Green Issues and Organising Conference in Relation to the MICE Sector - Essay Example

Literature Review Addressing ‘Green’ Issues and Organising Conference In Relation To the MICE Sector Table of Contents Introduction 3 Literature Review 4 Package Proposal 9 Proposed Budget 9 Tentative Schedule 11 Venue 12 Accommodation 13 Catering 13 Transport 13 Other Activities 14 IT/AV Support 14 Ideal Destination for the Conference 14 Internal and External Analysis of the Conference on the Singapore 15 Recommendations 15 15 Conclusion 17 References 18 Introduction Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibition (MICE) is a part of tourism sector and it is recognised as event industry. The industry is recognised to be organising special events through exhibition, meetings, corporate travel, conference and incentive travel among others. MICE is one of the large growing and revenue earning sectors in the tourism industry. MICE tourism mainly used well planned agendas on a particular theme or tropic. It is a business oriented segments where the responsibility has been included during travel. Incentives travelling is leisure based travelling where the employees are rewarded on the basis of their performance (Caribbean Tourism Organization, 2014). In the modern tourism industry, MICE has been organising special events in several countries, which are mainly dependent on the tourism industry. In this context, the tourism revenue of Singapore is mainly dependent on MICE. Malaysia is also identified to be focussing on increasing business in MICE tourism. According to the article published by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), MICE tourism is one of the most revenue earning sectors in the world. As per the global ranking of ICCA, the USA and Europe are the leading players in the MICE business. In this context, Vienna is leading in Meeting industry and Singapore is leading in the conference industry (Travel Daily News, 2014). The objective of the study is to figure out a proposal, which is mainly prepared for a health conference. It will be organized by a big health organization. The aim of the study is to describe about the environmental factors, which is important for MICE. The study will also focus on the “green” issue, which will be included in the proposed conference. Literature Review According to Zamzuri & et. al. (2011), MICE is an important segment of the tourism sector. It has proved to be a potential source of revenue earning, but it has few some negative impact on the environment. As per the Zamzuri & et. al. (2011), Environmental degradation can be identified through misuses of energy, transportation and water at the time of organising any event. In this context, the report published by Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (2014) signified that MICE have been organising special events with better considerations towards the environmental concerns. The MICE industry with the intention of ensuring that events are organised in a cost effective and environment conscious manner has adopted the notion of green concept. As per the report of Singapore Tourism Board (2013), event management or conference management has been organising event with the aim of minimising negative impact on the environment of a host country. In this regard, big events are recognised to be an important source of emissions of greenhouse gases and causing air pollution (Singapore Tourism Board 2013). As per the reports of Zamzuri & et. al. (2011), the major challenge faced with regard to event management is related to transportation. Transportation leads to the emission of toxic gases, which affects the natural environment. It is important to reduce the carbon footprints for reducing the negative impact on the environment. Hamid & et. al., (2013) stated that sustainable tourism supports in establishing harmonious relationship between environment and event management. Hamid & et. al., (2013) further elaborated that the use of green products, water and energy efficiency are important for the MICE industry. Li & Xu (2013) contradicted the above perception by stating that appropriate environment is vital for the fast emerging MICE sector. In this context, good telecommunication, transportation facilities and friendly environment are the key requirements for ensuring that events are managed effectively. In this regard, the report published by Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (2014) implied that the use of green efforts has been proved to be beneficial for establishing an eco-friendly environment in a society. For instance, waste management and wastewater management has been recycling the approximately 288,000 cubic meter of water, for ascertaining that water are recycled for usage. It has been also observed that the waste water are transferred to the water treatment plant for the recycling purpose. As per the report of the World Tourism Organization (2011), sustainable tourism is the future of the next level tourism, as it will be helpful for protecting the environment. In this context, the tourism organisations have issued several guidelines as sustainable tourism policies, which will work as a key indicator for developing sustainable tourism. Etiosa (2012) noted that proper destination planning is very important for protecting the environment from further environmental degradation. In the context of event management tourism, the destination should be organised in a proper way, so that the environment of the host country can be protected from the pollution. For instance, big event management like FIFA world cup 2012 has been organised in such a way that negative impact on the environment has been eliminated by effective sustainable tourism planning, The event has been planned to minimise environmental impact with the use of eco-friendly transportation and procurement service. In addition, due consideration was also provided on waste management policy with the aim of minimising waste for the development of a society as a whole (World Tourism Organization, 2011). As per the study of Rabbany & et. al. (2013), the main objective of sustainable tourism is to protect to environment. In this regard, the MICE industry has adopted the policy of sustainable tourism based on which event planning is formulated with different environmental measures in the areas of transportation, procurement and social responsibility among others. Rabbany & et. al., (2013) stated that the tourism industry is affecting the ecological factor. The planning for sustainable tourism is vital for protecting the