MICE industry recovers after years in doldrums

MICE industry recovers after years in doldrums

After years in the doldrums, Indonesia's Meeting, Incentive,
Convention and Expo (MICE) industry has started to bounce back
thanks to the improving economy and a more conducive security and
political situation.

A peaceful environment following the successful general and
presidential elections in 2004 and the government's tangible moves
to deal with terrorism have encouraged more foreign visitors to
attend meetings, conventions and exhibitions in Indonesia. This
has had a positive impact for the MICE business.

The industry first saw signs of recovery in 2003 after fears
arising from the Bali bombings started to subside in people's
minds. The recovery continued in 2004, with about 500 events
being held, far higher than the some 300 events that took place
in 2003.

The number of foreign visitors attending MICE events also rose
to 500,000 in 2004 from about 450,000 in 2003.

The Indonesia Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
estimates the number of visitors to MICE events will further
increase by 20 percent this year, exceeding the growth rate
recorded before the country's economic crisis in 1998.

"We hope the number of foreign tourists attending MICE events
will further increase to 700,000 in 2006," said the association's
chairman Iqbal Alan Abdullah.

He is upbeat that the MICE industry can contribute between 20
percent and 25 percent of the total revenues generated by the
tourism industry starting from 2009 onwards provided that the
government gives its full support to the industry.

Meanwhile, major event organizers such as Pacto Convex and
Dyandra Promosindo said they would arrange more international
events next year.

Among the major international events to be organized by Pacto
Convec in 2006 will be ones related to medicine, healthcare and
pharmaceuticals. But the company was unable to furnish additional
information.

Djandra Promosindo expects to organize at least 30 events. "At
least 30 companies have expressed an interest in collaborating
with us on exhibitions. However, we have to study the proposals
first before deciding which ones are feasible," said Dyandra
Promosindo's business development manager, Hutami C.I. Santoso.

The event organizers expressed the hope that the government
would give its full support to the development of MICE industry
by improving the country's image and promoting it as a
destination overseas.

"Our role in the private sector is to promote products," said
Iqbal, also chairman of PT Royalindo, one of the major
professional conference organizers in the country. "For this, we
need the government's support."

The number of MICE-related visitor arrivals peaked at 520,000,
or about 10 percent of total tourist arrivals of 5.18 million in
1997, with over 950 events held in that year, but dropped to
300,000 in 1998 with 200 events, and only increased slightly to
315,000 in 1999 with 215 events due to a combination of the
economic crisis and security uncertainties following the change
in the country's leadership in 1998.

The MICE industry began to pick up again in 2000, with 410,000
business-related visitor arrivals, or about 8 percent of the
total number of foreign tourist arrivals of 5.06 million.
However, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. halted
the positive trend.

Foreign tourist arrivals related to MICE events plunged to
200,000 in 2002 due to the Bali bombings and foreign media reports
that Indonesia was a haven for international terrorist groups.

"MICE is a promising business. It is like a gold mine that has
not yet been fully tapped," Iqbal explained.

Despite the small number of MICE visitors compared to leisure-
related visitor arrivals, MICE visitors contributed more in
revenue terms as visitors to MICE events spent more, he said.

The daily expenditure of MICE visitors was between US$400 and
$500, compared to the around US$100 spent by other visitors.

Iqbal emphasized the importance of promoting the image of
Indonesia overseas to attract more business travellers to the
country.

"The government's efforts to show the world that Indonesia is
not a haven for terrorist groups, for instance, has significantly
helped to present a positive image of the country," he said.

With an improved image, Indonesia could look forward to
hosting more international events, such as conferences and
exhibitions, as the country would have greater bargaining power
when bidding for international events.

"In order to host international events, Indonesia had to bid
for them. A country with a good image and bargaining power has
more opportunities of winning such bids," he said.

As a large country, Indonesia offers a great variety of venues
for conferences and exhibitions thanks to the large number of
provinces and cities that have the capacity to host MICE events.

Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta in Central Java, West Java, East
Java, Medan in North Sumatra, Batam, Manado in North Sulawesi and
Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi were among the country's most
popular MICE destinations.

Most five star hotels in the country's MICE destinations are
equipped with superb meeting rooms and exhibition spaces. These
venues cater to the needs of international visitors, whether for
corporate meetings, workshops or training events.

"Each MICE destination has its own unique culture. This sort
of uniqueness pleases overseas participants in conferences or
exhibitions as the culture is different to their own," Iqbal
said.

For large convention halls and exhibition arenas in Jakarta,
there is the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Jl. Gatot Subroto
and the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central
Jakarta.

The two centers feature all the supporting equipment and
services needed for holding meetings, conferences, conventions,
exhibitions and other events. They are both equipped with
business centers and sophisticated technology like audio-visual,
video conferencing and projector equipment.

The promising outlook has encouraged the country's major
exhibition centers to upgrade their exhibition facilities.

PT JIExpo, for instance, will improve its venues and
facilities to meet the diversified needs of convention and
exhibition promoters, and to turn the center into the largest
exhibition venue in the country.

Aside from improvements to the support infrastructure, the
industry is also placing emphasis on the development of human
resources.

Starting this year, the Indonesia Congress and Convention
Association (ICCA), in cooperation with the State Polytechnic
University Jakarta, is offering a diploma (D) 4 program majoring
in MICE in a bid to solve the problem of insufficient numbers of
professionals working in the MICE industry.

The D4 program is expected to produce more graduates with
expertise in the MICE industry