MICE

The term describes the part of the travel and events industry that brings people together for a defined professional purpose. This includes corporate meetings, association congresses, conferences, trade fairs, product launches, leadership gatherings and incentive travel programmes.

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“When people come together, magic happens.”
Roger Tondeur, founder of MCI Group[1]

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That sentence captures the essence of MICE more effectively than any technical definition ever could.

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For me, MICE is the natural extension of business travel. Business travel enables an individual to reach a customer, colleague, supplier or new market. MICE takes that same human need for connection and magnifies it. It brings entire professional communities together to exchange knowledge, create relationships, recognise achievement, introduce ideas and move industries forward.

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My own journey into this remarkable sector did not begin in a conference centre. It began in two of Zurich’s most spectacular nightclubs.

After leaving Swissair in 2001, I took on the role of Managing Director of Electronic Music Entertainment Ltd., based in Zurich, my hometown.

The company operated two extraordinary venues that played an important part in Zurich’s cultural transformation.

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The Rohstofflager was already a legend. It had been operating for almost five years and had established an international reputation within the electronic music scene. Its name came from its first home, the former raw-materials warehouse of the Steinfels soap company in Zurich’s old industrial district.

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The original location reflected everything that made the electronic music culture of that period so exciting. It was raw, unconventional and uncompromising. The industrial architecture was not hidden but made part of the experience. The concept drew inspiration from the warehouse culture of Chicago house and, perhaps even more strongly, from the sound, technology and industrial aesthetic of Detroit techno.

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The surrounding Zurich-West district was itself undergoing a profound transformation. Former factories, warehouses and industrial buildings were becoming clubs, restaurants, galleries and design spaces. This was later followed by offices and increasingly affluent residential developments. An area originally constructed for manufacturing and logistics was evolving into one of Zurich’s most dynamic centres of culture, gastronomy, design and urban living.

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Literally while I was signing my contract, I was told that the company was only about a month away from opening its second venue, the Tonimolkerei.

The Tonimolkerei occupied part of the former Toni dairy complex, a vast production, storage and distribution site near what was then still considered the far edge of the city. Before its reinvention as a cultural location, one of the complex’s unusual claims to fame had been a visit by Prince Charles in 1979.[2]

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The industrial scale of the building gave us an exceptional canvas. Very quickly, it became a destination for music, culture and entertainment. We brought an extraordinary range of international artists to Zurich. Some of my personal favourites included Miss Kittin, Ellen Allien, Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, James Lavelle, Jeff Mills and of course the sadly missed, adorable Andy Fletcher of Depece Mode.

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Almost overnight, I became responsible for managing these remarkable venues. At the same time, I was given another important commercial task: filling them during the week with corporate functions, product launches, presentations, dinners, celebrations and other organised events.

What a blast.

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The three years that followed sometimes felt like three days without much sleep. They produced what seemed like ten million memories and gave me an intensive education that could never have been acquired in a classroom.

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I learned how to transform an empty industrial building into an experience. I learned how to manage artists, technicians, suppliers, partners, guests and clients, all of whom approached the same event with very different expectations. I learned how lighting, sound, staging, timing, hospitality, security and audience flow must work together.

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Most importantly, I learned how to put on a show.

At first sight, a techno club and an international medical congress may appear to have very little in common. In reality, many of the fundamental disciplines are the same.

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Both require a clear understanding of the audience. Both depend on the careful design of space, sound, light, movement and timing. Both demand detailed preparation combined with the ability to respond instantly when something unexpected happens. Both must give participants a reason to be present and create an experience that cannot be reproduced by simply sending them information.

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An event begins long before the doors open. It starts with the purpose, the invitation, the anticipation and the promise made to the participant. It continues through every interaction at the venue and extends into the memories, relationships and actions that remain afterwards.

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Technology can support that journey, but technology alone cannot create atmosphere. A perfect registration system cannot compensate for irrelevant content. An impressive stage cannot rescue poor organisation. An expensive venue cannot create authentic engagement by itself.

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Successful events depend on the ability to understand people and to bring together dozens of separate elements in a way that feels effortless to the participant.

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By the time I left Electronic Music Entertainment, I knew how to stage an event, build anticipation, manage complexity and create an experience. Those years laid the foundation for the next phase of my professional life.

My experience in Zurich’s nightlife later helped qualify me to take responsibility for MCI’s Zurich office.

