MICE Enjoys A Perpetual High Season In Xiamen

There are three basic conditions that make a city a center for meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions: a suitable location and convenient transport, comprehensive meeting facilities, and a sound tertiary sector that can provide comprehensive and efficient social services for MICE activities. Xiamen currently has all three — together with other unique advantages.

The success of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade and the China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition has aroused the attention of Xiamen Municipal Government, and the city is now striving to create a top MICE destination in China.

Five Advantages for a MICE Destination

Environment
Situated in a subtropical region, Xiamen has a very pleasant climate with an annual average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. One of the most famous seaside tourist destinations in China, Xiamen has convenient transport, rich tourism resources, and beautiful surroundings — making it the perfect place for MICE.

Location
Xiamen is on the southeast coast of China, across the Taiwan Straits from Taiwan and Penghu, and quite close to Kinmen (Quemoy). It is the major city on the west Strait, and is the regional center for logistics; business operations; and tourism, conventions and exhibitions. Thanks to its location Xiamen can cooperate easily with different industries with Taiwan. Xiamen also has close and long-established economic and trade links with Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia. Following the launch of the "Three Links", Xiamen is seeing more opportunities to cooperate with Taiwan in terms of MICE.

Port
Featuring a convenient land, sea and air transport network, Xiamen is China's major port city and the largest aviation hub on the southeast coast of China. Being the sixth largest airport and the fourth largest international airport in China, it has direct flights to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as to other regions and domestic cities. The high-speed rail and highway network provides around-the-clock services to travelers. What's more, Xiamen also has a relatively relaxed exit and entry policy Special Economic Zone Tourist Visas for foreigners and landing endorsements for Taiwanese citizens.

Industry
In 2007 Xiamen was ranked in second place on the "China city harmonious development index", being one of the Chinese cities with the best competitive environment. There are more than 200,000 enterprises, 8,609 of which are foreign invested, and 48 Fortune 500 companies have invested in 87 projects in the city. Three major industries — electronics, machinery, and chemicals — are well established; and commerce, tourism, and financial services are well developed. Many famous enterprises in cities bordering Xiamen, such as Quanzhou, are starting to relocate their headquarters to Xiamen. Now Xiamen is developing new industries and creating industries to lay a solid foundation for MICE.

Venues for MICE
Xiamen has several conference and exhibition venues including Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center and Xiamen International Conference Center. It has 72 star-rated hotels, including eight with five-stars and 21 with four-stars. These venues can meet the demands of different conferences and exhibitions.

The total indoor exhibition area of these venues, plus Xiamen People's Hall, the Cultural Center and star-rated hotels is 100,000 square meters, and this is complemented by 90,000 square meters of meeting space in more than 400 meeting rooms, of which 20 are suitable for conferences of over 1,000 people.

Policy
The Xiamen government attaches great importance to MICE, and has made it one of the industries that will get the most support. To facilitate the development of the MICE industry, the Xiamen government has issued several documents to stimulate and regulate the industry, including "Views on Promoting the Development of the MICE Industry", "Measures for the Use and Management of Xiamen's Municipal Special Funds for Encouraging MICE Development", and "The Provisional Measures for Xiamen Municipal Exhibition Industry Management." The government has established a steering committee for developing tourism and exhibition industrial clusters — the Xiamen Municipal Trade Development Bureau — and other units have set up the Developing Exhibition Industrial Clusters steering committee, both of which will coordinate and promote the development of MICE industrial clusters by increasing to CNY10 million the value of investment in the special funds. What's more, Xiamen is also becoming more active in participating in large-scale exhibitions in other regions. At the China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition held in September 2010 in Beijing, the director of Xiamen Municipal Trade Development Bureau Comprehensive Service Departmen,t Qiu Guoyue, told China Hospitality News, "Xiamen is a beautiful coastal city with pleasant climate, comprehensive meeting facilities, and high reception capacity. It has all the advantages needed to develop MICE. Xiamen Municipal Government attaches great importance to MICE, and has already established a sound coordination system for major MICE events, providing guarantee, support and reward for major events held in Xiamen."

The special funds are used to reward and support domestic large-scale conferences, international conferences, international/domestic large-scale exhibition tours, and self-developed professional exhibitions that are held in Xiamen. Xiamen encourages inbound and outbound meeting and exhibition organizations to set up branches or offices, hold meetings and exhibitions in Xiamen or provide MICE services. All that meet the requirements will get reward and financial aid from the funds, and other preferential treatment.

Tourism Resources
Boasting one state key scenic area, one state nature reserve, one national forest, one AAAAA scenic area, and eight AAAA scenic areas, Xiamen is one of the top leisure and travel sites in China. The main spots include Gulangyu, South Putuo Temple, Xiamen Botanical Garden, Island Ring Road, Tianzhushan Forest Park, Hulishan Ancient Fort, International Garden and Flower Expo Park, and Bo Bing Folk Culture Park. Since it is the nearest city to Kinmen, the tourist route for seeing Kinmen on the sea is quite a special experience for tourists.

