Xiamen has a thriving MICE industry. Last year the city introduces measures to ensure that momentum continues. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

The port city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province reaped economic benefits of 17.69 billion yuan ($2.73 billion) from its MICE industry – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector – last year, according to local media reports.

In 2020, the city hosted 113 large-scale exhibitions, including the 2020 CIFIT – or China International Fair for Investment and Trade – as well as the Straits Forum and the 2020 Xiamen Industry Expo, along with 3,289 conferences.

Meanwhile, Xiamen became the permanent site of the China International Advertising Festival last year and the China Educational Equipment Exhibition, China Organic Food Expo and the International Mushroom Days were held in Xiamen for the first time.

The MICE industry in the city undertook measures to welcome new opportunities amid the post-epidemic period last year.

Xiamen organized online versions of exhibitions, including the stone exhibition, Buddhist supplies exhibition and kitchen and bathroom supplies exhibitions, with the help of the AI, VR, cloud computing and big data technologies.

For example, participants from 38 countries and regions established exhibition halls on the online platform of the 2020 CIFIT. This enabled them to showcase their products, sign contracts and communicate with potential partners.

An upgraded version of the public information service platform for the MICE industry in Xiamen was also released last year, to offer more efficient and comprehensive MICE-related services.

People can use the platform to access detailed information about two large professional exhibition venues, 135 starred hotels and nearly 200 MICE service agencies.

In addition, Xiamen has also published measures to support the resumption of the local MICE industry and offered subsidies to MICE companies and approved regulations for the sector to promote its integration with competitive and major industries in the city.