MICE Venues - what about cruise liners?

I read an article in The Sunday Times yesterday showcasing MICE venue options on cruise liners. One cruise giant - Royal Caribbean - has been making strides in promoting its liners as venue options for MICE activities. How interesting! I thought it would be a good exercise to take a peek into what liners have to offer MICE organisers:
- state of the art equipment (audio-visual)
- meeting rooms with a variety of space configurations (depending on the size of the liner, this could go up to seating for 400 attendees): Royal Caribbean liners offer executive boardrooms, multimedia screening rooms, Conference Centres etc.
- dining spaces - from casual dining to fine dining
- accommodation - various levels of luxury
- leisure activities, facilities - making it easy to run team-building exercises
- staff services - porters, guest relations officers etc

I guess the list can go on. One great thing - you don't have to travel far to the next venue. Having said that, the liners these days are massive with each level covering areas equivalent to multiple football fields joined together.....so maybe ther might be quite a lot of walking to do.

The one drawback, though, is that guests have to commit to slightly longer periods for attending the event, unlike a land-based venue where one can leave at any time. But, that is a small price to pay for an experience that would be impactful and very unique.

It would be great to see more and more MICE actvitities being held on cruise liners.....then I would have the opportunity to attend one of such meetings or events!

Haitus....please check back in late October 2009

Am going on a haitus. Need some inspiration to make this blog more useful to readers. For those of you who check out this blog every now and then, I salute you and thank you for the support.

Will be blogging again in late October 2009.

Incentive Travel - still a big business

Incentive travel is a fascinating business, and a major revenue earner within the M.I.C.E. industry. It's the one area where planners can exercise all their creative genius in developing and creating "one-of-a-kind" itineraries. I have always enjoyed the times when I was involved in planning and managing incentive travel programmes - visiting a variety of destinations; staying at the luxury hotels and resorts; enjoying 5-star treatment, dining etc. All paid for by the event owner.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The streets were fairly well maintained and the air clean (i.e. visibility was good). Here are some pictures:



This is one of the common noodle dishes eaten by the general populace (it goes by the name Nom Bonh Chok). You have the choice of 3 different soups - the traditional Cambodian soup (a blend of spices, mainly ginger); Thai hot and sour soup; and a yellow curry. I had the traditional Cambodian soup. The condiments include raw vegetables (basil leaves; tapioca leaves etc) fresh lime; pickled cucumber and raw green chilli padi.


I also had the opportunity to visit the Royal Palace or at least the grounds surrounding the King's residence. The grounds included the Coronation Hall (where the coronation ceremony and other official ceremonies are held); a pagoda (where the King worships); dance halls etc. Very interesting from an Incentive Travel point of view. I kept asking the Cambodian government officers (whom I was with) if there was a possibility of private sector companies using the Palace for a dinner (like treating award winners on an incentive trip to a "royal" banquet within the palace grounds). Sad to say the response was not very encouraging. However, when it comes to incentives, its very much about being creative and finding unique things to do/experience within unique settings and venues.


The incentive travel organisers who have done well are those who have been able to cross creative boundaries in coming up with once-in-a-lifetime experiences for the travel award winners.

The Case for Exhibitions

I have been a bit derelict in my blog duties. The woes on the global M.I.C.E industry continue unabated - the latest stab in the back being the H1N1 influenza virus. But enough of woes. I have been re-visiting the Exhibitions sector feel that this is an appropriate time to make the case for Exhibitions.

Exhibitions (or Tradeshows as is the common term) provide a very important and useful platform for companies to market/sell/promote their products and services. At the same time Exhibitions also provide business executives a platform to engage with the said companies - all in a single location and within a fixed period of time. The costs - neglible to the companies exhibiting and to the visiting business executives.

I recall coming across a survey that was carried out in 2006 in the US. In this survey both tradeshow visitors and exhibitors were polled. Some of the interesting observations were:
- over 90% of the visitors polled stated that tradeshows impact their purchasing decisions as they were able to compare products, pricing, aftersales service packages etc;
- over 80% of the visitors (polled) had some form of purchasing power (on behalf of the companies they represented);
- more than 80% of the decision makers polled noted that tradeshows saved them time as they got to see/meet multiple sellers under one roof;
- the exhibitors who were polled estimated that participating in trade shows costs 30% less than having to go out and make sales calls.

I know that this is only one survey, but the results are very impressive and reflect the effectiveness of exhibitions/tradeshows.