Future of MICE Industry in Xiamen

Characteristics Of MICE in Xiamen
In the conference sector, Xiamen and most of its surrounding areas have many industry categories but small industry clusters, there are few industries that have a larger market share in China. From the point of view of the city's characteristics, location, infrastructure and reception capacity, it would be good for Xiamen to develop a characteristic conference market. Statistics show there were about 2,000 conferences held in Xiamen in 2009 that were not hosted by local organizations, more than 320,000 people participated in these conferences, and over 30 of these conferences had more than 1,000 attendees. Straits Forum, International Investment Forum, Chinese Medical Association conferences, The International Boxing Federation Executive Committee Conference, Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Convention, IDA Annual Meeting, Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo, and other national and international conferences have been held in Xiamen regularly and irregularly. The unique climate, coastline, and tourism resources also make Xiamen the perfect place for teambuilding activities.

The economic output of Xiamen is not very high, plus it is far away from economic centers like Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta, which has limited the development of exhibition industry to some degree. Based on the location and industries of Xiamen, the focus will be professional (trade) exhibitions. Exhibitions can be categorized into many types, and the three most popular ones are: professional (trade) exhibitions, consumer fairs, and comprehensive exhibitions (expositions). In the future the city will concentrate on hosting professional trade fairs where exhibitors and visitors are both businessmen, and all participants will aim to do business at these fairs. These fairs might not be on a large-scale, but need better environment for talks, seminars, and reporting sessions. Transportation and the city environment are suitable for international and Taiwan related exhibitions.

Travel Industry and MICE Inspire Each Other
Compared with general tourists, MICE guests are high-end customers in the tourism industry due to their higher spending power, longer stays, and bigger team sizes. Until now MICE has not brought many opportunities to the tourism industry. The degree of tourism market segmentation is not very high in Xiamen, and there are no mature MICE products either. Some professionals comment that Xiamen has only a few MICE organizers and most MICE events are undertaken by the organizer or the planner, and most of the time they only show participants around attractions in Xiamen during or after the conferences or exhibitions. Tourism departments and enterprises are not engaged in the development and the construction of MICE products.

Now Xiamen is improving the quantity, quality, scale, and influence of MICE, which largely depends on the improvement of soft environment, rather than the construction of conference and exhibition venues. The city will combine MICE with tourism, give full play to the effect of the MICE economy.

Expand Cooperation with Taiwan
Its geographic advantage allows Xiamen to expand exchange and cooperation with Taiwan to make Xiamen the major MICE center city in the West Strait area, the gathering place for cross-Strait MICE cooperation, and the premium city for Taiwan enterprises participating in mainland exhibitions. According to "2009-2015 Development Plans for Xiamen MICE Industry Cluster" issued by Xiamen Municipal Trade Development Bureau, the city will enhance its cooperation with existing exhibitions, especially China Xiamen Machinery and Electronics Exhibition, Strait Travel Fair, Cross-strait (Xiamen) Cultural Industry Fair, Cross-Strait Book Fair, China (Xiamen) International Food Procurement Fair, and West Taiwan Strait Auto Expo. It will also invite Taiwan industry associations to host or co-host new exhibitions like China (Xiamen) International Boat Show and China Xiamen International Vegetarian Food Fair. On the other hand, Xiamen will establish and enhance exchanges and communication with MICE industry organizations and commercial organizations like the Taiwan Convention Association, Taipei Exhibition & Conference Association, Taipei World Trade Center, World Trade Center Taichung, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Taiwan Electrical and Electric Manufacturers' Association, and Taiwan Textile Federation.

To attract more Taiwan organizations to hold conferences and exhibitions in Xiamen, the city will take the advantage of the broad mainland market and the excellent environment of Xiamen to hold new exhibitions in cooperation with Taiwan organizations or to transfer Taiwan exhibitions to Xiamen. Meanwhile Xiamen will invite banking, insurance, securities, and large corporations in Taiwan to hold annual meetings, forums, and other conferences. In addition, it will encourage Xiamen MICE organizations to establish branches in Xiamen to expand MICE business.

Conference Reception Advantages

Le Meridien Xiamen
Le Meridien Xiamen has a total of 2,000 square meters of meeting area with a pillarless Grand Ballroom with a ceiling height of 10 meters. The ballroom has a separate entrance that is able to accommodate vehicles for model launches, privacy, and branding. Owing to the unique resort setting, all rooms have balconies and vast spaces for outdoor theme parties and team building activities. At present MICE accounts for up to 35% of the hotel' s total profits.

Thanks its location on Xianyue Hill, business travelers can enjoy the fresh hill setting while jogging and hiking within the hotel's surroundings. The room key is not only the key to your door but also opens up guests' minds to the culture of Xiamen, where our guests can discover Xiamen in a new perspective. Guests are invited to explore the renowned Piano Museum on Gulangyu Island with the hotel's compliments. There is also a complimentary shuttled bus service to the downtown area and Gulangyu ferry terminal.

