What is MICE and how big is the MICE industry?

MICE is the business side of live events: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions. The trade floor, not the dance floor. It is the biggest slice by far. $1.3 trillion in direct spending in 2025, 1.65 billion participants in 180+ countries, $1.8 trillion added to world GDP. If MICE were a country it would be the 16th largest economy on earth, ahead of the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. Where the money sits: corporate events $566 billion, conventions and congresses $383 billion, trade shows $179 billion, incentive trips $87 billion. North America pays $488 billion of it, Asia $353 billion and now bigger than Western Europe. Oxford Economics forecasts $1.6 trillion by 2028. Concerts and festivals are the visible layer on top. Together they carry my $2.5 trillion forecast.