Tradeshows and business exhibitions also bring value to the destinations in which they are held. The local industries benefit from exhibitions. Local business executives get to see first hand the latest technologies that are being developed/used in overseas markets. Industry players get to network with their peers from different geographical regions. Potential buyers get to see, touch, hear, smell and taste products and equipment without having to travel far. Opportunities to generate new business, new investments, new markets.......and the list goes on. Destinations gain from tourism receipts; filips to the local industries; possible inflows of foreign investments; platforms for government officials to share development efforts etc. All this from a single tradeshow/exhibition. Don't think you can beat that!

So, to all the tradeshow organisers out in the world. I salute you and hope that you will continue to do what you do best - create, develop and organise tradeshows!

KPIs for travel to meetings

An article in today's Business Times quotes a recent global study conducted by CFO Research Services and American Expres (Amex), stating, "two thirds of respondents plan to keep in place or even bump up travel spending for existing clients, while 82 per cent of those polled will do the same for meetings with new clients or for business development". This is one of the several positive bits of news that has begun to appear in the media, pointing to a recovery of sorts for the meetings industry. Yahoo!!!

What caught my eye (in the same article) was a comment that some of the companies are now monitoring whether the time, money and effort spent on arranging and travelling to such meetings do result in revenue generation - sort of tracking to see if the event can be linked to new or additional business. Could this signal the emergence of stricter KPIs (key performance indicators) for evaluating meetings? I think this is important. It is heartening (as an industry practitioner) to see companies take meetings seriously. The success of a meeting should be measured in objective terms - this can only lead to a greater conviction in the benefits of holding face-to-face meetings. A lot of time, effort and dollars go into arranging and organising meetings. It is therefore only reasonable to want the meeting objectives to be not only met, but exceeded. Let's continue to cheer for the KPIs!!!

From double whammy to mini second whammy

Phew!!! There must be sighs of relief going round in waves. What was shaping up to be a potentially disastrous pandemic (the H1N1 virus) is now tapering down. I can just imagine meeting organisers around the whole getting ready to pop the champagne. Working hard to revive a somewhat lame meetings industry, the overlooming threat of a flu pandemic only added to the woes. Thankfully, the virus can be combatted by vaccines and most governments have been quick to activate control measures that have prevented the mass spread of the virus.

Meetings organisers will need to work quickly to shore up support from their stakeholders and push ahead with their planned events. They need to and the industry certainly needs to see such events being held. In fact, the various stakeholders in the industry - venue owners, hotels, event management agencies, audio-visual service suppliers, direct marketing agencies, DMCs, the exhibition stand contractors etc - need to band together and provide value-added support to organisers and meeting convenors......nudge them out of their shells and kick start some meetings activities.

Picking the right destination

Over the past couple of days I have been thinking about the impact the destination choice can have on whether one chooses to attend a meeting/conference or not. Using myself as a reference point I realise that the destination does play in role in my selection process when selecting a conference to attend. For example, there is a conference on the subject of gaming which I would like to attend. This conference is run both in Macau and Las Vegas (the Las Vegas version offering an expanded programme). My first choice was automatically Las Vegas - the mecca of gambling.

Funny thing, the programmes would be almost similar and it is of course a lot more convenient to go to Macau. However, as a destination Las Vegas is a whole lot more attractive - particularly from the stand point of view of the conference focus i.e. gaming.

So, what should we take into account when looking at destination options for a meeting or conference we are planning to organise? There are criteria which are practical in nature - geographical location, accessibility of the location; availablity of MICE facilities; safety and security; availability of manpower and support services etc. Then there is the emotional pull of the destination. This is an important criterion - the image and branding of the destination. In my example above, Las Vegas is the mecca of gambling - what more appropriate place is there to hold a conference on gaming than in Las Vegas. Of course the city is a fully functioning convention destination, exceeding all the "practical" criteria. The emotional pull was the tipping point for me.

The emotional pull is an important point. We see it subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, displayed in the destination branding advertisements put out by NTOs, particularly those targeted at the business traveller (business events etc). Next time you happen to watch a destination branding advertisement, do a quick calculation on how much focus is placed on the practical and how much on the emotional. I think you will be surprised by the results.

Is a meeting just a "meeting"?

I know that my topic this week should focus on the M.I.C.E. industry in general. However, I came across something that got my engine firing on all cylinders ala "motor-speak". Martin Sirk, the CEO of International Congress & Convention Association (commonly known as ICCA) contributed his views in the lastest issue of the publication, Incentives & Meetings International.

In the short article he stated, "Leading companies have realised that the human capital brought together for a 3- or 4-day meeting has vast potential that's only limited by the imagination of the organisers". How true this is. Drawing a connection to the M.I.C.E. industry in general, the platform for networking and business business relationships is a major contributing factor to the succees of the industry.