The hotel provides an all-round service to meeting and event guests. Firstly, hotel has to understand the company background, the purpose of their event and the ultimate goals that the client desires to achieve. Secondly, the hotel will study past events that the client has held over the years and gather vital information on "does and don' ts," based on their past experience and their preferences. Being a member of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Le Meridien Xiamen has the ability to gather such information from sister properties that the client has used previously, therefore eliminating mistakes and making their events more personalized.

In August, ECCO combined two of their important annual events in Xiamen, where they wanted to plan for their Asia Pacific conference and the launch of the new season' s fashion. During the site inspection trip, the hotel took note of the guests' needs and made due recommendations according to their expectations, while introducing the various venues in the hotel grounds to give variety and options including the Courtyard Garden by the waterfalls, the BBQ gardens over-looking the city and Xiamen Bay, while the Grande Villa not only provides a dining venue but also offers exclusivity in its surrounds. To personalize the event menus were tailor-made according to dietary requirements, demographics and the type of each event. The hotel reports that a combination of excellent service, attentiveness and prompt service delivery, all guests have left delighted and made many complimentary remarks.

Ideal Place for Conference
Su Fulun, the chairman of Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, told China Hospitality News that the chamber has more than 3,000 elite members in Xiamen. The chamber is committed to providing a sound cooperation platform for members. For example, there are about 70 members that are from the garment trade. Due to the limited capacity of transport and hotels in Quanzhou, these enterprises will choose Xiamen to hold their product exhibitions and trade shows, and the chamber will choose a suitable venue for them. Most members of the chamber hold their meetings in Xiamen, as there is ance abundance of star-rated hotels that meet the various demands. Sometimes there are meetings of more than 3,000 people, and Xiamen has the capacity in flights, hotels, and convention and exhibition facilities.

According to Su, Le Meridien Xiamen has impressed him a lot. As befits a five-star hotel, the staff are well trained and very polite, which is why it ranks in first place in the chamber's list of recommended hotels. Featuring 850 square meters of meeting space, Le Meridien Xiamen has a pillarless grand ballroom with a ceiling height of 10 meters which is quite suitable for a fashion show. For corporate meetings, the hotel will prepare key cards in advance according to the list of meeting participants list, present a short tea break after guests arrive at the hotel, and guide guests to their rooms after a quick registration. The hotel also has a female-only floor that provides women's magazines and supplies in the rooms. The hotel has also done a very good job of organizing dinners after the meetings.

Wyndham Xiamen
Dominique Galperti, the general manager of Wyndham Xiamen, told China Hospitality News that Wyndham Xiamen hotel offers extensive meeting and event facilities. Designed with cultural, functional and visual elements in mind the hotel stands 26-stories high with the reflection of the sea on its window panes. Just a 20 minutes' drive from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and a 20 minutes' drive from Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center, the hotel can accommodate groups of all sizes. The hotel' s MICE facilities include 3,450 square meters of meeting and event space designed around a 1,260-square-meter pillarless grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Elegant and versatile, it lends itself to any individual theme and can also be divided into three separate ballrooms to accommodate 100 to 480 people. The hotel has 14 additional meeting rooms for small- to medium-sized groups. Services include state-of-the-art meeting rooms, independent audio visual facilities, Internet access, and translation equipment. A business center concierge is available to arrange city tours, limousine services, same-day laundry, and golf at nearby courses.

For corporate off-site events, retreats, conferences, galas and special events, Wyndham Xiamen provides artfully designed rooms ideal for productive, creative meetings as well as celebratory events to wow the guest's clients and colleagues. To access the hotel' s third and fourth floors for events or meetings, guests can use the designated lifts or the hotel' s imposing, grand spiral staircase which resembles a piece of installation artwork. For more intimate affairs, function rooms can be arranged in various layouts to suit any type of event or cocktail reception. A separate banquet kitchen is located directly behind the ballroom thus ensuring the smooth arrival of the hotel' s gourmet food and beverages throughout the event. For meetings and conferences with an eye toward success, Wyndham Xiamen has opened up its meetings facilities to let natural light and views of the sea into the rooms. The hotel can transform a classroom meeting into a sit-down dinner for 400 people in 30 minutes if this is required by a last minute change in the event program, pack individual gifts for 500 people within two hours due to late request from organizer, or change 700 chair covers before the start of the conference due to new requests. The hotel' s 588 guest rooms also include 130 serviced apartments for long-stay guests, all with views of the ocean or the city skyline.

The hotel has a dedicated team from the concierge with Les Clefs d' Or to the top floor Wyndham Club offering personalized services to the most discriminating guest. All the facilities expected from a five-star hotel are provided from the airport shuttle bus to the tailor made trip with limousine. For these high-tech times, the hotel has an IT Butler to respond quickly to guests needs and fix any problems.

More Mature MICE Resources
The director of Xiamen C&D International Travel Service MICE Department, Li Xiaoyan, told China Hospitality News that the company has been engaged in MICE operations since 2001 and set up C&D International Travel Service MICE Co., Ltd., which was the first MICE company in Xiamen. After that has set up the Saixin Culture Media Company which together with MICE division provides integrated services in conferences, exhibitions, and event planning. The company has undertaken several conferences held in Xiamen with 1,000 to 3,000 participants.

