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Building Up Post-Pandemic MICE Energy
Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government Joins the Union of International Associations (UIA)

Although the global pandemic continues to impact the recovery of the MICE industry, many international meetings/conferences and exhibitions have been retaking the stage, one by one, with either a hybrid or full bricks-and-mortar format. In preparation for a post-pandemic restart, following up on its joining of the Hybrid City Alliance in 2021, the Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government (TPE-DOIT) continues to dynamically build up the city’s MICE energy this year (2022), applying to join the Union of International Associations (UIA), which has a history of more than 100 years and has long had a commitment to global international meeting statistics and research. On March 14, TPE-DOIT officially became the UIA’s first member from Taiwan.
 
The UIA was founded in 1907 by Henri La Fontaine, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913, and Paul Otlet, one of the fathers of information science. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, it is an independent, non-profit, non-political, non-governmental international research organization. Authorized by the United Nations, the UIA publishes the most up-to-date, most comprehensive, and most reliable information and research results on international organizations and meeting events around the world, and supports the development of its member organizations through training and communication exchange.   

In the past Taiwan’s interaction with the UIA was limited, and thus its data collection on Taiwan was insufficient. DOIT is now in systematic contact with the organization, providing relevant information on MICE activities, helping to improve the city’s international exposure and ranking.

 In the 2022 Global Meetings and Events Forecast published by American Express last year, Taipei ranked 4^th as a meeting destination in the Asia-Pacific region, the first time achieving such a high ranking. Joining the UIA will now provide support with international exchanges and with international meeting market information collection, research, and development, helping the city in its quest to become Asia’s premier MICE city choice. 

In addition, while border controls remain in place, TPE-DOIT is actively engaged in the execution of domestic marketing. Last year’s popular “secret destination” itineraries combining MICE and leisure travel have been continued, allowing participants to experience a day in the life of a MICE traveler. This year an all-new secret destinations itinerary was launched, with the focus on the area encompassing Yuanshan, Jiantan, and Shilin – a relaxed culture and history feast enjoyed via the easy-travel Taipei Metro. The itinerary included the Grand Hotel’s Secret East Tunnel and the former residence of Kung Ling-wei, the Grand Hotel’s first general manager, and ended with a visit to the 2022 Taipei Lantern Festival and Shilin Night Market. The various secret destinations were unique, each possessing a storytelling quality and showcasing the local character. These attractions of special character, not well known or without wide international exposure, received strong positive response and unanimous praise. 

In contrast with the major reopening recently seen in many countries around the world, Taiwan is taking a more cautious approach, opting for a more gradual reopening. As part of its advance preparations for an influx of MICE travelers once pandemic restrictions have been lifted, TPE-DOIT has specially invited leading travel agencies, conference hotels, and international gathering PCOs in the inbound incentive-travel market, along with special resilience task forces formed by central government organizations, to come together for public/private sector brainstorming collaboration focused on jointly overcoming the challenges of the new post-pandemic normal and laying out a strategy for a market restart.

The UIA currently has 42,000 international association members, and collects data on approximately 74,000 international organizations from 300 countries and regions. Each year it publishes The Yearbook of International Organizations, one of the most influential statistical reports for the MICE industry, which contains global international meeting country and city rankings, meeting market share proportions by region, country, and city, and future market outlooks and trends.