CHANG Chun-Fu, Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade,

Introduces Taiwan’s MICE Industry Pilot Program

News Date：2013/01/23

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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.