Back to meetings and conferences. An organisation's ability to create, build and develop its business relationships - with customers and potenial customers; with business partners and suppliers; with vendors; with industry peers; with government and local authorities - is critical to maintaining and advancing its competitive position. This especially so when you consider customers/potential customers and business partners. When you can, therefore, get everyone together in one place and for a period of 2-3 days, imagine the benefits that the organisation can gain - the networking and business of relationships; the bonding over times of fun, enjoyment and relaxation; times for generating ideas and creating opportunities......the list just goes on.

Many of these benefits cannot be truly replicated when it comes to meetings held in cyberspace. The physical human presence still counts.....and in my book, it counts for a lot!

The Importance of the M.I.C.E. industry

There has been a growing groundswell in the United States to encourage companies, corporations, organisations and associations to continue to organise meetings, conferences, tradeshows and other M.I.C.E.-related events, even in the face of worsening economic conditions. Members of the M.I.C.E. industry have banded together to lobby both the federal governments as well as business sectors in an effort to generate M.I.C.E. activities. This is important as M.I.C.E. events actually benefit a wide range of businesses in the cities they are held.

Lets take a look at some of these benefits:
- business visitors coming to attend an event: they spend money on accommodation, food, drinks, transportation, and even on shopping
- organisers spend money on venues, and purchase services from suppliers in the M.I.C.E. industry
- the spending generates sales for businesses and keeps people hired
- tourism numbers and receipts go up for the destination concerned (a city or state)

And then when this goes on long enough, both government and private sector will see the need to invest in the upgrading of facilities or the building of additional (and new) facilities. So what we have here is and economic cycle of activities that helps to perpetuate growth and development.

So we do need to lobby businesses to get them to continue to organise and participate in M.I.C.E. events. I think the American lobby - Keep America Meeting - is a good model to look at. If I remember correctly, I made a reference to this in an earlier post.

Let's keep pushing on. As much as the M.I.C.E. industry keeps going to government for assistance, reliefs, tax rebates etc. I think its equally important (if not more) to reach out to the general business community, organisations and associations to convince them of the need to continue holding and participating in M.I.C.E. events/activities.

Face-to-Face Conference vs Video Conference

An article appeared in today's Straits Times highlighting the growing trend of companies resorting to videoconferencing instead of organising/attending face-to-face meetings. The article featured a variety of videoconferencing services that are available in Singapore. It also quoted research firm Gartner's prediction that high-definition video conferencing solutions would replace some 2.1 million airline seats (each year) by 2012.

As much as I believe in the use of technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of doing business, I cannot ignore the fact that in the area of business relationships and bonds with clients, face-to-face meetings cannot be replaced. The opportunities for such meetings often arise from attending conferences, conventions and tradeshows - all of which are face-to-face platforms. Personally, I find it a real challenge to build trust in a business relationship with someone I only am able to see via a computer/tv monitor. Maybe I am dinosaur-ish in my approach, but nothing beats a handshake, the physical exchange of business cards and even a pat on the shoulder, when trying to establish and business a business relationship.

Whilst videoconference solutions offer cost effective alternatives to face-to-face meetings, they do not take into account the intangible benefits that face-to-face meetings provide. So take heart all you M.I.C.E. practitioners - conferences, meetings, conventions and tradeshows will continue to bring strong benefits to the corporate world.......we live to fight another day!

M.I.C.E. in the dumps....maybe not!!

I just received a quick report on the recently complete M.I.C.E. tradeshow AIME 2009. Inspite of the global economic downturn, visitor numbers to AIME rose by 9.6% (based on unaudited total audience figures). The number of companies exhibiting rose by 5.5%. The event attracted a total of 3,548 trade visitors including 467 hosted buyers. The figures augur well for the industry and perhaps are an indication that business in general continues to recognise the importance of M.I.C.E. events and how such events provide a platform for business exchange.

Without more details it is unwise to analyse AIME 09's show statistics. However, my own superficial reading of the success is that the corporate world is looking for more cost effective ways to organise business events - hence the need to meet with M.I.C.E. industry players to perhaps negotiate rates or explore cost effective options. As long as transactions continue to occur and contracts continue to be signed, M.I.C.E. will continue to move ahead......hurrah!

Picking up the pieces....

I will be reducing the frequency of my posts over the next 6-8 weeks. The frequency level should pick up again in late April.

Tourism in Singapore got a shot in the arm on Monday when the government announced a S$90 mn injection of funding for the industry. At the top of the list for how this money will be spent is the "aggressive" marketing of Singapore (as a tourism destination) to countries in the region. This makes sense given the economic climate and the target markets are seemingly correct - capitalisiing on shorter travel times; cheaper airfares; and hopefully offering tourists good value for money (please note that good value for money does not mean cheap.....it simply means good value for money).