environment and effective use of resources. In this regard, Rabbany & et. al., (2013) further elaborated that the tourism industry is required to assess the ecological system with the aim of ascertaining the negative impact on the environment. Rabbany & et. al., (2013) further elaborates that a well-planned tourism is very useful and beneficial for the tourism industry as well as for a society and environment. In this regard, investment in sustainable tourism will be a good step for maintaining an ecological balance in a society. This step will also help the natural, the cultural, and the social and the environmental factors to be protected from ecological degradation occurred due to tourism (Rabbany & et. al., 2013). Pao (2004) described that suitable tourism is a new approach, which has become a new concept in the tourism industry. According to the Dixon & et. al. (2001), the MICE industry has become a big threat for the environment. In the Caribbean region, tourism has created a bad impact on the environment. The gathering of the huge number of tourists in a tourist spots will degrade the environment for inappropriate disposal of waste, inefficient transportation system, and lack water management and others resources. Kreag (2001) stated that places full of resources are identified to be visited to a large extent. These places are having high tendency of being affected from pollution. According to Mroz-Gorgon (2013), every business should have a responsibility towards the environment, which will be maintained through corporate social responsibility initiatives. The company has to maintain its minimum responsibility towards the environment, which will be helpful for protecting the environment. As per the report of Meet Taiwan (2013), the ‘Green MICE’ concept is one of the new concepts, which has been applicable in the tourism industry for preventing environmental degradation. The report also described that the Green MICE concept in the tourism has been implemented initially in Taiwan. To introduce the system of the green concept, the Taiwan MICE has proposed to introduce the 3R concept, which comprises factors that includes Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It has been expected that the concept of Green MICE in the Taiwan MICR industry will be a good example for the other country. According to the report of Meet Taiwan (2013), the main goal of the green program is to conserve energy, reduce the carbon level in the environment and establish the concept of the sustainable tourism. The sustainability concept will be helpful in minimising the release of greenhouse gases and take initiatives over waste management. This will helps the MICE sector to build up the MICE to the new era. Meet Taiwan (2014) report further elaborated that the application of the green MICE concept in the tourism is very much effective in the reduction of the carbon level in the atmosphere. In order to make a green event, the sustainable event management needs to be prepared (Meet Taiwan 2014). As per the study of Kreag (2001), tourism can have the capacity to degrade the environment by creating waste and pollution. Environmental degradation has been identified owing to over or excess use of the natural resources, which will create a jeopardize situation for the environment. As per the report of Crown (2007), sustainable event management is important for the MICE sector to maintain the concept of ‘Green’ for the management of the environment. The report also described about few guidelines, which advice to use of electronic communication process in event management instead of using paper based communication. There are some necessary paper documents, which are to be used in an event, shall be based on non-glossy and recycle paper. As per the report of the U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. (2009), the selection of hotels and the conference centre is very important factor for building up the environment. As per the study of Graci & Kuehnel (2010), the hotel industry is also identified to be an important factor that negatively influences an environment. The impact of the hotel business is considered to create a jeopardize situation on the natural resources. The excessive use of natural resources that include energy, water and creating waste for the environment is negatively impacted. The report also signified that the go green concept also act as a significant role for preparing an effective budget for the event. The hotels and guesthouses uses a large amount of energy for lightning and air conditioning purposes among others. Package Proposal A freelance professional conference organiser has been entitled with the responsibility of organising a conference event for a large health organisation. The large health organisation is identified to have strong focus on corporate social responsibility. The conference will be held for conducting a seminar-based conference on a health care subject. The conference is intended to be organised in the year of 2015 during spring season. The company is intended to invite 250 invitees in the conference consisting of international audience and government representives. There are some proposed plans, which will assists in conducting the event are described hereunder. Proposed Budget The proposed budget for organising a conference event for a large health organisation will be prepared by the company. The organising company has the responsibility to well accommodate 250 delegates who will attend the health conference. The company has been intended to provide well-furnished and comfortable hotels to the delegates based on self-accommodation. The company has decided to maintain green issue in the process of event management. In this regard, the company has planned to book hotels, which have implemented the concept of Green in their policies and considered ecological balance in their function. The company will only appoint those hotels, which are registered with the Green Tourism Business Scheme, which have provided comprehensive green audit and won any sustainable business awards. The tariff of the hotel will be approximately £150 per delegate. The flight ticket charges will be approximately £3500 per delegate. The company has decided to provide external food and ecological transportation to all the delegates, which will aid in building a good impact on the environment. The transportation and the accommodation will be provided to the foreign delegates will be of better quality standards and implement the concept of ‘Green’ in their services (Bhe & et. al., 