Well, we need some clarification… MICE?? What is this acronym?

MICE means “Meetings, Incentives, Congresses & Events” or “Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions”. But in the end, it means the same. MICE is a part of Business Travel sector, which is one of the three parts of the Tourism industry (leisure tourism, business tourism, and other tourism that we can name “for other personal purpose”). MICE concerns any event related to a professional scope (corporate or association);  it goes from the simple board meeting of 10 people to the international congress of 10,000 participants, to seminars, incentives (or reward trips), conventions, corporate events, symposiums, and more…

OK, but what does it mean exactly? Is there any school that trains for this job?

We can find MICE in many sectors: hospitality/catering, communication and event agencies, congress centers, museums, and even in Disneyland (actually, Disneyland Paris is the first European MICE destination!)!  So actually, although MICE is a relatively specific sector of the travel industry, we find some almost everywhere. About studies, many ways are possible: BTS, School of Management, Tourism and Hospitality schools, …

And what is your typical day?

Each day is different. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why I’m passionate about this job. Between projects, emergencies, contingencies, administrative tasks, accounting, development, or transversal missions, it is complicated to give you a “typical” day. I just can say that daily, I set up projects from the beginning to the end (events, newsletters, promotional actions, …), I’m in permanent contact with MICE actors (MICE agencies and corporates), and I develop the MICE department of the agency.

What are the trendy cities in terms of MICE lately?

For short and medium-haul destinations: Lisbon has been very successful for the two last years! South of Europe in general always works well: Spain, Italia, or Croatia are very requested for the sun, their proximity and accessibility, as well as the cost for a stay which is one of the most important decision factor for a destination. For long-haul destinations, Cuba and Brazil are THE “trendy” destinations at the moment for companies. By the way, they are often in competition with destinations we represent like Abu Dhabi and Québec.

Interface Tourism has created a department dedicated to the MICE sector, we guest the ambitions are very high. Could you tell us more about your strategy regarding this business?

Interface MICE has been created in 2012. We will celebrate our 5 years anniversary next year, and the “young” department evolved well. With 4 permanent clients and about a dozen of punctual missions confirmed every year, we can affirm that the department is in a great growth. With current context, a growing competition between destinations, globalization and global geopolitical context, countries realize that it is important to find new development lines (other than leisure tourism). MICE represents one of these lines. Thus, we note that tourism institutions (or DMO – Destination Management Organization) are structuring more and more in creating MICE/Business Travel departments, or even sometimes semi-independent divisions, with specific strategies on this sector. With our expertise and French MICE market intelligence, we know it represents a great opportunity for us. That’s why we have created the Interface MICE brand.

Otherwise, you have a life outside Interface. What are your hobbies (except travelling)?

I love music, everyone around me will tell you so! I had 11 years of piano lessons, and I have the chance to compose my own songs. Music allows me to express myself, to share, to travel et to make travel others too (we always come back to travel…). Otherwise, I like cinema too.

What’s you next trip?

I’m currently preparing two familiarization trips for late September and early October: Québec and Scotland. Objective: show to event organizers the MICE assets of these destinations.