Considering the huge potential of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) sector, a hospitality expert has called for concerted efforts to grow the sector.
According to Karl Hala, group general manager, Continental Hotels Nigeria, MICE is one of Nigeria’s greatest growth opportunities and giving it the required attention will ensure optimised impact in the hospitality sector and tourism industry at large.
Hala, who made the call in his keynote address at the AeroWest Summit 2026, which was held in Lagos recently, revealed the opportunities in MICE, saying that one international congress alone can bring 500, 1,000 or 2,000 delegates to the country.
Breaking down the opportunities, Hala said that the delegates will fill aircraft, hotels, use restaurants and transport. ‘They will visit attractions, shop, employ event companies, experience Nigerian culture and some return with their families on vacation here,’ he said.
Why the above may not be happening at an anticipated level now, Hala noted that going forward Nigeria needs a professional convention bureau to take advantage of the opportunities in the MICE sector.
He described the convention bureau as one with: ‘One national calendar, one bidding platform and one coordinated interface connecting government, airlines, hotels, convention centres, tour operators, destination companies and international associations’.
He blamed the inability of the MICE sector to optimise its potential in the country’s hospitality today on businesses being pursued individually, hotel bids, airline negotiates, ministry participates, and association tries, instead of a single vehicle like the convention bureau that coordinates the entire efforts into a collective gain.
To grow its MICE, he noted that Nigeria needs to be a successful destination, which will enable it to bid and win international congresses.
But the bidding, according to Hala, has to be as a country and not as individuals or organisations.
Speaking further at the summit on ‘Beyond Connectivity – Building the Tourism Capacity and Experiences That Make Destinations Thrive’, Hala noted that a thriving MICE sector comes with demand and need for improved infrastructure offerings.
However, to meet the growing demand, he explained that the hospitality sector needs to build capacity, build the people and close gaps in the quality of services and facilities on offer.
‘Hospitality is ultimately not about buildings, but about people,’ he insisted.
‘You can build the most magnificent hotel in Africa, but without trained people, you will simply have an expensive building’.
Capacity building, according to him, is better addressed by offering hands-on coaching, and most importantly, with formal training in a certified hospitality school.
Citing an instance with Continental Hotels Group, which he leads, Hala noted that the Continental Hospitality Academy is one of the projects closest to the hotel group today due to its impacts.
‘What began as an idea to strengthen hospitality skills has become a much broader partnership,’ he said excitedly.
‘We are engaging with the Ministry of Education. Continental Hotels is an official UNICEF Generation Unlimited partner. IOM is exploring pathways through which returning Nigerians can receive training and support into employment. GIZ brings competency-based training expertise.
‘Our cooperation with the Digital Bridge Institute adds digital skills, artificial intelligence and 21st-century employability’.
With a focus on growing MICE to a sustainable level, Hala noted that capacity building in the hospitality sector should be intentional to train young Nigerians to become internationally competitive hospitality professionals.
‘We need to train them as people who can build careers, become entrepreneurs and succeed in Lagos, Abuja, Accra, Dubai or London and ideally, choose to build their future here,’ he said.
Meanwhile, he noted that MICE can thrive better when connectivity is guaranteed, especially air as aviation connects Nigeria to Africa and the world.
‘Tourism happens when we connect the entire ecosystem. An airline can bring somebody to Lagos, but something must make them want to come. Something must make them stay, spend and, most importantly, return.
That is destination development,’ he said.
The greatest opportunity in the value chain today, according to Hala, is connection.
‘Connecting aviation to hospitality, hospitality to skills, skills to employment, culture to storytelling, storytelling to experiences, experiences to demand, demand to investment and investment back to aviation,’ he concluded, is what Nigeria needs to grow its tourism.