The other area of focus is the M.I.C.E. sector - convincing MICE event owners and organisers to hold their events in Singapore. Such events include tradeshows/expositions, conventions and conferences, sporting events, festivals and the like.

So this is great and should give our industry a filip. However, dark clouds loom. Companies in the US are reportedly cutting back on organising corporate conferences and events. They are also cutting back on the number of such events their employees attend. Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is expecting a 12% fall in the number of conference attendees in 2009; plus a 9% drop in off-site meetings and corporate events. Leading the move in these reductions are banks and financial institutions - some of the strongest supports of the MICE industry over the years. These corporations are cutting back on the number of conferences and events they get involved in - adding to the domino effect. Their counterparts in Singapore should follow suit - so the S$90mn boost announced by the government is really timely.

I look forward to greater things for M.I.C.E!!!!

Destination Marketing - Do or Die!

The sudden and fast-paced transformation of the global economic landscape in the past 10 months has resulted in increased government intervention in business, not just the financial sector but other key sectors. One segment that has been sidelined (for now) is the tourism/MICE sector. Many countries and regions are seeing falls in the number of incoming visitors and are forecasting lower numbers and tourism receipts for the current year. People are travelling less - whether for business or pleasure.

This is precisely the time when government agencies responsible for promoting tourism need to step up.......its a lot of marketing of a destination; shouting out loud and being heard; being seen at all relevant tradeshows; frequently updating the destination website. The agency responsible for marketing the city as a destination for business-related events is more often than not a Convention Visitors Bureau (CVB). It can be quite a challenge for the CVB in times like these. Marketing and promotional efforts require money and the eyes of the general public, spending on marketing campaigns, advertisements etc is sometimes misread as being wasteful.

In tight economic times, government agencies are being cautioned against unnecessary spending (that means cut out the bells, whistles and frills). Unfortunately, destination marketing is made up of a lot of bells, whistles and frills and the more the better. I think full-on efforts are needed, in times like these, to promote destinations as M.I.C.E. ready.

Wondering about the "I" in M.I.C.E.

Ever wondered what the "I" in M.I.C.E. stands for? Its something of a mystery to those who are not part of our industry. The Incentives business is a big one.....actually a huge one. I daresay most or all organisations/companies use some form of incentives to motivate staff to exceed performance expectations. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.....er..I mean management tools. The introduction of a travel package or holiday as the incentive is, however, somewhat recent.

In order for a travel package or holiday to function as a "incentive", it has to have a very strong appeal to the employees participating in the incentive programme. The programme will not work if the prize at the end of the race is not perceived as attractive. So how does one characterise an "attractive" incentive travel award? I would look at a few things:
- the travel itinerary has to be unique, customised to a point that it is not something that a holiday maker can buy off the shelf;
- the overall perception of the award has to be one of "high value", "luxury" and the elements of the award needs to deliver on this perception via the treatment of the award winners, the type and quality of the accommodations, the food & beverage etc;
- at the end of the day, the award winners should walk away one of the most memorable experiences of their lifetime;
-details of the travel award - destination, accommodation, activities - need to be made known to employees at the start of the incentive programme so that they have a clear picture of the prize that awaits them.

With the aim of making every award winner feel like royalty, incentive travel programmes put great demands on the organisers. But that is the fun part - the challenge to be creative, to come up with unique itineraries, to put special touches into simple day-to-day activities etc......I leave this with you for now.

CLOSED to members of the Press!

I have been contemplating the on-site aspects of running a conference/convention the past couple of weeks. On-site event management is one of those areas that more often than not test the nerves of event managers. You have a bagful of variables that are not in your control and that seem to have a life and will of their own. These variables always pop up at the most inconvenient of times.

For the large conventions and conferences, or those which run for 2 days or more, organisers and event managers like to have a room set aside as the Event Secretariat or Organiser's Office. This room has multiple functions - its a meeting room for the organiser and event manager to sit down and review ops plans; its a storage place for event staff to keep their handbags and other personal belongings; its a resting place for event staff during break times....and so on.

To keep it short.....keep the Press/Media out of the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office. In fact I never let the Press/Media know that such a room exists. Do not get me wrong.....this is in no way a negative reflection of the Press/Media. I believe that the Press/Media is great for the MICE industry and for the specific conference/convention. Its just that the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office is mostly manned by temporary staff and confidential event operations documents are kept in the office for easy reference (by working staff). Hence the danger of "wrong information", "mis-information" or "misleading information" being picked up by the Press/Media and splashed out for all to see the next day.......so the moral here is keep the Press/Media out of the Event Secretariat/Organiser's Office.