According to Li, there are four major advantages for Xiamen in developing a MICE industry. The first is the environment. A famous scenic port city in China, Xiamen has a very pleasant climate with sunshine, beaches, hot springs, golf, and other tourism resources, as well as the special Minnan culture, attracting many multinational corporations to hold MICE activities in Xiamen. Second is the level of service. Being one of the first cities to develop MICE in China, Xiamen now has upscale exhibition centers and conference centers, as well as star-rated hotels and resorts. still Supporting services such as meeting planning, travel, recreation and shopping are still being enhanced. Xiamen is also the one of the first cities to encourage and reward international conferences and large-scale conferences held in the city. Third are the facilities. Many star-rated hotels, especially high-end international brand hotels, have opened in recent years, and many conference centers have also been put into use like the second and third phases of International Conference and Exhibition Center and the International Conference Center. These have enabled Xiamen to receive large-scale MICE events. Fourth is transportation. Xiamen Airport is the fifth busiest airport in China, following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. And the Xiamen International Cruise Terminal is already operational.

Xiamen's geographic advantages and culture can provide creative ideas for MICE activities. Li Xiaoyan makes three suggestions. First, combine Mount Wuyishan, Fujian Tulou, and the island view. Second, conduct marine activities like sailing or luxury yacht trips. Third, participate in Minnan cultural activities like tea art, stone carving, puppet shows and meditation.

Another factor that is important for MICE is the hotel. When choosing a hotel venue, Li will investigate the overall environment, the brand, the service level, the staff's knowledge of meeting procedures, and the standards of meeting venues and ballrooms. Wyndham Xiamen, Seaview Resort Xiamen, Xiamen Yeohwa Hotel, Xiamen International Seaside Hotel, Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, Pan Pacific Xiamen Hotel, Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen, Le Meridien Xiamen, Xianglu Grand Hotel, Xiamen, Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel, and Millennium Harbourview Hotel Xiamen, are all partners of Li's company, and each has its own advantages. For example, the Wyndham Xiamen has a large capacity, boasting 588 luxury guestrooms, a grand ballroom to accommodate 1,000 people, and a perfect location. The hotel's professional MICE sales and service team has undertaken several upscale or international conferences, making the hotel "the best meeting venue in Xiamen hotel sector". Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel has a 1,000-square-meter ballroom, dozens of meeting rooms, and enough guestrooms to accommodate all the meeting participants, and this is a significant advantage for large-scale conferences since conference organizers prefer to choose hotels providing a one-stop service in MICE and supporting facilities.

Li and her team have participated in the Fouth World Choir Games in 2006 in Xiamen and were the only local travel agency. The 14-day event was the longest, highest, and largest event in China at the time, with about 20,000 contestants of which 8,000 were from over 80 foreign countries and regions. The team worked for more than one year to produce a detailed plan. It selected more than 800 volunteers and trained them for four months; and has borrowed three school dormitories as the games village with each holding about 1,000 contestants. Inside the village, postal services, telecommunications, medical care, laundry, and banking were all available for the convenience of the contestants. The team has also made more than 400 car trips between hotels and the Games' venue, with no mistakes at all.

MICE has been developing well in Xiamen this year, Li said. This mainly due the recovery of the economy, investment in the MICE environment and policy support from the municipal government, and the work of tourism professionals. Li is quite optimistic about the future development of MICE in Xiamen. As she said, Xiamen has a great potential to develop MICE with the MICE resources growing mature.

Xiamen Will Be Top MICE City in China
Chen Wei, the general manager of Xiamen Airlines International Travel Service MICE Division, opines that the company boasts resource advantages in air ticketing, hotels, food and beverages, sightseeing, automobiles, meeting planning, and aviation supported by its group industry chain. Following five years' development, the company' s business has expanded to many places in China, and has successfully planned and held more than 200 meetings and exhibitions. According to Chen Xiamen is holding more conferences this year than in previous years: especially medical conferences. In addition, Quanzhou' s sportswear manufacturing industry is developing fast, and many of the companies have chosen Xiamen to be the destination for trade fairs and other activities. The development of MICE in Xiamen benefits from the rapid development of economy, the completion of hardware facilities like transportation, hotel and convention centers, and the China International Fair for Investment & Trade have improved the popularity of Xiamen.

Chen Wei would recommend that organizers hold meetings in foreign-invested star-rated hotels for two major reasons. First, these hotels have uniform decoration standards and hardware facilities as overseas hotels, and people don' t have to worry about this. Second, these hotels have better software factors and are more flexible than Chinese-invested hotels. Chen has used almost all the four- and five-star hotels in Xiamen, and he has confirmed the emergency handling capacity of Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen and Wyndham Xiamen.

Since it is the major city for cultural and economic exchanges with Taiwan, Xiamen can use Minnan and Tainwanese culture features in MICE activities. As a sunrise industry, Xiamen will be a top MICE destination city in China with support from local government.

