MICE
MICE ( M eetings I ncentives C onventions E xhibitions or events ) is an abbreviation by which that part of the business tourism is known, the organizing and conducting meetings ( M eetings ), veranstalteter of companies incentive and reward trips ( I ncentives ), congresses ( C onventions ) and exhibitions ( Exhibition includes or events). Other terms for this are “meeting industry” or “meetings industry”.
The MICE industry includes convention centers, exhibition halls, event halls, historical buildings with conference infrastructure, hotels in the upper segment that are set up for conferences, their suppliers (catering companies, interpreters, room decorators, furniture rental companies, rental cars and bus companies, etc.), relevant travel agencies ( English: PCO for "Professional Congress Organizers") and their customers: international or national organizations, offices, companies and associations that regularly hold conferences, companies that offer their employees or business partners reward trips, trade fair organizers, etc.
The inclusion of exhibition halls and exhibition organizers in the MICE industry is particularly common in Asia, partly also in North America, because many exhibitions there have evolved from congresses. Above all in Europe, however , the trade fair industry is viewed as an independent branch due to its high economic importance.
International MICE organizations
The following international organizations, among others, deal directly with the MICE sector:
- International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA, seat: Amsterdam)
- Union of International Associations (UIA, seat: Brussels)
- Each of the two publishes an annual ranking of the cities and states most frequented by international conferences.
- International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO)
- European Cities Marketing (ECM, seat: Dijon)
MICE industry in Germany
The professionalization of the MICE industry in Germany has been evident in the last few years in the establishment of independently operating municipal or regional convention bureaus and their organization within the German umbrella association of the MICE industry, the GCB German Convention Bureau e. V. and the VDVO Association of Event Organizers e. V.
International MICE fairs
- IMEX - divided into IMEX America and IMEX Frankfurt
- EIBTM in Barcelona