Globalization of the world economy has led to the intensive development of the business tourism sector, which has become crucial for the integration of national companies into the global market. In large foreign corporations, the costs of business trips and award travel for employees and partners are among the major expenditure items.
Travels made in order to expand the professional and commercial interests of companies - participation in seminars, exhibitions, reports at symposiums and conferences, meetings with business partners - all this is engaged in the MICE tourism industry.
MICE - English term, which is an abbreviation of the main directions of organizational activities of travel companies in the formation of a business tour: Meetings / Incentives / Conferences / Exhibitions. The Russian translation, reflecting the structural concepts of this term, can be voiced approximately as follows:
- business meetings, trips, negotiations, signing contracts (meetings);
- incentive tourism, i.e. motivational programs for employees, business partners
- conferences, symposia, congresses (conferences);
- exhibitions, presentations, corporate events (exhibitions).
Today the geography of international seminars, scientific symposiums and conferences has transcended the boundaries of close and understandable European countries. The infusion of Latin America, Asia and Africa into the world economy has led to the fact that many business events are held in the new territories: fairs, presentations, exhibitions. Before the heads of departments responsible in companies for organizing a business trip, there is a complex task of coordinating the place, time, conditions of foreign meetings, finding the best option for accommodation and transportation of participants of events and other aspects of the business tour.