A Perpetual High Season
Wang Juefa is the general manager of Xiamen CYTS Corporation Civil Travel Center. She says that the company has gained much experience through years of working on reception of large-scale events. Xiamen CYTS Corporation has been undertaking the reception work of Cross-Strait Youth Carnival and Cross-Strait Youth Singing Contest since 2002, making it very experienced in events related to students and youth. Besides, the CYTS League has provided advantages in branding, guest resources, and conference service network.

In 2010, Xiamen's MICE industry has gained significant development, there being more conferences of various sizes held here. Many large corporations and famous brands have been attracted to Xiamen to hold various themed conferences and exhibitions. And conferences and exhibitions that are related to cross-Strait cultural and economic exchanges are still one characteristic in Xiamen's MICE industry.

Wang usually will choose a suitable hotel venue from those with whom the company has already had cooperated It should coordinate with the Xiamen CYTS Corporation in comprehensive management, service, emergency response, and flexibility. Price is of course very important too. Wang has used many hotels in Xiamen, including Wyndham Xiamen, Xiamen Yeohwa Hotel, Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, Seaview Resort Xiamen, Xiamen International Seaside Hotel, and Pan Pacific Xiamen Hotel. Generally those international chain hotels impress Wang more as they usually have a good location and the staff are of a better quality. Hotels would provide business to Xiamen CYTS Corp., instead of contacting guests directly without informing the company.

Wang thinks that Xiamen's proximity to Taiwan is a unique resource. Looking over Kinmen at sea or visiting the Kinmen islands and Taiwan Island using the Little Three Links, is quite a unique experience. Xiamen is also the center city in the Minnan Golden Triangle, and it is easy to connect the natural and human resources of Minnan and Minxi with Xiamen's MICE industry, with such attractions as Tulou in Zhangzhou and Longyan, the cultural relics of Quanzhou, Mount Wuyishan, and the coastline and island resources of Fujian. These resources are rarely seen by guests from northern and inland China.

Events like Cross-Strait Youth Carnival and Cross-Strait Youth Singing Contest the following characteristics: First, they are cross-Strait; second, participants are in complex groups; third, the contents are complicated and different venues are needed; fourth, there are VIPs attending these events; fifth, there are around 1,000 participants that will need to be booked into a range of hotels. Xiamen CYTS Corp. has made full use of social resources to serve the event, especially the support from superior administration and local governments.

Wang believes that in the future there will be several famous and influential, large-scale MICE companies in Xiamen. She also hopes that the government would be more in policy making, rules and regulations, taxation, and invoice management. Then Xiamen would be a MICE city without a low season — with a perpetual high season.

Enjoy Mountain and Sea Views from Yachts
Zhou Zaifeng, the general manager of Xiamen Southeast Xindu MICE Service Co., Ltd, states the company has an outstanding reception and service team for MICE, in which several members have been awarded titles such as Xiamen Tour Guide Image Ambassador and Cross-Strait Star Tour Guide. With a management team with rich experiences in organizing large-scale events, the company is dedicated to providing the best MICE service.

Zhou thinks that Xiamen is already the central MICE city in the west Strait area, as more and more large enterprises in Fujian are making Xiamen their national or global marketing center or headquarters. For example, apparel and shoe companies like Anta, Septwolves, Qiaodan, ERKE, 361 Degrees, and Xtep, hold trade shows and new product launch conferences each year in Xiamen. Each has several hundred of participants and lasts for a week, or even two weeks. Xiamen is not a large city, but it has very convenient transport facilities, enabling participants in a 10,000-people conference to travel freely round the city. For example, during the International Fair for Investment & Trade and the Strait Travel Fair, there were about 6,000 participants, and Xiamen was still in good order. In 2010, there are more events being held in Xiamen, making MICE one of the major sectors in Xiamen's tertiary industry.

In addition, it is now quite convenient to go between Xiamen and Kinmen by ship, and there are many flights between Xiamen and Taiwan. To have a meeting in Xiamen, have a vacation in Kinmen, and then to visit Taiwan will soon become very easy. Meanwhile guests can board a luxury yacht to visit the Kinmen islands.

There are four major criteria for Zhou when choosing a good hotel venue. First, the hotel's size, facilities, hardware, and services should meet the requirements of the event. Second, the surroundings and supporting facilities should be compatible with the event. Usually sea-view hotels are preferred as Xiamen is a beautiful beach city. Third, the hotel should focus on the business meetings market. Fourth, hotel should effectively and efficiently respond to emergencies.

Generally speaking, Xiamen's hotels have done a good job in terms of service and suitable for MICE events. Usually there are two large-scale events for enterprises in Xiamen in a year. One is during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Enterprises and institutions will hold Bo Bing (mooncake gambling) and banquets in hotels. Hotels have gained experience in accepting such events. Zhou's company has cooperated with Wyndham Xiamen, Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen, Sheraton Xiamen Hotel, Xianglu Grand Hotel, Fortune Hotel Xiamen, and dozens of other hotels. As one of China's largest independent hotels, Xianglu Grand Hotel has a large grand ballroom that can accommodate up to almost 2,000 people, and over 20 meeting rooms can meet the demands of meetings of 2,000 to 3,000 participants.

