Hotels, event planners look to meetings to boost revenue

Event planners, tourism and convention bureaus and hotels worldwide are pinning their hopes on the huge potential of China's MICE market amid the slow recovery of the world economy, sources said.

The MICE industry refers to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. It is a type of tourism in which large groups are brought together for a particular purpose.

China is expected to surpass the United States to become the world's largest business travel market by 2015, and the sector will see 15.2 percent year-on-year growth in 2013, according to the Global Business Travel Association.