Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world, experiencing tremendous growth over the decades. The number of international tourist arrivals has steadily increased reaching 1,186 million, occupying 10% of global GDP andcreating one in every 11 jobs worldwide in 2015. Particularly, the Asia and the Pacific region showed the strongest growth in tourism population, welcoming 279 million international tourists in 2015. The region’s major destinations are expected to continue its firm growth by 5% on average and the increasing trend applies to sub-regions including South-East Asia[1]. 

In the tourism industry, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) market has emerged as a highly profitable segment worldwide. It is one of the key drivers of tourism destination development and foreign investment. According to a recent research by Global Business Travel Association, global spending on business travel is set to reach USD 1.6 trillion by 2020[2], which gives us massive potential for economic growth. In fact, the MICE market in Asia has increased by 133% over the last 6 years. Considering the global market rate of 19.9%, the figure for Asia implies possible economic expansion in this region.[3] Besides these economic benefits, the Meetings industry also provides opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking, which will lead to intellectual development and regional cooperation.[4]

In this sense, this workshop aims to provide the concept of MICE tourism with some of the best practices in Asia-Pacific. It also addresses other dimensions of tourism development such as environmental and social impacts of MICE tourism with the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). Group discussions will be arranged to encourage participants to exchange their experiences and best practices regarding MICE toursim. Ultimately, the workshopwill help local actors effectively develop relevant policies on MICE tourism and create their own networks for MICE tourism development in this region.

The capacity-building workshop will:

·      Provide an opportunity for local governments and cities in the Asia-Pacific region to exchange their MICE tourism policies and best practices throughout city-to-city cooperation.

·      Promote a learning atmosphere among cities and establish a strong network that can be utilized after the workshop.

·      Offer a venue of knowledge transfer and discussion and motivate participants to implement sustainable tourism policies in their cities.

·      Understand the global tourism trends in the context of 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

·      Have a basic understanding of MICE tourism and deepen the ideas of sustainable practices for MICE tourism development.

·      Utilize the lessons learned from the cases of MICE tourism in the Asia-Pacific region and other regions for their action plans.

·      Describe a methodology and a checklist needed for MICE tourism policy development considering both challenges and advantages of their region.

·      Coordinate partnerships to effectively promote the benefits of sustainable tourism policies with private sectors and civil society.

The training will include the following:

·      [Session 1] The Global Trends of Tourism and MICE Industry 

·      [Session 2] Understading of MICE Tourism Management

·      [Session 3] Developing Responsible Tour Programmes: Engaging Travel Agencies in MICE Tourism

·      [Session 4] Adopting Sustainability in Convention and Hotel Management

·      [Session 5] Marketing for MICE Destinations: Chanllenges and Opportunities

·      [Session 6] Tourism Investment and Finance

·      [Session 7] Waste Mangement for Sustainable MICE Tourism

·      [Session 8] Monitoring and Evaluating the Outcomes of Tourism: GSTC Criteria

·      [Session 9] Translating Sustainable Tourism Policies into Actionable Mangement

·      [Session 10] MICE Tourism Best Practice Models: Case Studies

·      [Session 11] UNITAR “CityShare” Methodology

The training will be comprised of:

·      Lectures by experts

·      Simulation of policy implementation

·      Self-assessment exercise

·      Group work and discussion

·      Action plan presentation

·      Study visits  to tourism project sites

               · Central/local authorities and Representatives from NGOs, regional and community-based organizations, academic and training institutions and other local actors, 

                  who are working in the field of sustainable tourism in the ASEAN countries.

                 · Participants are expected to have a sufficient command of both written and spoken English.

·      Event type: workshop (training program)

·      Date: December 5 – 8,  2017     

·      Venue: Jeju International Training Center, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea

·      Organizers: UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC, UNITAR, ASEAN-Korea Centre, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC)

·      Collaboration: Jeju Tourism Organization

·      Certificate: UNITAR, UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC and ASEAN-Korea Centre will jointly issue a certificate upon the completion of the training.

Applicants are required to:

·      Be nationals of the ASEAN Member States

·      Summit necessary documents on time, i.e., application forms etc.

·      Complete and submit pre-training assignment, i.e., case study description etc.

·      Actively participate in the training program.

·      Be fluent in written and spoken English.