In the last few months, many people mentioned meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) as an important — and lucrative — element of the hospitality industry in the region.
The GCC MICE sector is reportedly worth US $1.3 billion with growth expected across the region. It was a topic of intense discussion during The Great GM Debate advisory panel meeting, where the experts agreed that while the exhibitions business is definitely lucrative, the next step is to aim for large-scale conventions.
Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek GM Maria Tullberg said that the region needs to become more of a business destination with the likes of medical or legal conventions.
Viceroy Hotel Group RVP and Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi general manager Andrew Humphries said the challenge currently is around finding convention space, where 5,000 or 8,000 delegates can be accommodated — not to say where to house them.
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I loved the idea put forward by Stefan Fuchs, general manager of Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, who is currently looking to co-operate with all the new hotels opening around his property and sell the cluster as a MICE destination in itself. He said: “There is a lot of synergy but it’s not easy… but it makes sense for clusters or areas to create demand.”
He added that bringing conventions in general is expensive, as these are not like exhibitions where clients buy 50m2 of space and build a stand. “And if you have to build the infrastructure it’s a lot of money,” Fuchs added.
We have received a lot of news recently about how GCC countries are focusing on a lot of different initiatives to push MICE. Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, for example, just recently established a new Oman Convention Bureau.
Oman’s director general of tourism promotion Salim Al Mamari said: “Our Tourism Strategy for 2040 has MICE as a major pillar for the future to help us grow and enhance the industry.”
In practical terms, the MICE area will receive a significant boost in 2016 with the scheduled opening of the Oman Convention Centre in Muscat in the last quarter of this year. The convention centre will include theatres, conference rooms and four hotels with almost 1,000 rooms along with major exhibition halls that can cater to thousands of people at one time.
And in the UAE, the inaugural ICCA Middle East International Meetings Forum was held to increase knowledge sharing and address future growth potential for the business events industry in the region.
Great news for this sector, so when I got an invite from FRHI Hotels & Resorts to attend the company’s Global Meeting Exchange in Ajman at the end of June, I leapt at the opportunity to learn more.
And like the rooms business, MICE is not without its own set of disruptors. It was intriguing to hear from FRHI Hotels & Resorts executive director of distribution Doug Carr, who said that the OTAs are interested in the meetings business, and added that this is potentially the beginning of a new trend.
I also found out about the tech trends in MICE — from the usage of drones to iBeacons, and even holograms!
After everything I have read and heard about this sector over the last month, I am now convinced that this is what the hospitality industry in the region needs to focus on next.
This region, after all, is already known for its beach resorts, desert retreats and city hotels, and is slowly emerging as a destination for food enthusiasts — now it’s time to be a powerhouse in the MICE market.
Devina Divecha, Senior Editor
devina.divecha@itp.com
Social: @DevinaDivecha
Twitter/Instagram: @HotelierME
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