CHANG Chun-Fu, Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Introduces Taiwan’s MICE Industry Pilot Program News Date：2013/01/23
Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on plurk
Integration of Resources and Innovation Pilot Taiwan MICE Foreword “The Taiwan MICE Advancement Program”, which was implemented by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), ended productively in 2012. “Taiwan’s MICE Industry Pilot Program” will take over from this year and last for 4 years. Chang Chun-Fu, Director General of the BOFT, shares his perspective on Taiwan MICE and on making Taiwan an international MICE powerhouse. Q: The four-year Taiwan MICE Advancement Program initiated by the BOFT in 2009 has come to an end. What were the major achievements? A: The Taiwan MICE Advancement Program was comprised of four subsidiary projects, the Taiwan MICE Overall Implementation Project, Taiwan MICE International Marketing and Promotion Project, Taiwan MICE Training and Certification Project, and Taiwan MICE International Meetings Hosting Project. Under the Taiwan MICE International Meetings Hosting Project, we assisted and supported bids for 244 international conferences and 110 corporate meetings. Encouragingly, our efforts helped bring 230 international conferences and corporate meetings to Taiwan, with about 120 thousand foreign participants in total creating approximately 10.5 billion NT dollars of economic benefits. In 2010, we released a MEET TAIWAN card which is Asia's first discount card exclusively for business people. Multiple services and discounts are available including dining, shopping, accommodation, transportation, entertainment, logistics, and communication. The release of the MEET TAIWAN card has successfully integrated related industries and increased business opportunities. Up to now, a total of 102,130 MEET TAIWAN cards have been issued. Q: What creative practices has the BOFT utilized for international promotion? A: One of our biggest successes is a TAIWAN MICE smart phone app developed to integrate industry needs with modern technology. Highly praised and appreciated by several international conference organizers, the TAIWAN MICE app was awarded the 2012 Best Marketing Award by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). With 15,000 Euros worth of marketing opportunity granted by ICCA for global promotion, the
strength of Taiwan MICE will be further endorsed worldwide. Over the past four years, the BOFT invited members of the international media to visit Taiwan seven times. 39 reporters from 30 media agencies throughout Europe, Asia, America, and Australia visited and gave in-depth reports about Taiwan. The reports have been read by 1.71 million MICE professionals around the world and benefits derived from the media exposure amounted to 10.9 million NT dollars. Q: Human resources are fundamental to service businesses. What has been achieved with nurturing TAIWAN MICE professionals through the Taiwan MICE Advancement Program? A: The mission of the Taiwan MICE Training and Certification Project was well accomplished; over 130 MICE-related training courses were held, with more than 4,700 people attending. The MICE expertise certification system has been established and certification examinations for mid- and advanced-level talent have been periodically held. So far more than 6,000 people passed the mid level talent certification and around 20 have received the advanced level certificate. A growing number of highly qualified, local talent are joining the Taiwan MICE business. To develop Taiwan MICE professionals for the international market, the BOFT worked with both the International Association of Exhibitions & Events and Meeting Professionals International to bring two international certification standards to Taiwan, the Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). To date, there are 18 local MICE professionals who have received a CEM and 13 who have a CMP. Q: The BOFT's Taiwan’s MICE Industry Pilot Program is currently underway and will last until 2016. What are your expectations for this project? A: The Taiwan MICE Industry Pilot Program (MEET TAIWAN) aims to make Taiwan well-known for its high-quality service MICE industry. Merged into one project to achieve the biggest effect, three subsidiary projects are the Taiwan MICE Overall Implementation Project, Taiwan MICE International Marketing and Promotion Project, and Taiwan MICE International Meetings Hosting Project. By joining the three projects, we intend to integrate and coordinate MICE resources both from central and local government to assist regional MICE industry development. We also plan a cloud portal MICE service website and to build a “Carbon Footprint” database to meet global trends involving technology and going green. The MEET TAIWAN program is implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). With their years of expertise in establishing MICE businesses and assisting local MICE companies to deliver high-quality services, we have full confidence in bringing more international conferences and incentive travel groups to Taiwan. Our goal is to surpass our
current ICCA ranking for conference destinations, as well as our UFI ranking for exhibitions in Asia. Q: As China is growing rapidly, what is the role of Taiwan in Asia and the global MICE market? What actions are we taking in our relationship with China while we are both cooperating and competing with one another? How can we derive the biggest benefits out of this relationship? A: The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) early harvest list has already included MICE service business under service industries. Regarding conferences and meetings, PCOs from China are allowed to set up offices in Taiwan to provide related services. Associations and enterprises from China are encouraged to hold conferences and meetings in Taiwan. As for exhibitions, we are open to qualified corporate entities from China to cooperate with Taiwan corporate entities to hold exhibitions here in Taiwan. More actions are on the way. With the effects of the ECFA expanding over time, we believe that trade and economic cooperation across the Strait will expand and the size of Taiwan's MICE industry will increase. As a result, there will be enhanced competitiveness of Taiwan's MICE business and an open China market will benefit Taiwan MICE as it expands into the Chinese market. China's MICE industry has been growing rapidly over the years, and their "twelve five-year plan", implemented in 2011, also includes the MICE industry. After the signing of the ECFA, Taiwan also intends to expand its market to Southeast Asia, enlarging the scale and internationalization of businesses and strengthening MICE talent to set Taiwan as a platform for MICE cooperation and exchange in the Asian region. We also aim to enhance the development of Taiwan MICE and related industries; highlight the characteristics of the Taiwan MICE industry and upgrade service quality to create a unique MEET TAIWAN brand.