The Different Types of MICE Travel
When it comes to understanding which type of MICE travel you’ll be booking with us, it’s essential to understand the different terms that comprise the acronym. While meeting and conference travel may sound similar, for instance, the slight differences between them will be necessary when explaining your needs to us.
Meeting defines as any number of people coming together in one place for a particular activity, which can be a one-time event or can re-occur regularly. In short, meeting travel refers to organizing any number of people for such a meeting, which means it could also include a company sporting trip.
Incentive travel may be one of the harder components of MICE travel to understand since it doesn’t necessarily deal with group events. Instead, incentive travel is typically given to employees as a reward. Incentive travel doesn’t usually have a business or educational component but instead is more of a non-business vacation with the aim of continued motivation for performance.
A conference is similar to a meeting in that it is a gathering of people in one place, but conferences usually have specific objectives and exchanges of information. Therefore, conference travel involves organizing itineraries, meetings, and events for people from the same profession or field.
At an exhibition, products or services are displayed and could be the primary focus of the event. Therefore, exhibition travel agents are those who organize such showcases. Exhibitions are often included in other conferences and meetings, meaning that there are often overlaps between agents in these industries. At such events, businesses court new clients and debut their latest offerings.
FIT means Free Independent Traveler or Free Independent Tourist. A FIT is an individual (or small group of < 10) traveling and vacationing with a self-booked itinerary.
GIT means Group Inclusive Tour. It is a travel program with a special fare and specific requirements (usually a minimum number of people often more than 5 travel as a group, throughout the tour).