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MCI had been founded in Geneva in 1987 by Roger Tondeur and Ursula Wigert. It grew from a Swiss congress organiser into an international group specialising in association management, congresses, meetings, events, incentives and audience engagement.[3]

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My task in Zurich was to remodel the office, strengthen its position and make it fit for the future.

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Once again, I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best people in the industry, this time within the highly specialised world of professional conference and congress management.

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The environment was different from the nightclub industry, but the core principles were familiar. An international congress also needs a compelling programme, a carefully managed production, a suitable venue, intelligent communication and an experience that keeps participants engaged.

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At MCI, I became involved in productions for large medical associations and other major professional organisations. These congresses demonstrated the essential role of meetings in the development of specialist communities. They allowed researchers to present findings, medical professionals to exchange clinical knowledge, associations to educate their members and international experts to build networks across institutional and national borders.

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In fields such as medicine, science and technology, a congress is far more than a gathering. It is part of the infrastructure through which knowledge advances.

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On the most delightful side of the business, I also had the opportunity to deliver a number of top-class incentive travel programmes.

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Incentive travel is sometimes mistakenly treated as little more than an attractive reward. When designed professionally, it is a strategic management instrument. It can motivate performance, reinforce company culture, retain talent and create relationships between employees and senior leaders that would rarely develop in the normal working environment.

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Research published by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence captures this distinction well:

“Incentive travel has the ability to generate long-term engagement far past the incentive period.”[4]

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This is precisely why a memorable incentive cannot be judged only by the quality of the hotel or destination. Its lasting value is found in the pride of qualifying, the relationships created and the stories participants continue to share after returning home.

Today, I bring these different parts of my professional experience together.

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My background in airline and travel management gives me an understanding of how people reach an event, how corporate travel programmes operate and how travellers need to be supported.

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My time in Zurich’s nightlife taught me how to create energy, atmosphere and emotion. It showed me that an audience must be engaged, not merely accommodated.

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My experience with MCI introduced me to the complex disciplines of association management, medical congresses, international conferences and incentive travel. It taught me how to combine creativity with structure, compliance, stakeholder management and professional governance.

Today, I focus on delivering professional conferences in Switzerland for the Swiss Association of Travel Management, ASTM, and in the United Arab Emirates for the World Business Travel Forum.

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This is not a move away from business travel. It is a logical continuation of it.

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Business travel moves people to the places where decisions, relationships and exchanges can happen. MICE creates the environment in which those encounters achieve their greatest collective value.

The importance of MICE extends far beyond venues, hotel rooms, catering and event production.

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According to the Events Industry Council’s 2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study, produced with Oxford Economics, global business events generated approximately US$1.3 trillion in direct spending in 2025.[5]

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When the wider supply chain and induced economic effects are included, the sector generated approximately US$3.1 trillion in total business sales, contributed US$1.8 trillion to global GDP and supported 24.2 million jobs worldwide.[5]

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On a total GDP basis, the business events industry would rank alongside the world’s largest national economies.

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These figures include expenditure on accommodation, aviation, rail, ground transport, venues, food and beverage, production, technology, destination services, exhibitions and professional event organisation. They show that MICE is not a small specialist corner of tourism. It is a major global economic system.

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Its full significance, however, cannot be measured by direct expenditure alone.

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A medical congress can accelerate the exchange of knowledge that improves patient treatment. An industry conference can help an entire sector respond to new regulation. A trade fair can provide thousands of smaller companies with access to international customers. A leadership meeting can align an organisation behind a new strategy. An incentive programme can motivate performance and strengthen employee loyalty. A professional forum can bring competitors together to solve an industry-wide problem.

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Roger Tondeur expressed this broader value clearly when he said that meetings and events “create jobs, fuel economies, and deliver key economic benefits.” He also emphasised that they attract global expertise to destinations and create opportunities for education and professional development.[1]

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This is the real power of MICE. It creates economic activity while also creating intellectual, professional and social capital.

I have often said:

“There is no business without business travel.”

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MICE builds directly upon that principle.

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A conventional business trip usually begins with an individual purpose: a client meeting, negotiation, project visit, interview or internal discussion. A MICE programme takes multiple individual journeys and brings them together around a common objective.

