The Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions(MICE) sector is set for a major blow in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen government restrict movement into the country. On Friday, the government imposed a 30-day ban on all conferences of international nature amid efforts to contain the coronavirus. MICE, a key arm of the tourism sector, will be hard hit as conference planners move to cancel or postpone major meetings, which will affect at least 1,000 delegates in the short-term. Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), the country's home of MICE, has so far canceled two major conferences and four exhibitions of international standard. In 2018, Kenya hosted 31 international meetings and was ranked fourth in Africa (after South Africa, Morocco and Egypt) based on number of meetings held.

Source: The Star March 09, 2020 00:56 UTC