times

they're the people that actually put the

event together

recruit participants or uh disseminate

the information and market it and

they're working with everybody else to

make money in this space by organizing

and putting on and curating and

basically making events managing events

next we have the suppliers here with

that's a big type of range of different

suppliers in the mice industry they

provide different services

conference rooms

like uh entertainment firms that will

rent

camera crews to record things and put on

a live event or you need a stage for

example in the esports industry you're

going to rely heavily on a

a supplier that can come in with a ton

of

computers and networking and be able to

make large screens and put on like a big

like a technical support type

entertainment event

um hotels of course in this insurance is

also big in this because people are

traveling they're not necessarily in

their

like coverage area as far as either

health insurance or

auto insurance or accident insurance etc

so they might be supplying insurance as

well

and there's all types of other possible

suppliers that you have to work with as

well that are selling things and

supplying services goods and experiences

for the mice industry

other very key player are governments

and regional associations so

um at time of making this video i live

in kyoto japan and kyoto japan has kind

of three

organizations one is called the kyoto

city mice office which is run by the

professional government of kyoto and

they kind of coordinate and use tax

dollars to promote services and people

to actually come to kyoto because

that is actually

a revenue maker plus revenue maker for

the city and for the state prefecture of

kyoto by attracting people to kyoto and

having them spend their money here the

hotels are taxed at a higher rate here

and so travelers come and they

whatever money is spent by taxpayers to

facilitate and attract more travelers to

kyoto especially do it in a safe

sustainable

way that is better for the people that

live in kyoto right they have a say they

have a part to play as well in the

policy and

the congestion issue that happens

sometimes with large-scale tourism too

many people in too many places will

sometimes annoy the locals so the city

has to be kind of a go between about

strike a balance between

inviting people and not being

overcrowding for the people that

actually live there

um that was just one but there's also

two more organizations there's the

bureau convention bureau here in kyoto

which is mainly kind of like a

consortium of businesses and hotels and

restaurants that get together and pool

their money

to

[Music]

facilitate

more travel and offer packages and

places to hold large events so they can

collectively

make more money

then there's also a dmo which is

a destination management organization

which is largely

it's very popularized in japan somewhere

some places else in the world it's

called different things in other places

but it's supposed to be a melding

between public and private

but really in japan it's largely private

and they funnel through and use

the government agency as a way to kind

of

exert more influence on how

public money is being spent for

mice purposes

and of course then you have commercial

sponsors um they'll probably work with

the clients for whatever reason so

usually an event

the there's a couple ways to make money

right you can sell tickets and hopefully

you sell more tickets to make enough

money to pay for the insurance and the

venue and the food and all that stuff

but

many times

a company will put up

the money

and either

uh discount the tickets or make it free

for people to come and that organization

gets to promote a product to service

their image et cetera et cetera you know

like the go to go back to the olympics

example every every time the olympics

happens companies play

hundreds of millions of dollars to show

their name and be connected with the

olympics

and so they're they are a commercial

sponsor for it

and so if you're an event client

you might be buying things from

sellers but your budgets are might be

really tied to these commercial sponsors

so

uh government regional

associations like that dmo or that hotel

restaurant bureau convention bureau are

always trying to

network with possible sponsors because

that combination all they need now is to

find somebody willing to organize the

event to make some money and then offer

them the sponsorship and then they can

run with

possibly holding larger events

without a lot of

risk to

the the client or the person buying the

venue because the hotel is going to put

up the space and maybe the catering and

the sponsor is going to guarantee a

specific amount of money therefore the

event maybe get approved to go ahead and

then

maybe maybe not they get enough people

so sell enough but um the event still

happens it's still still fairly safe to

move forward the event

so you notice that there's a lot of

different players a lot of situations

happening here and if you're in the

tourism hospitality industry you're very

likely to

be a part of this in some fashion

all right there's all types of events

that could happen the cultural events we

talked about the olympics at sporting

events business events around you know

specific

industries and

types of

careers

accounting into science to art there's

all types of things and reasons to get

together that should be quite obvious

but what's moving ahead in the future is

kind of the delivery method the

technology used with events is being

buried and amplified and disrupted uh a

lot so

some terms here live event meaning in

person a live event i'm sorry a live

event just means you participate as it's

happening right uh when you watch a live

concert it's happening when you lot when

you watch it so that doesn't it could be

in person or online it just means when

you're watching it it's actually

happening right then and now

right

a recorded event already happened and

then it's just kind of broadcast at a

certain time so

um when we're talking about online

events we might have a combination of

these live and recorded so you might

have a live

uh mc that's

talking to you live and you're watching

that person talk and as you're watching

that person that mc talk

they're actually talking but they'll

then

show you some recorded videos of what

happened in the past so there could be a

combination of both live and recorded

when you talk about these events in

person events is when you actually go

physically to that venue show your face

and be with other people

virtual events is when it's

held completely online in something like

zoom or in virtual reality you can test

some virtual reality environments out on

togetherlearning.com by the way hybrid

events again is a mixture of all of

these things you could have some people

there at the venue but then some people

might be online watching

the talks perhaps you're doing something

like a ted event or something like that

a tedx event or some sort of academic

conference

people are there to talk with the

speakers get to know their people in

their

industry or field

and

share ideas but there are also people

that couldn't travel they're watching

the talks and one of the challenges in

the design of these in the future is to

find try to figure out a way to

meld to get the people that are online

and the people that are in person to

interact in some way it's something i've

been tinkering with and doing research

on for

many number of years and you can find

some projects on that

on our websites as well

right

well that was a little bit about the

mice industry and what it means to be a

part of it and your introduction to it

uh what do you think

i have some questions for you actually

about this if you want to check it out

and answer it in the

um

the chat

so

can you think of some examples of mice

tourism in your area

perhaps some events that happen that are

local to you

i'd love to hear about them

there's some really good ones that i

might put down there as well from kyoto

japan there's some really cool events

that happen only here in the world

but if you could do an online event and

only online they're getting much more

easier to put on and manage

so you can

maybe try your hand at putting on an

event online and if you did

what kind of event do you want to do

maybe there be somebody that wants to

join or support you or

give you some

hints or ideas that goes along with what

you have put all that down in the

description below and hopefully

you can join our discord server too to

start that discussion up if you'd like

all right

that's enough about the mice industry

we'll see you again in the next video

guys

thanks for watching bye bye now