Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING APR 2019 42 JAPAN CUTTING-EDGE MICE At a study sessionhostedby the Japanese IRAssociation in Tokyo in March, local government and congressional representatives interested in attracting an IR heard expert observations on what Japan’s MICE industry needs to compete with other leading nations. “Japan should start with its three IR locations – the big cities and the regions – and in the long term, these will provide a good test,” explained Niall Murray, founder of Murray International, on the topic of expanding the nation’s event facilities. “Of course, the scale of each MICE is different. There are 10 exhibition halls in Germany of a scale of 100,000 square meters or more. In the future, Japan will expand to match this.” "A PARADIGM SHIFT WILL OCCUR" The Chief Sales Officer of US-based IR operator Caesars Entertainment, Mike Massari, explained that a “paradigm shift” will need to occur in Japan’s hospitality industry all centered around embracing MICE. “First of all, hotels in the vicinity – there should be around three hotels with 3,000 rooms each providing easy access for MICE visitors,” he said. Currently only Tokyo’s Shinagawa Prince Hotel boasts more than 3,000 rooms nation-wide. “The data shows that visitors who come to an IR for business like MICE will also spend a lot of money during their stay on tourist activities.” Adding to Massari’s call for many more hotel rooms, Caesars Vice President Meeting Operations for the Atlantic City Region, Steve van der Molen, highlighted, “This is how many people MICE will bring in. It is, therefore, essential to build an ecosystem in advance. “We have succeeded in this with new MICE in Atlantic City (opened in 2015).” This ecosystem, van der Molen said, was realized via strong cooperation between the government and local authorities. “CAMPUS-STYLE IR” “I think you know about Google’s Tech campus,” explained Caesars VP of Sales Lisa Messina, pointing to Caesars Forum Las Vegas, a large MICE facility due to open in March 2020 “There are entertainment facilities and activities built around the core office. IR facilities are the same. There are many experiences in one location, each with great access. I think a ‘campus-style’ IR is very appealing.” Caesars Forum will offer 51,000 square meters of meeting space and two of the world's largest event halls at 100,000 square meters. It utilizes state-of-the-art technology to control partitions so the large spaces can be arranged into various smaller meetings rooms, with over 1,000 possible layouts. It also happens to be within a short walking distance of the Las Vegas Strip. Likewise, Japan’s IR MICE facilities can exploit late- entry advantage, implementing cutting-edge technology while also benefiting from the lessons learned from previous MICE facilities. There are great expectations that Japan’s MICE will break the mold and set a new international standard. The government has decided a MICE facility is a requirement for the development of a Japanese IR…Regulations call for amassive international hall with a capacity of 6,000 people or more.