MICE needs creative ideas. There are many resources in Xiamen that can be used in MICE. For example there are many islands in Xiamen which are the perfect place for activities like fishing and teambuilding. And Xiamen has the special custom called Bo Bing during Mid-Autumn Festival. This can be used in MICE activities to enhance understanding between guests. Xiamen also has hot springs and beautiful harbors, which very suitable to hold a small-sized but high-end meeting on a yacht. In Wuyuan Bay there are many yachts for rent to make trips to other waters such as Gulangyu Island. In addition, the special tea culture of Xiamen will impress the guests.

Xiamen is a famous beach city in China with a beautiful environment, pleasant climate, and rich tourism resources, providing good conditions for recreation and MICE. Also it has location advantages for Taiwan as the most important regional logistics center, business operation center, and MICE center. In addition Xiamen has had good long-term economic and trade exchanges for both historical and geopolitical reasons. Good public order, convenient transport, the warm and caring people, and the picturesque landscape, have made Xiamen a place to stay. With continuous support from the local government, Xiamen will certainly be one of China's top MICE destinations.

Pan Pacific Xiamen
Located and the financial center of Xiamen, this hotel features 387 luxury guestrooms and suites. Pan Pacific' s signature Pacific Club floors provide guests with premium services and amenities and guests will enjoy additional luxuries such as butler service, late check-out and exclusive access to the Pacific Lounge. The acting general manager Johnson Xi told China Hospitality News that the hotel has recently deployed bilingual multifunction entertainment dock connectors that can connect many mobile electronic devices to the room's TV, including laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, iPods, and video games to meet the needs of business guests. The hotel also provides personalized services to business guests including improved office facilities, ergonomic office desks and chairs, and laptop safes.

The Diamond Grand Ballroom with an area of more than 500 square meters can accommodate up to 500 people in a cocktail set-up with a ceiling height of 7.5 meters. The crystal chandeliers make the ballroom the preferred choice for large-scale conferences, cocktail parties, Chinese or western banquets, fashion shows, and art performances. There are seven meeting venues that range from 36 to 230 square meters and are outfitted with advanced audiovisual equipment. Xi says that MICE guests account for 20% of the hotel's total guests, and the hotel regularly introduces special meeting packages to improve its MICE market share.

Since its opening, the hotel has hosted many multinational companies and famous enterprises such as BMW, Audi, Benz, Chanel, Ports, Swarovski, Yum!, Martell, Microsoft, Sina, IBM, Intel, Nokia, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Bayer, Roche, Schering-Plough, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, BASF, Linde, ExxonMobil, AREVA, ABB, GE, COSCO, AirBus, Cathay Pacific, Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG, and Abbott.

In January 2010, Pan Pacific Xiamen Hotel undertook the Boxing Federation Executive Committee Joint Meeting, discussing the preparation work for boxing at the London Olympics in 2012. More than 100 people from 46 countries attended the meeting. This was the first time for Xiamen to hold such an upscale sports event. During the six-day meeting, there was not only a conference for all participants, but small group discussions. The hotel had made specific plans to meet all the challenges. Based on the number of participants of different meetings, the hotel had drawn up different meeting packages. The hotel had even arranged a meeting room for the Boxing Federation to use as a temporary office. For food and beverage, the hotel has provided various foods for people with different religions. Of course the focus was the Joint Meeting. To ensure the success of the meeting, the hotel's banquet and engineering team together with people from the simultaneous interpretation equipment leasing company has installed the equipment overnight. There was also photographer on standby throughout the whole meeting. At the end of first day of the meeting, hotel had contacted printing company for the print and bookbinding of a great pile of meeting agendas for the next day's use.

International Garden City with Infinite Power
The general manager of Xiamen China Comfort Travel Service MICE Dept Zhu Wenjun says, the company has undertaken many conferences and exhibitions of various sizes since it organized the First Xiamen National College Student Music Festival in 2001, and has also provided other supporting services. Large-scale events the company has ever undertaken include a national dance contest, the Cross-Strait Taiwanese Opera Art Festival, Challenge Cup contests, the First National Teenager Piano Contest, the Second Cross-strait (Xiamen) Cultural Industry Fair, and the FAW-Volkswagen Volkswagen Brand Reseller Partner Annual Meeting. Through all these years' experience, the company now has a professional MICE team with clear divisions of labor, and has established cooperation with MICE resource providers to get a better price and a better service.

Zhu outlined Xiamen's resource advantages as a MICE destination. First, Xiamen is the most important port on the west Strait, and is one of the ports for Little Three Links, playing a magnificent role in cross-Strait exchanges. Second, as an international garden city, it has beautiful natural sights and rich tourism resources which are correlated and complementary to surrounding cities. Third, Xiamen has good urban infrastructure that facilitates the movement of people and goods, and full meeting and exhibition facilities. Fourth, Xiamen has a relatively developed economy, open society, higher standard of internationalization, and fine legal environment, and is very suitable for holding meetings and events.

