12. Speak about Mice industry:

• MICE as a new form of business tourism

• Primary sources of revenue of MICE industry

• Types of meetings

• Types of meeting setups

• Incentive tourism

• Types of conferences

• Exhibitions and trade fairs

Mice Industry in Russia Reading

13. How do things stand in the Russian tourism market? Read the text and find out. Mice Industry in Russia

MICE development in Russia is highly dynamic as well as in the rest of the world, and according to the prospects the profitability of this branch of tourism will grow up to $2 billion a year by 2020.

Today, all the areas of corporate tourism, according to MICE experts, have firmly established themselves in modern business lexicon of the Russian economy. For instance, in September, one of such events “The 7th International Meetings Industry and Business Travel Exhibition & Conference” was held within the framework of the MIBEXPO Russia Business Tourism Exhibition at the Crocus Expo Center in Moscow.  Notably, at a session, entitled, ‘Business Tourism Industry-2020: A Look into the Future,’ leading Russian and foreign professionals in the industry ‘brainstormed’ over such issues as the analysis of congress and exhibition business, development of MICE tourism in Russian regions from scratch, the geographical projection of priority destinations for business events through to 2020, as well as effective methods and analysis of MICE services sales in conditions of rapidly growing market competition.

Besides, the official Russian Business Travel & MICE Award-2016 ceremony also took place during the MIBEXPO in September. The awards, honoring the best companies on the Russian MICE market and related industries, were given in 20 nominations to the best congress hotels, best congress centers, conference organizers and incentive programs in Russia and abroad, as well as the best business travel agencies, best airlines for business travelers, etc. Similarly, another major event in the industry “The Moscow International MICE Forum,” which was organized in March 2016 by aiGroup company, a top player in this market, set a new national record, hosting 76 Russian and foreign companies as participants, while the event itself was visited by 1,252 prospective customers from across the globe.

According to the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, an association of leading exhibition centers and trade shows companies in Russia, about 5,000 events are organized annually. Moscow, the nation’s political and financial capital, naturally accounts for 50-60% of all the business conferences, tourism and other related events in the country, generating over $400mln in the process. For instance, Moscow alone boasts about 600 specialized MICE-services providing firms, while the nationwide total runs into several thousands. Besides, the number of annual high-profile MICE events — conferences, exhibitions, etc., averages between 800 and 1,000, generating between $600mln and $750mln, figures that experts say are fully on a par with global standards. The remaining part of the market activities, or about 40%, is held in the regions, with St. Petersburg, often called the ‘second capital and cultural center, leading the pack, with between 10-15% of the gross market share.

The key players in this industry are hotels, business centers, conference halls and out-city business amenities. Specifically, the hospitality industry is in the epicenter of the market, as MICE event organizers and business representatives need places for accommodations, meetings, conferences and seminars and finally for feeding and recreational activities. These services mean additional revenues to hotels that  have the equipment and other needed facilities — conference halls, negotiation rooms, in-house restaurants, technical gadgets such as telephone, Internet, Wi-Fi and others, as well as recreational amenities — to offer companies and individuals in need of such services.

Apart from hotels, other key players are the providers of spaces for conferences, exhibitions and other related corporate activities, whose marketing departments also ‘went an extra mile’ to keep and/or attract new customers.