IHG chain increasing regional MICE focus
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel and resort chains, is placing more focus on providing MICE service at its properties across Southeast Asia, including its operations in Thailand, which will maintain a leading role in t
The group next year will introduce an additional nine properties regionally under three brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn – in order to serve rising MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) demand.
IHG currently manages 42 hotels and resorts properties with a MICE service focus in the region, said Mark Flower, commercial director of IHG Southeast Asia. The group has also opened four new hotels and resorts regionally this year to serve the sector.
In Thailand, the group operates 14 properties operated under several brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. They play a leading role in providing MICE service, thanks to the stable political climate and the country’s easy access, he said.
Thailand is the most popular MICE destination in the region, with Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya leading the way, Flower said, attributing the country’s success to the variety of tourism and meeting products avaialble, cheaper costs and friendly service.
Regionally, the origin of MICE travellers staying at the IHG chain is split equally between Asean and other countries. In Thailand, the majority of its MICE guests are from China, Japan, Australia and Singapore.
Sales from the group’s MICE business account for 20 per cent of regional revenue, a level that is expected to increase significantly in the next few years following its promotion of the sector, he said.
Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing region for the hospitality industry as a whole, he said. Not only is the rising number of low-cost carriers driving growth, but there is also the upcoming economic integration under the Asean Economic Community in 2015 opening up business opportunities, especially in Myanmar, which Flower described as an attractive new destination.
There are 38 new hotels and resorts in the pipeline under the group’s network expansion across the region over the next few years, he added.
