MICE News

The 12th Kansai Hotel & Restaurant Show marks the first major BtoB trade fair in Japan since the state of emergency was lifted. In the five months that have passed since the Prime Minister’s request on February 26 for voluntary restrictions on large-scale events, the MICE industry has seen universal cancellations and postponements, and exhibitors (mainly small and medium-sized businesses) as well as attendees, MICE-related enterprises, hotels, restaurants, and transportation companies have all lost business opportunities, and the local economy has suffered severe losses.

“Human life is supported by not just medical care, but also economic activity. The extent of the MICE industry encompasses a wide range of businesses and has a large ripple effect, and is an engine that drives economic activity.” With this idea in mind, for the past four months the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau has dedicated to ensuring that the MICE industry can restart as soon as possible. Specifically, along with working closely with the Osaka prefecture and Osaka city governments to create our Guidelines for MICE Organizers for Infectious Disease Control（https://mice.osaka-info.jp/en/page/mice-guideline）, we have positioned this exhibition as a symbol of the MICE industry’s revival and have supported the organizers as an official supporting organization.

On the morning of the first day, the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau conducted an inspection of the above-mentioned guidelines inside the venue alongside Dr. Tetsuo Kase, special lecturer at Osaka City University’s School of Medicine and Department of Public Health, who oversaw the editing of the guidelines. Dr. Kase deemed that “the exhibition is carrying out infectious disease control measures above and beyond the guidelines” and “the exhibition space’s ceiling height and ventilation is favorable and is an environment similar to outdoors.”

He furthermore elaborated that even though “the contents of the guidelines are generally necessary and sufficient, the regulations on the venue’s entry limits and seminar space layout are even stricter than necessary.” In order to further make our guidelines realistic and pragmatic, we plan to release a revised version later this month based on Dr. Kase’s assessment. In the afternoon, Dr. Kase and OCTB MICE Policy Director Tanaka together held an open discussion for attendees on the main infectious disease control measures that MICE organizers should be implementing. They touched on real-life infectious disease control measures that cannot be understood just through the guidelines, and many attendees expressed that the discussion was helpful for them. A recording of the discussion is available below (in Japanese.)

Amid the rapid spread of web meetings and online technology, some have started looking to hold MICE events and exhibitions online. However, this exhibition reaffirmed to the many attendees that real-world events are the most effective form of business transactions.
In a survey conducted by the organizers, many exhibitors expressed thoughts about the event such as “Of course, speaking directly with clients is really effective. They could experience our products first-hand, and their feedback is helpful for our product development,” as well as “We were able to engage with a major hotel through the business talks’ appointment system, and we’ve already received many requests for a quote.”

Visitors, likewise, expressed favorable opinions such as “We had been really troubled recently by having no trade fairs to attend. It was really helpful to be able to get concrete quotes on-site,” and “We came to the exhibition and could experience the exhibitors’ positivity, and we came to feel that we absolutely cannot lose.”

The organizers commented that “we, too, feel encouraged by the attendees’ positive expressions. We have a renewed understanding that even amid the coronavirus pandemic, exhibitions are in strong demand as a place of commerce, especially for small and medium-sized companies. We will continue to work hard to ensure attendees’ safety and peace of mind in our operation management.”

In the discussion, Tanaka expressed that “Online technology is very newsworthy, so there are probably many people who are only looking in that direction. However, we mustn’t misunderstand that online technology is essentially a tool, and is a supporting technology that complements the value of real-world events. Real-world events offer experiences that online technology could never replace like tasting, touching, and assessing things with your own hands. That is why we should focus on increasing the value of real-world events while actively using online technology so that even more people will want to attend.”

Hereafter as well we will continue to lay out an “All-Osaka” system, and as Japan’s leader in MICE we will strive to restart as many MICE events as possible. We are looking towards EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and beyond that the potential of an integrated resort complex (IR), and have made it our policy to strive even more aggressively and progressively than now to achieve our goal of becoming Japan’s Number One and Asia’s Foremost MICE Destination. President Mizohata resolutely expressed our spirit in his speech at the exhibition’s opening ceremony, available below:

President Hiroshi Mizohata Speech Download

●“An Interview Mr. Yoshikazu Tanaka, MICE Policy Director, Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau”- MICE and Tourism around the World (UK):https://issuu.com/tourismaroundtheworldmonthly/docs/2020_mandtatw_edition_8_august
●“Osaka stages Japan’s first large-scale exhibition since state of emergency lifted”- Conference & Meetings World (CMW) (UK):https://www.c-mw.net/osaka-stages-japans-first-large-scale-exhibition-since-state-of-emergency-lifted/
●“Japan balances Covid with MICE recovery”- MIX Meetings (Asia):https://mixmeetings.com/destinations/japan-balances-covid-with-mice-recovery/
●“Japan’s First Large-Scale Exhibition Since Lifting the State of Emergency”- KONGRES Magazine (Europe):https://kongres-magazine.eu/2020/07/japans-first-large-scale-exhibition-since-lifting-the-state-of-emergency/
●“Osaka hosts major B2B events with new 'disease control measures'”- Meetings & Conventions Asia (Singapore):https://www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/News/Destinations/Osaka-hosts-major-B2B-events-with-new-disease-control-measures
●“Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau lança guia para eventos MICE”- Event Point International (Portugal):http://www.eventpointinternational.com/pt/item/12-radar/4822-osaka-convention-e-tourism-bureau-lanca-guia-para-eventos-mice
●”Six B2B exhibitions help to jump-start Japan’s MICE sector”- TTG Mice (Asia):https://www.ttgmice.com/2020/08/03/six-b2b-exhibitions-help-to-jump-start-japans-mice-sector/