2004). Marketing plan Marketing plan is an important consideration for an event or any discussion purpose. In order to organise a health conference with the 250 delegates, the marketing plan is required to be based on effective strategies. The company decided to prepare a marketing plan for the health organization, which is needed to be more effective in the global manner. To organise a marketing campaign, the organising company has decided to target the health care professionals and investors who will be interested to invest in the health care industry. At the initial stage, the company decided to provide advertisement in the international business news channels. The company has also decided to provide advertisements in newspaper or international newsletters, which will attract several people who are interested in the conference to be held. In this regard, the company is intended to promote the conference by distributing pamphlets. This marketing strategy will be proved to be very significant and effective for promoting the conference on a local basis. The other marketing strategy is to provide advertisement in the social media or social networking sites. The online advertisement in current scenario has been proved to be one of the most potential ways of promotion. The online marketing or online promotion is very useful to attract more and more customer towards the conference. The work shop in several medical colleges will be a good tactics for targeting the medical students for attending the conference. The media sponsorship is identified to be effective in attracting more audiences towards the proposed conference. In addition, press or media presence during the conference will be a good marketing strategy. Tentative Schedule The organising company has intended to prepare a tentative plan of the conference for three days. The conference will take place for three days only. In this time period, the company has decided to divide the programme into three separate divisions. It is a prepared schedule for the proposed conference. Day 1- Networking Event The conference time for the event will commence from 10.00 am. . The first half of the conference will be from 10.00 am to 1.30 pm. In this period, the 1st half will be scheduled with a small opening ceremony. The opening ceremony will take place between 10 am to 1:30 pm. Time: 1:30 pm to 3 pm will be allocated for the lunch recess. The company will provide with a good quality food to all the delegates and all the invitees. Time: 3 pm to 6:30pm, this is refers to be 2nd half of the conference. The 2nd half will consist of several business presentations. Several academic projects will be presented by delegates in relation to the health services that are offered by the large health organisation. Day 2- Teambuilding Event Time: 10 am to 1: 30pm, the 1st half of the team building event will consist of an interaction session between several delegates. The other participants of the conference are medical students who will take active participation in the team-building event. Time: 1:30 pm to 3 pm, the period will be allocated for the lunch break. The lunch menu will comprise of good quality food, which will be provided to all the delegates and all the invitees by the company. Time: 3 pm to 6:30pm, the 2nd half of the conference will be based on debates participation in relation to the health care subject. The debate participation will be on the basis of an academic participation, where both the delegates and the students will participate in this debate. Day 3- Formal Dinner Time: 10 am to 1: 30pm, in the 1st half the company will organised a function, which will be known as an ending ceremony of the event. This will contain few cultural performances in the event. Time: 1:30 pm to 3 pm, the lunch break of the final day of the conference will be an interesting one where the delegates will enjoy the good quality food consisting of continental food items. The lunch secession will be the end of the conference. Time: 6 pm to 9 pm, this period is allocated for the formal dinner time, which will be mainly organised for all the delegates. The delegates will be offered with special foods and good quality food. Venue The proposed conference will take place in Singapore city, Singapore. As, Singapore is renowned to be one of the most popular and leading places for conference, so it will be a good choice for the company to organise the conference for the large health care sector. It has been observed that Singapore possesses a leading position in conducting the international business meetings. As per the term of MICE sector, Singapore occupies the first position among all Asian countries. There are several reasons for selecting Singapore as a preferred conference place. Singapore is identified to be an excellent blend of perfect infrastructure, vibrant business ecosystem, having a good strategic location in Asia and having a perfect knowledge network system. The development of the green program or the sustainable tourism in Taiwan tourism industry has inspired Singapore to develop into a sustainable tourism in the country (Marshall Cavendish Business Information, 2011). Accommodation The organising company has decided to arrange the conference in Grand Hyatt Singapore. Grand Hyatt will be a suitable place for organising the conference. Grand Hyatt provides the best quality food, services and comfort to all its customers. It has been also recognised that Grand Hyatt is a renowned place for every official and corporate business meetings. The proposed conference will be intended to take place in Grand Hyatt will be able achieve a great success (Singapore Tourism Board, 2013). Catering In the conference event to be organised, the company is intended to provide a high quality of delightful food and beverages to the delegates. The delegates will be provided with the several courses of meals. At first, the delegates will be provided with pre-meeting breakfast, which will be organised as a classic buffet style. In the first day, the company has decided to provide the lunch, which includes the local flavours in buffet system. In the dinner time, the company is offering a buffet system to all the delegates featuring diversification in the choice with several flavoured cuisines. The cuisine will be offered to all the delegates will be prepared as per the preference of the delegates. Finally, the delegates will be provided will desserts for completing the meal course. Transport The company is intended to offer all the delegates with pickup and dropping facility from airport to hotels