Sheraton Xian Hotel (Photo courtesy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.)

September 5, 2007 -- The MICE 2007 Second Summit Forum on China's Conference Tour Economy Development will be held in Shanghai later this month. Focusing on the growth and development of China's national meeting and convention market, the conference about conferences will focus on a rapidly growing industry throughout China.
According to unofficial estimates from Media 999, China's Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition industry - or MICE as it is called - saw 3,800 events staged in 2006. Xi'an is building the new 4.5 billion yuan Xi'an Qujiang International Convention and Exhibition Center. Hotels throughout the country are deliberately including MICE facilities in their plans and companies have begun to realize that MICE events outside China's traditional centers are recruitment incentives to attract and keep the best talent.

"MICE is one of the fastest growing hotel demand sectors in China and we expect it to continue to grow strongly in the near term," Lily Ng, senior vice president of corporate advisory at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, told Emerging China. "Many cities in China, both first and second tier, are adding and or expanding their convention facilities. In addition to convention centers that cater to large meetings, throughout China, there are many new hotels that offer quality meeting facilities to capture corporate meetings and conferences."

A Nielsen China online survey published this month found that on average Chinese business travelers travel twice a year. The top three reasons for business trips in China are: training (19 percent), meetings (18 percent) and incentive travel (15 percent). Corporate events (11 percent) and conferences and conventions (6 percent) also made the list.

"With more and more multinational companies vying for key talent in China, the importance of keeping employees engaged has become a number one priority, and travel is increasingly being seen as a way to achieve this," a Nielsen China news release explained.

These percentages become even more significant when one considers the sheer number of people who travel in China: 1.39 billion domestically in 2006 with travel receipts equaling approximately US$83 billion. The same year, 125 million foreigners visited China; 25 percent of those visitors, 31.2 million people came on business. The China National Tourism Administration predicts that the number of domestic travelers will increase to 1.78 billion by 2010 and generate around US$100 billion in receipts.

Nielsen China states that Chinese travelers prefer "natural scenery" and to "get back to basics" when they travel. With the numbers of Chinese travelers - both for leisure and business - at over the billion mark it is increasingly difficult to fulfill these desires and please both Chinese and foreign business travelers.

"A lot of companies are looking to do conferences in China because they want to get their people on the ground," Yam Ki Chan, business development manager for WildChina - a boutique tour and event planner - in Beijing, told Emerging China. "It [conferences] is a growing industry. We are contacted by a lot of companies, big and small, about planning their event and we select high-end, intimate, cultural conferences for them." Chan adds that WildChina avoids traditional MICE events, citing their impersonal character.

WildChina represents the segment of the MICE market that wants to take the road less traveled with events ranging from a home stay in rural Guizhou to renting all of the teahouses and the temple at the famous West Lake in Hangzhou. WildChina's client base, which includes McKinsey and Company, Nike and SingTel, has been steadily rising as more companies look to China for their MICE events.

For those companies interested in more traditional MICE events, new facilities are being built throughout China. Xi'an's new convention center will take advantage of the city's historical appeal and easy access to attract MICE events. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, Xi'an's well-connected and growing international airport is an asset to the city in the competitive MICE industry.

"For corporate meetings we need a location where we think we can grow as a business. We want to make sure that the city is safe, has easy access, quality accommodations and the resources required to guarantee the success of the meeting," a FedEx China representative told Emerging China.

For FedEx China, typical MICE event facilities and high quality infrastructure are important. The current building boom of airports, urban infrastructure and world-class hotel, business and retail facilities in central and western China will only benefit the region in attracting more MICE events.

"EF [English First] looks for a peaceful setting in which we can create a total language immersion environment. This allows students to maximize their exposure to English without distraction and to gain the most from the program," Peter Winn, president of EF English First China in Shanghai, told Emerging China. MICE events of this caliber can take advantage of hotels and resorts in remote destinations like Hainan Province's Sanya or rural Hebei Province.

In Dalian, a medium-sized city on the Liaodong peninsula in Northeastern China, 2006 was a good year for MICE events. A total of 119 events came to the city, bringing 4.7 million visitors. Dalian's convenient location near Korea and Japan along with the opening of a Grand Hyatt in 2008 and a Four Points by Sheraton in 2009 will allow Dalian's MICE sector to continue to grow.

"Getting people out of their suits and into track pants or jeans really reduces the formality of meetings and clients have told us that it improves the overall outcome of the event," Chan shares on the benefits of WildChinas unique offerings. Chan admits that although WildChina style events are not for everyone, the MICE industry represents an important and growing sector of the Chinese travel market.

Central and western China's cities and towns are already benefiting from the rise of the MICE industry and are responding with new and expanded facilities and services to meet demand. Like in so many cities across China, there is greater enthusiasm and China's next Olympics could very well be in Chengdu or Kunming, as the country's center becomes an increasingly valuable part of the whole.