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The flight, railway journey, hotel and ground transfer are therefore not separate from the event. They are part of the total participant experience. Poor travel planning can undermine an excellent conference before the opening session has even begun. Equally, smooth travel, clear communication and thoughtful hospitality can establish confidence and anticipation before the participant reaches the venue.

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This is why business travel and MICE should not be managed in isolation. They share suppliers, technology, payments, data, risk management, sustainability obligations and traveller expectations. They also share the same fundamental purpose: enabling people to connect and achieve something that would be more difficult without meeting in person.

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The strongest organisations understand this connection. They coordinate travel and meetings policies, consolidate data, align supplier negotiations, integrate registration and booking technology, and consider the participant’s complete journey from invitation to return.

Digital transformation is reshaping MICE just as profoundly as it is transforming business travel.

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Modern event platforms can manage registration, payments, travel, accommodation, agendas, speakers, exhibitors, networking, mobile communication and post-event analysis within connected environments. Artificial intelligence can support content development, personalise participant schedules, recommend relevant contacts, translate sessions, automate communications and analyse engagement.

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Virtual and hybrid formats can extend access to people who are unable to attend physically. Digital content can also expand the life of an event long after the venue has closed.

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Roger Tondeur recognised this relationship between technology and human contact years ago:

“Digital engagement is actually fuelling the desire for people to meet face to face.”[1]

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This remains true. Technology does not necessarily reduce the need for live events. Used intelligently, it creates new communities, extends their reach and gives those communities more reasons to meet physically.

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The purpose of digital transformation should not be to remove the human element. It should eliminate administrative friction so that organisers can focus more attention on content, hospitality, creativity and participants.

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The future will therefore not be exclusively physical or exclusively digital. It will be integrated. Technology will manage complexity, extend participation and produce better information, while the live environment will provide the emotion, spontaneity and trust that digital interaction still struggles to reproduce.

An industry of this size also carries significant responsibilities.

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International meetings and events generate emissions through aviation, accommodation, venues, catering, production, freight and ground transportation. The sector must therefore become more rigorous in measuring and reducing its environmental impact.

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Sustainability cannot be treated as an optional theme or a decorative section in an event proposal. It must influence destination selection, venue procurement, transport planning, catering, production materials, energy use, waste management and supplier decisions.

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At the same time, sustainability should not be understood only in environmental terms. A sustainable event should also create a positive and lasting impact. It should be accessible and inclusive, respect its host community, support local suppliers, share knowledge more widely and leave something valuable behind.

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As Roger Tondeur observed:

“Sustainability goes hand in hand with technology as a key trend driving the evolution of the industry.”[1]

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Professional organisers must help clients distinguish between events that create real value and gatherings that continue simply because they have always existed. The objective is not to stop people from meeting. It is to ensure that meetings are purposeful, well designed and proportionate to their impact.

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A successful event should justify the journeys it creates.

My route into MICE was unconventional.

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It began with aviation and business travel, moved into the raw energy of Zurich’s electronic music culture, continued through international congress and incentive management, and eventually brought these experiences together in the professional conferences I deliver today.

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Along the way, the settings changed dramatically. A former soap factory, an abandoned dairy complex, a medical congress, an international incentive and a business travel forum may appear to belong to completely different worlds.

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What connects them is the art and discipline of bringing people together.

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Every successful event needs a reason to exist. It needs an audience that wants to be there, content or entertainment worth experiencing, and an environment in which connections can develop. It requires detailed planning, commercial discipline, technical knowledge, creativity and the ability to respond when reality refuses to follow the plan.

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But when all these elements work together, something greater happens. People exchange ideas. Relationships begin. Professional communities become stronger. Businesses grow. Knowledge moves. Memories are created.

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That is why MICE is so much more than an acronym.

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It is where travel becomes encounter, where organisation becomes experience and where an audience becomes a community.

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When people come together, magic really does happen.

[1] Roger Tondeur, “Digital Engagement Is Fuelling the Desire for People to Meet Face to Face,” Kongres Magazine, 10 December 2015.

[2] The visit of Prince Charles to the Toni dairy in Zurich in 1979 is documented in the Keystone-SDA photographic archive and the Getty Images historical collection.

[3] Conference & Meetings World, “Roger Tondeur Wins XAVER Lifetime Achievement Award,” 9 May 2018.

[4] SITE Foundation, “Leadership inSITEs,” research on the strategic value of incentive travel.

[5] Events Industry Council and Oxford Economics, “2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study,” published 4 August 2026.