The meetings and events industry is evolving, and Saudi Arabia is part of its future

“Our job, as someone said to me many years ago—and I’m breaching that guidance—is never to go on stage in front of your clients,” said Carter, speaking at the International MICE Summit earlier this month in Riyadh. “The job of all of us is to make our partners famous.”

MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, a sliver of the tourism sector that focuses on organizing large-scale business events like trade shows and conferences. The industry then promotes the economic boost nations get from all the travel spending associated with thousands of participants visiting these conferences. In December, it gathered in Saudi Arabia to discuss the industry’s role in the global economy and in bringing events to the nation. 

The global travel industry was badly dented by the pandemic and only this year is it expected to fully recover. This year, global business travel spending is projected to reach nearly $1.5 trillion, increasing 11% from the prior year and finally exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

“With projected spending expected to continue to increase through 2028, the future of business travel looks promising,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the industry advocacy group Global Business Travel Association, who made the 2024 projection in July.

Carter first came to Saudi Arabia two decades ago as a technology vendor, then joined Informa in 2010 and later became CEO in 2013. Then, the company was what he called a “fly in, fly out participant,” holding events for clients and then leaving when the show was over. 

The changing events business

That’s changed, Carter said, partly a reflection of Informa’s changing business model, with 50% of revenue now coming from partnerships from trade associations, nations, and other institutions. One of those partnerships is called Tahaluf, which aims to bring more international events to Saudi Arabia, along with the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming and the Events Investment Fund.

The joint venture has launched a series of events over the past few years in the transportation, healthcare, technology, and HR sectors. One of the largest was LEAP 2024, the biggest tech event ever held in the Middle East, with the next exhibition planned for this February.

Tahaluf, Carter says, was drawn to the Gulf nation by the billions committed to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a $1.3 trillion spending blitz to bolster infrastructure, housing, and increase demand from industries like tourism, all to lessen the nation’s dependence on oil. By 2030, Saudi Arabia is hoping to host 150 million tourists per year. The country reported around 109 million tourists in 2023, though most were traveling domestically. 

Richard Attias, founder and chairman of communications advisory firm and live events producer Richard Attias & Associates, said the industry is relying less on smaller meetings and those tied to the incentives business, instead favoring large-scale exhibitions and conferences. 

The events business was especially lucrative for decades through the early 2000s, particularly for the sliver of the MICE business that catered to sales representatives from pharmaceuticals companies, technology providers, and other companies who would send their top performers on trips to cities like Orlando and Las Vegas after they exceeded their annual sales targets.

But the so-called incentives business slowed down dramatically during the Obama administration, Attias said, as the government put new rules in place for the healthcare industry that pushed drug makers to focus more spending on research. 

There has also been a big shift in where events are occurring, Attias said. The first-ever world’s fair was held in London in 1851 and since then, many MICE businesses tend to come from Europe, like Informa. 

Now, “we see more and more events happening in Asia and this part of the world,” said Attias.

Senthil Gopinath, CEO of nonprofit trade organization the International Congress and Convention Associate, said MICE has changed over the past two decades. While once the focus was on just organizing meetings “now is all about experiential, creating impact, and bringing social and economic development to local societies.”

Luring talent to Saudi Arabia

Supporting events for new technology and scientific advancements, like artificial intelligence, could help lure new talent to Saudi Arabia, panelists said. Last month, the nation announced a $100 billion state-backed AI project that plans to invest in data centers and startups to develop the fast-evolving technology. MICE advocates say their industry can help align with the goals of business to bolster new industries, like AI. 

“I would dare to say business events are the central asset for every government to implement its policy goals,” said Kai Hattendorf, CEO of UFI, a trade association that represents around 50,000 employees of the exhibition industry globally. 

Sherrif Karamat, president and CEO of PCMA, a Chicago-based nonprofit that advocates for the business events industry, said he first visited Saudi Arabia four years ago and has already seen big changes, including gains for women’s rights. The nation is still criticized for its record on women’s rights—they were barred from driving until 2018—though Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has loosened restrictions as he angles to overhaul the nation’s economy.

One pocket of the Saudi economy where this interplay between policy and events is on display in the movie theater industry. In 2018, the regime ended a 35-year ban on movie theaters, a move that was linked to the Vision 2030 reforms. In the wake of that, trade shows like the Saudi Film Confex, which debuted in 2023, have popped up to promote the new industry. Oscar winner Will Smith spoke at the latest film event held in Riyadh in October.

Mashary Al Khayyat, general supervisor of the Saudi Film Confex, called the MICE industry a “soft power,” helping play a role in the nation’s efforts to boost tourism but also promote the nation’s identity. Film festivals, he said, “are celebrating our culture, while attracting international talent into Saudi Arabia. It’s a connection between the East and West and will [allow] us to attract more businesses and visitors to Saudi Arabia.”