What was MICE like at the start, twenty-five years ago?
Basically, it was a completely different world at the dawning of the political and economic changeover. That time was a huge personal challenge for me – and a huge novelty to the company – to start working in the MICE area. Obviously, I did not have to invent everything, still, it was all new. If new demands arose, that were so far unknown, you needed high creativity. We tried many things, we had to take risks but were not allowed to be wrong... As a result, Microcosmos has become one of the leading DMCs in our country.
Are MICE activities very different in Hungary today?
In a certain sense, they are the same: a daily challenge, so it continues to be enjoyable. However, today, we must think differently about a lot of things and look for different solutions. We must find what the world views as a novelty. We need to feel what the buyers want and we must preempt their thoughts a little. What is the goal? We have to prove for them that Hungary is a good target. However, it is very difficult to find the right keywords. Even a few decades ago, thermal waters or Hungarian hospitality created interest, now these do not work as a magnet.
The buyer requires special experience, and we have to compete with others across the world. We are full of hope since Budapest and Hungary have changed significantly over the past quarter of a century. But, in the meantime, the number, and especially the sophistication, of applications has also increased. Actually, we have all the answers, we just need to anticipate the demands.
Another important task is to find the market. However, for the buyer, giant meetings of the service providers (IMEX, EIBTM, WTM) are not always the most appropriate. Decisions are often made at by staff with no idea where to look for the implementers of the planned events. So, we have to target a lot of potential customers personally instead of – and even more so, in addition to – the MICE market.
And once we have managed to make contact with them, comes the hardest part of the job: to convince them to bravely think about locations in Hungary because here they can find something that exists nowhere else.
