The 92nd Installment
The Importance of MICE

by Tokuro Matsuo,
Professor, Master Program of Information Systems Architecture

The Japan National Tourist Organization in recent years has recognized the importance of increasing the number of visitors to Japan not only through traditional tourism but also by increasing the number of international conferences.

Recent large fluctuations in the exchange rate coupled with an economic recession have had a direct and significant impact on the tourism industry, and there are calls for tourism development that is less susceptible to such fluctuations. One way of doing this is securing visitors through international conferences–previous a low priority in tourism development–is now drawing attention.

Such international meetings fall under MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) tourism. But how is MICE tourism different from general tourism? First, budgets for general travelers differ from person to person. Some people will choose inexpensive accommodations, others will increase the number of nights stayed, and yet others will take a luxurious trip once every decade.

MICE, on the other hand, maintain a certain level of standards. At an international conference, for example, the hotel’s accommodations and meeting rooms, post-meeting receptions and dinner banquets, promoted local attractions, coffee breaks, the use of ISBN numbers for bound publications, etc., all require a high level of quality.

The reason for this high quality includes agreements for meeting international standards and the announcement of new technologies, so it is necessary to provide a venue that matches the needs of each event. If the quality is not sufficient and the event itself is not satisfactory, it will also not be satisfactory for attendees from abroad. The end result is that Japan will lose its economic or technical advantages, and its industrial power will decrease.

MICE has potential for regional development. The international conferences I referred to earlier have a greater economic ripple effect than ordinary tourism. For example, a conference with 500 participants has an economic ripple effect equivalent to 3,000 or more regular tourists. The economic effect of two international conferences a month would therefore be equivalent to that of more than 70,000 ordinary tourists. So a city that succeeds in attracting international conferences has the power to drastically change the community, even when that city has only modest tourism and tourism attractions. There is a social ripple effect with the improvement of transportation infrastructure and the development of human resources to better welcome an increased number of visitors. There is also a cultural ripple effect—medical conferences, for example, can include public lectures, which helps raise local public health awareness. For international conferences, the organizers pay various expenses such as the travel and accommodation costs of participants, and a large portion of this is spent locally–conference materials such as the program are often printed by a local printing company, and food and drinks can be supplied by a local catering company. In this way, MICE creates great business opportunities and can result in considerable local change and development. MICE visitors also often tour the local area while attending their event. I therefore am of the opinion that MICE is not a separate entity from general tourism, so a cooperative development strategy is desirable.