Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN APR 2019 50 JAPAN W hile much of the talk around Japanese IRs has up to this point focused primarily on problem gambling concerns, one aspect that is starting to gain traction is the opportunity IRs present to grow the country’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. MICE facilities are located throughout the world and the average annual growth rate of the MICE industry (2017-2023) has been estimated at 7.5%. The market, at US$752 billion in 2016, is predicted to grow to US$1.25 trillion by 2023. The construction of large event halls has continued apace each year and the number of halls with a floor space of 100,000 square meters or more now stands at 72 globally (as of March 2019). Unfortunately, no site in Japan is included on this list with the largest being Tokyo Big Sight at 95,000 square meters (although an additional 20,000 square meters will become available with the opening of the South Exhibition Hall in July this year). The government has therefore decided a MICE facility is a requirement for the development of a Japanese IR. Moreover, the scale standard is strategic. Regulations call for a massive international hall with a capacity of 6,000 people or more. Currently, the largest in Japan are the Tokyo International Forum and Pacifico Yokohama, each with capacity for 5,000 people. Further, a very large scale exhibition hall must be 120,000 square meters or greater, beating Tokyo’s Big Sight by a large margin. The MICE facilities at Japan’s IRs will need to be on a massive scale – far bigger than anything the country has seen before. Naturally, it will be expected to compete globally, heralding a new era for MICE in the country. 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.” 今 まで、ギャンブル依存症など、デメリットが話題 に上がることもまま見受けられたが、ここ最近 はIRに伴うメリットとしてMICE産業の話題が加 速してきている。 IRの開業でMICEは新時代へ MICE施設は世界的に分布し、MICE産業の年平均成長率（2017年 ～2023年）は＋7.5％との試算もある。2016年に7,520億米ドルだった 市場規模が、2023年には１兆2,450億米ドルにまで膨らむ計算だ。 巨大な展示会場の建設も年々進み、10万㎡以上の広さがある会場 が世界で「72」を数えるほど(2019年3月現在)。残念ながら、日本の施 設はこの数字に入っておらず、国内最大の東京ビッグサイトでも約9万 5,000㎡にとどまる（今年7月には2万㎡の南展示棟が追加開業する）。 そこで政府は日本版IRの開業要件として、MICEの設置を定めた。し かも、そのスケール基準は戦略的。「極めて大規模」な国際会議場は最 大会議室の収容人数が6,000人以上と規定。現在、日本で最大の東京 国際フォーラムとパシフィコ横浜が5,000人規模だ。 また、「極めて大規模」な展示会場は12万㎡以上とされており、現行 最大の東京ビッグサイトの9万5,000㎡を大きく上回る。 日本版IRを構成するMICEは、これまでに例を見ないほど巨大なス ケールになる。当然、世界に通用する競争力が期待されよう。MICE新 時代の到来－－そう言っても過言ではないだろう。 最先端のMICEを実現するヒント 日本版IRを構成するMICEが、巨大なものになることは分かった。で は、その中身はどんなものになるのか？　どんな特長があるのか？そ 10万㎡以上の広さがある会場が世界 で「72」を数える。しかし、残念ながら 日本の施設はこの数字に入っておらず The number of halls with a floor space of 100,000 square meters or more now stands at 72 globally. Unfortunately, no site in Japan is included on this list.