RI told to set up national bureau to boost MICE

JAKARTA. The government needs to immediately set up a national convention and exhibition bureau in order to better coordinate bidding for international conventions, helping the meeting, incentives, conventions, and exhibition (MICE) sector to grow.

Gary Grimmer, CEO of GainingEdge, the world’s leading business event consultants, has recently teamed up with the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry. Grimmer reckons that the bureau could help the country address issues that have been hindering the growth of MICE.

“We need to be working more closely together as an industry. We may also do some product development work, and we need to get out to the market with a strong brand. The single thing that we should do first is get a well-funded national convention and exhibition bureau,” Grimmer said in Jakarta on Tuesday at the focus group discussion (FGD) on Indonesia MICE Grand Strategy.

He said that MICE in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand was better developed because they had strong national bureaus, helping companies that organized conferences and conventions to bid for major events.

“Essentially, setting up a national bureau is a year-long process and there is a probably another year or two to develop the programs. In 2014, I think, Indonesia is still at a point when it is trying to develop its programs,” he said.

The ministry’s MICE director Rizki Handayani sees a national convention and exhibition bureau as urgent.

“We need to have this kind of organization immediately otherwise we will not see growth in the future. We realize that it is not going to be an easy job because not many people understand the importance of MICE and its huge impact on the economy,” Rizki said.

As a first step, the ministry would raise the awareness of the MICE sector with the heads of tourism offices across the country.

“I encourage all players in convention and exhibitions to set up an Indonesian MICE alliance,” she continued.

The country’s MICE industry is expected to grow stronger next year as it plans to launch a national MICE grand strategy in January and immediately implement it.

The road map that will give the country clear guidelines on how to better develop the sector from 2013 to 2019.

Besides Jakarta and Bali, according to Rizki, the grand strategy would be implemented in 14 other destinations in Indonesia: Batam, Bintan, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Lombok, Balikpapan, Makassar and Manado.

Indonesia will see the completion of infrastructure projects such as the country’s largest convention center, Indonesia Expo in BSD City, Banten, just southwest of Jakarta, and the expansion project of the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC) in 2013.

The completion of Indonesia Expo and the BNDCC would result in an approximate 10 to 15 percent increase in international events in the country’s major city, the ministry data said. (Nurfika Osman/ The Jakarta Post)