and hotels to airport. The transportation vehicle, which will be used for the transportation will be eco-friendly in nature. The company is intended to use transportation services with vehicles running on biogas. As the company is supporting the green program so the use of eco-friendly transport is a sign of sustainable MICE tourism for the same. Other Activities The company has decided to conduct a leisure activity i.e. a game event, which will be beneficial for all the delegates. After the conference, the leisure and the additional activities will encourage them for building a strong relationship between them. IT/AV Support The company has decided to provide an effect and non-breakable IT and AV support. The company has selected and organised the IT and AV support in such way that maintains the concept of ‘Green’ without hampering the environment. The IT and the AV is an important factor for organising a conference, which will contain audio visual segment (Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, 2010). Ideal Destination for the Conference Singapore is one of the most popular places for international business meetings in the world. There are several reasons behind the selection of Singapore for this type of international health conference. Singapore is a developing country in terms of the MICE tourism for various factors that include economic growth and development of infrastructure, communication and transportation system. With the development of the sustainable tourism, the organising company has decided to select Singapore for the event. Singapore is renowned for its world class business infrastructure and a combination of art venue. The business cultural of Singapore is very efficient and productive. Another reason of selecting Singapore is that it is a gate way of Asia and having a great combination of business and commerce, arts and culture, events, cuisine and entertainment. The aforementioned factors are identified to be vital reasons for selecting Singapore for the conference. The Singapore Board of Tourism has supported the MICE industry very effectively, so Singapore is famous as city of business travel and for corporate meetings (Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, 2010). Internal and External Analysis of the Conference on the Singapore Singapore is one of the favourite countries for organising international business meetings and several corporate events in the world. There are several factors, which act as a great influencer for making the country so much popular as compared to other countries. The political environment of the country is supportive and recognised to possess a positive business environment for the effective measures of the Singaporean government. In this context, the government of Singapore plays an active role to promote Singapore as a global MICE destination on a global context. Singapore has a vibrant economy in terms of highly infrastructural facilities, hotel businesses and airlines services. The majority portion of the economy is highly depending on the tourism industry. Recommendations The organising company will take into considerations all the green programs for organising the conference event. The event is organised as a sustainable factor. It has been also recognised that the company will adopt Green program concept and will use the recycling products in order to protect the environment by effectively using natural resources. In this respect, the conference will be conducted in a ‘Green’ manner by minimising the use of non-renewable resources which include petroleum, coal and natural gases. Moreover, renewable resources such as solar heat and wind will be used. The international audience attending the conference will be offered with transportation services to the desired conference site location. Conclusion From the above analysis, it has been comprehended that the concept of green and the sustainable factor in the tourism industry is very important. Due to globalisation and development of technology, the tourism industry especially the MICE industry has become very popular among the people. The conference event will be based on health care conference, which will include 250 delegates. Currently, the sustainable factor in the tourism sector is become a focus point. In this regard, the MICE industry has played an important role for every corporate event purpose, so that the concept of Green is maintained in maintained in events that are organised globally. Subsequently, each and every factor of the proposed event should include the concept of Green in all the activities that are essential for organising the conference for the large health organisation. Thus, it can be apparently stated that the concept of green or the ecological factor is one of the most significant factors for establishing harmonious relationship between corporate structure and environmental structure. References Bhe, T. & et. al., 2004. Event Management and Best Practices. International Technical Support Organization, pp. 1-458. Caribbean Tourism Organization, 2014. MICE. Content, pp.57-60. Etiosa, O., 2012. The Impacts of Event Tourism on Host Communities. Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences, pp. 1-52. Hamid, M. A. & et. al., 2013. 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Wrocław University of Economics, pp. 703-709. Pao, J. W., 2004. Recent Developments and Prospects of Macao’s Tourism Industry. Monetary Authority of Macao, pp. 79-95. Rabbany, G. & et. al., 2013. Environmental Effects of Tourism. American Journal of Environment, Energy and Power Research, Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 117-130. Singapore Tourism Board, 2013. Sustainability Guidelines for the Singapore Mice Industry. Guidelines Manual, pp. 1-28. Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, 2010. Why Singapore is Your Ideal Strategic Business Partner. An Investment Information Toolkit for International Organizations, pp. 1-9. Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, 2014. MICE Report. Green Meetings Are Achievable, Iss. 2, pp. 1-12. Travel Daily News, 2014. MICE Industry Trends & Markets. Article [Online] Available at: http://www.traveldailynews.asia/columns/article/20500/mice-industry-trends-amp-markets [Accessed December 3, 2014]. World Tourism Organization, 2011. UNWTO. Sustainability, pp.1-2. Zamzuri, N. M., 2011. Environmental Issues in Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) Tourism Sector. International Conference on Business, Economics and Tourism Management, Vol.24, pp. 98-101. Read More