MICE Forum 2009 Report

Moscow, Russia. The Moscow International MICE Forum attracted a record number of both participants and registered visitors. With 103 International MICE suppliers covering 49 countries the event was truly international and therefore of great interest to the Russian buyers.

A carefully targeted advertising campaign ensured a good flow of qualified MICE professionals through the day with a total of 1,013 unique visitors attending the event. Held in the Tishinka exhibition centre in central Moscow, the Moscow International MICE Forum is a highly professional platform for International MICE specialists to meet with Russian buyers. Rather than a workshop the MICE Forum provides all participants with a fully equipped 6 sq. m stands with back and side walls enabling privacy during meetings.

"Attendance was excellent this year and proves the reserves in the Russian MICE sector. With so many repeat participants and hearing the number of groups that materialise each year we understand that we have the correct formula" - Kim Waddoup, the Organiser. "Our challenge is to improve the pre-scheduled appointments, whilst we saw improvements this year many of our Russian visitors make appointments but then fail to attend! This is however, made up for by the fact that a majority prefer to make their meetings whilst at the event, ensuring that most of our participants were kept very busy during the day".

"After the success of the 2008 MICE Forum we were eager to attend MICE Forum 2009 which was equally as successful for our hotel. The Forum gave us a platform to conduct in depth meetings with potential clients and all the pre-booked appointments arrived on the day albeit at different times. I conducted 27 meetings during the day and would say 15 had potential to convert to business. The Forum was well managed and executed both pre / during / and post Forum". - Howard Hartley, Senior Sales Manager, Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel.

"We participated in MICE Forum for the 4th time and are one of "the oldest" participants. I consider the event as a landmark on the Russian market. Compared to other events organized within Travel Trade in Russia, the MICE Forum is the most product-oriented in terms of MICE business. The quality of Buyers is very good and selected by the organizers that allows exhibitors to be focused on quality, not quantity. And I consider this fact is the main distinction of this event from other MICE events conducted on the Russian market. It is important for our Moscow sales office to keep up-to-date, meet our existing and new clients, represent our news as well as use an opportunity for networking among MICE professionals on the emerging Russian market". - Julia Lyubchenko, Kuoni Destination Management, Moscow Sales office.

"The Moscow International MICE Forum provided me with an excellent platform to present myself and Diethelm Events' products and services, meet current and prospective customers and fly the flag for Thailand's MICE industry. Whilst it would have taken weeks to meet everyone, I was able to conduct meaningful business negotiations over the seven hours during the MICE Forum. The event was well planned, promoted and executed and we at Diethelm Events shall certainly be supporting MICE Forum next year and recommending the event to our business partners here in Thailand. We came away from the show having secured deals valued at over US$ 2 millions. We'll be back" - Max Jantasuwan, Ass. Director of Events, Diethlem Events

"The Mice Forum - Moscow is one of the very few specialist MICE events in the Russian market, our clients found it much more useful than participation in more general exhibitions, I would be glad to recommend this exhibition to any company which is serious about the meetings business in Russia"- Helen Lloyd, Director, TMI Consultancy, Russia.

The Moscow International MICE Forum is a highly specialised event specifically designed as a platform for International MICE suppliers to meet with all the leading players in the Russian MICE segment. Held annually the next event will be on March 16th, 2010.