Many of the above resources can be used in MICE, as Zhu says. For example, the rich marine resources provide the possibility of designing various maritime and island activities. The hot spring resources can be a pleasant surprise if used properly. And MICE resources in Xiamen's surrounding areas such as cultural relics and historic sites in Quanzhou, the Tulou and forest resources in Zhangzhou and Longyan, Mount Wuyishan, and Dajin Lake, can bring unexpected experiences to guests.

Due to the impact of the global financial crisis, Xiamen's MICE industry saw a small decline in 2009, said Zhu. Yet along with the recovery of economy, now the industry is developing well and shows five characteristics: cross-Strait exchanges; exhibitions spearheaded by government being increasing; MICE facilities getting better with the completion of Xiamen International Conference Center and the opening of upscale hotels; market-led conferences and meetings showing good effects; and the increasing number of large-scale conferences.

The organizer's requirements are the prior consideration in choosing a proper meeting venue, which usually includes the level and grade of the event, the size, and the budget. All things being equal the brand of the hotel is a decisive factor, because it is usually connected to the hardware facilities, the management, service level, and emergency response capability of a hotel. The quality of the marketing people quality is also very important, according to Zhu, since it is easy for guests to cooperate with people who are easy to communicate with. And of course price is also an important factor.

Zhu has cooperated with most hotels in Xiamen and the Pan Pacific Xiamen Hotel is one of the mostly commonly used ones. Zhu's company has already established a good relationship with the management and sales personnel of the hotel, so it is easy for them to cooperate. Besides, the hotel has a perfect location at the financial and administrative center of Xiamen. Reviews from guests show that they are quite satisfied with Pan Pacific Xiamen Hotel's service. And the guestrooms are well designed, being furnished with flat screen TVs, high-speed broadband Internet access, and an independent shower room. Some of the rooms feature sea views, lake views, and mountain views, and are quite popular withsome guests.

Zhu's team has undertaken the reception work of FAW-Volkswagen Volkswagen Brand Reseller Partner Annual Meeting with about 1,000 participants. The company has booked all the guestrooms of several best hotels in Xiamen for this upscale meeting. The annual meeting was held at Xiamen Convention and Exhibition Center, and the dinner party was held at Xiamen International Conference Center. Guests visited the Gulangyu Island after the meeting. Xiamen China Comfort Travel Service and China Comfort Travel had worked for almost a year to prepare this event. The company had made several plans and conducted field trips with clients, and finally made the event a great success.

Zhu suggested that Xiamen look into the following measures to develop its MICE industry in the future. First, take the advantage of its location, and concentrate on Taiwan products. Second, pay equal attention to conferences and exhibitions, and enhance the development of conferences. Third, change the paradigm from a government-led one to a market-led one. Fourth, the government should offer more policy support in tax or reward.

Marco Polo Xiamen
Ideally located at the financial center of Xiamen, Marco Polo Xiamen is adjacent to Xiamen's Municipal Government office, Yuandang Lake, and an upscale commercial center, and so is very convenient for business travelers. Renovations to the hotel were completed by the end of 2009. Lee Weng Wai, the general manager, isays that the hotel offers various business services to surprise business guests. Regular guests can join the local culture experience to get close to local features. The Continental Club offers VIP services such as quick check-in and check-out and free use of a meeting room.

Featuring 1,200 square meters of meeting and banquet spaces, including a pillarless grand ballroom and multifunction rooms with natural lighting, the hotel is able to undertake banquets and meetings from 10 to several hundred people. With latest indoor intelligent lighting, full-functional AV equipments, a high-definition projector, an automatic embedded screen, an independent sound control room, a folding stage, and simultaneous interpretation equipment, the professional banquet team provides a one-stop service to MICE guests.

According to Lee, the hotel's banquet team has in-depth experiences in MICE service, and offers full service from check-in to meeting schedules and dining. The team will create tailor-made meeting plans based on guests' specific needs and corporate cultures. Apart from meetings, the team can also help guests to experience Xiamen's tourist attractions and food. What's more, guests can enjoy an easy and relaxed time out of their meetings since the hotel is near to Yuandang Lake. Nearby the hotel there is a coffee street where guests can enjoy themselves in cafes, book stores, restaurants and bars.

Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel
Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel has a pillarless grand ballroom with an area of almost 1,000 square meters, three exhibition halls, and 14 meeting rooms of various sizes, able to undertake banquets and conferences of different sizes. The hotel has already successfully held large-scale conferences such as the Straits Forum, the China International Fair for Investment & Trade, and the Xiamen International Animation Festival. Meeting venues are featured with state-of-the-art facilities such as roll down screens and simultaneous interpretation system, as well as microphones, projectors, TV, sound systems, and white boards. Shen Jianchun the general manager said that last year 50% of the hotel's income comes from MICE guests.

