MICE market ripe for trapping

GIVEN its huge potential and ease of targeting, the MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibitions) industry deserves to be given priority within South African Tourism's (Satour) international marketing initiatives, concludes Gillian Saunders and Martin Jansen van Vuuren of hospitality consultants Grant Thornton Kessel Feinsten in its hot-off-the-press 250-page Conference Study. The fact-filled study - commissioned by Satour and undertaken between August 1999 and May 2000 - was presented to a packed house of MICE industry stakeholders at a workshop held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng on Tuesday and clearly indicates that SA is only just beginning to tap this economically vibrant sector. Research found that some 95 000 international MICE tourists visited SA in 1998, resulting in a 46% industry growth between 1993-98 compared with the 'general' international tourist arrival growth over the same period of 17%. The MICE industry contributes over R20bn to the GDP - 32% of the total tourism economy - although certain elements do not traditionally form part of the industry as a whole. To capture and fully grow the sector, it was recommended that Satour convene a small, autonomous National Convention Bureau, jointly funded between public/private stakeholders and which makes extensive use of outsourcing and subcontracting to implement plans. Studies undertaken on international incentive markets - a sector reportedly not widely recognised in SA - indicate that, in two of the country's main source markets - the US and the UK - the potential for growth is enormous. Based on current industry turnover, the US spends $23bn annually on merchandise and travel for motivational use, there being a potential international outbound market from the US of around $8bn for incentive travel. And in the UK, the turnover of the top 30 incentive travel agencies grew by 25% in '98, their turnover topping R1,27bn. Internationally, congress centres with in-house facilities are mostly used for international meetings, the peak period for such events being between May and October with June and September being the most popular months. The first issue that had to be tackled by Kessel Feinstein on undertaking the study was to identify just what events fall into the MICE category, it being finally decided to include all events held by entities such as business, associations,academic and government institutions regardless of size whether they be small cocktail parties or small presentations. It was also difficult, said Saunders, to decide what constitutes an "international meeting" as so many of the accepted international definitions were extremely restrictive when trying to measure the number of foreign conference delegates to a country. So, for the purposes of the report, a modified definition was used, being 'a multi-day event featuring at least a 40% foreign delegate component'. Of the 131 SA-MICE venues included in the survey sample - out of a total of approximately 1 500 countrywide - it was estimated that they nevertheless accounted for 90% of the SA international MICE market and 60% of the domestic market. They hosted over 101 000 events in 1999, 1 500 of which were international and attracting 110 000 overseas delegates. Following previously discussed definition guidelines, it was further estimated that SA hosted 863 international conferences in 1999. Conference venues hosted 61 000 MICE events in 1999; the average length being 1,3 days; 70% of which had less than 100 delegates; with one-third of the venues' business booked through Professional Conference Organisers (PCO). Average lead-times were around 25 days. 72% offered on-site accommodation; the average half-day conference rate charged is R122 per delegate day, excluding lunch and only 4% had permanent electronic delegate participation/voting systems.These venues offer 1,4m conference room days with 273 000 seats available in theatre/schoolroom style, translating into 100m available delegate days per annum. With regard to exhibition utilisation, 57% of venues had exhibition space, with 60% of events being local, 30% national and 10% international. The main results from the 706 international delegates polled concluded the following: - The average length of an international conference is 4,2 days. - Delegates spend six days at a conference destination. - 73% use hotels - 53% using three-star; 25% five-star and 14% B&Bs. - Mpumalanga was the most visited province - the Kruger National Park being the main draw - with delegates staying 3.1 days - 30% took a pre- or post-conference tour, spending on average R9 300 per trip. - 76% said they felt safe in SA. - 93% said they would visit SA again. Satour's overseas offices came in for some severe industry criticism and rated low in terms of MICE efficiency. Unlike SA's main competitors' offices which feature dedicated MICE staff - Satour offices generally had no specific MICE expertise and, in the case of London, took about three to five days to respond to requests for information. Industry trends have identified the growing demand for international conferences, SA's favourable exchange rate helping; lead-times becoming shorter; PCO's being increasingly used for international conferences; more outdoor adventure and team-building meetings being booked and international pharmaceutical industries currently upping their MICE spend. A spokesperson for Satour said that it was, as yet, unclear what would happen now that the report had been presented, its recommendations likely needing to wait until the organisation's restructuring is completed later in the year. (Elizabeth Sheridan)