The hotel has set up a guest database to provide personalized services: especially for regular guests and VIPs,. Meanwhile, the hotel carefully chooses mattresses and intelligent facilities in guest rooms to meet the needs of business guests. Pillow menus are designed according to the diverse sleep habits to make guests feel at home. In addition, all public areas have complimentary wireless broadband Internet access.

The hotel provides personalized service to different MICE guests. St. Sara, the cosmetics company, has held its 10-year anniversary dinner party at Xiamen Fliport Software Park Hotel. Because most guests and company staff are female, the hotel reserved its purple-themed rooms especially for them. Meanwhile, light and nutritious food was prepared, with more desserts and fruit than usual. To enable the company to provide better services to their VIPs, a complimentary exhibition hall was supplied for them to use as a dining hall for 200 staff and a daily operations office, which was highly praised by the management team of the company.

Feel the Whole Xiamen
Xstep China Limited vice president Cheng Qiongfen, says the company holds sports goods trade fairs each year with participants of 3,000 to 4,000. The area, the structure, the ceiling height, lighting conditions and services should all be carefully considered. A hotel's service and facilities are the biggest concerns of the company when events are held in a hotel.

The company has already used many hotels in Xiamen, including Fliport Software Park Hotel, Xiamen Yeohwa Hotel, Jingmin Central Hotel Xiamen, and Xiamen International Seaside Hotel, which have all impressed her in a good way. These hotels have good service levels, and they welcome guests with local fruit; they have spacious rooms, which peaceful and comfortable; and they also have sumptuous breakfast buffets. Other hotels the company has used include Xianglu Grand Hotel (former Xiamen International Hotel) and Pan Pacific Xiamen.

Cheng recommends Gulangyu Island, Xiamen Botanical Garden, and Xiamen University to guests to experience local culture and the life of local people.

Seaview Resort, Xiamen
Seaview Resort, Xiamen is located on the picturesque beach of Xiamen, lying at the foot of the mountain and facing the sea, and is a desirable hotel with luxurious facilities for holidays, vacations, conferences, or business trips. Occupying 100,000 square meters, 80% of Seaview Resort is covered with greenery, among which are cover trees and shrubs — including 400 valuable and rare species of plant life. resort has a very unique location and is easily accessible to any of the city' s business, shopping districts and tourism attractions. Just a brief 10-minute drive will take yguests to the downtown area or the ferry to Gulangyu Island. Close by is the International Conference and Exhibition Center and railway station. The road from the resort to Xiamen International Airport is almost traffic free and is only a 20 minute drive.

Adam Zhang the general manager told China Hospitality News that the resort is comprised of two parts — the Hotel and the Club area. The entire resort offers various choices for different meeting needs, such as conferences in a villa, on the lawn, or in the well-equipped meeting rooms.

The hotel's conference, exhibition and banqueting areas cover a total of 3,500 square meters and are equipped with advanced facilities including high-tech communications equipment and simultaneous interpretation systems. The largest pillar-less grand ballroom covers more than 1,000 square meters with an eight-meter-high ceiling. A professional events management team is on hand to help guests anytime for any occasion, to help make the banquet or conference an outstanding success. According to Zhang, of the hotel' s profits come from MICE, business travelers, and leisure travelers.

For recreation, MICE guests can enjoy the beauty of nature everywhere: the mountain, the lake, the beach, and the greenery, on foot or by bike. The Seaview Resort, Xiamen offers a full range of recreation and leisure facilities that includes nine swimming pools, two fully-equipped world-class gyms, top indoor/outdoor tennis courts, and a super-luxury theatre. Guests may also enjoy table tennis or billiards, or experience a sauna, steam bath or spa in the resort.

The resort's MICE team can make personalized plans for guests. For example, guests from north China may like the sea very much, so rooms with great sea views will be their favorite as well as the yachting trips and a day tour of Gulangyu Island. Also, the ten hours training course for kite surfing is popular with younger MICE groups and Minnan traditional gifts are very popular with Taiwanese guests.

Xiamen Attracts Domestic MICE Guests
Jin Yannan, the senior project manager at Beijing Tianchen Yingchi Marketing & Planning Co., Ltd, told China Hospitality News that Xiamen's MICE market is performing much better in 2010 than that in 2009, thanks to the economic recovery. As a MICE city, Xiamen has natural geographic advantages and climatic conditions, as well as its strategic location near to Taiwan, which is convenient for charters to Taiwan and makes it quite attractive to domestic MICE guests.

Xiamen has many hotels, stated Jin. The facilities, the meeting space, guestrooms, hotel staff's knowledge on meetings and events, and the quality of hotel's food and beverage, are all important criteria to choose a suitable hotel as the events venue. Jin is quite satisfied with Seaview Resort Xiamen for its fine hardware facilities and the high quality of its hotel staff.

Jin stated that compared to cities like Beijing and Shanghai, Xiamen has a limited pool of hotels. If there were be more large-scale conference and events venues, Xiamen would enjoy a more prosperous future in MICE.