MICE industry trends show rising demand for residential seminars and AI integration

The MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) sector is experiencing a shift driven by artificial intelligence and a renewed focus on human connection. According to the Kactus Barometer presented at the IFTM Top Résa trade show, companies are not reducing their event frequency but are becoming more selective regarding their investments.

While AI is being utilized to automate administrative tasks such as quote processing, brief qualification, and venue searches, industry experts suggest that the technology highlights the importance of non-automatable elements like shared emotion and interpersonal relationships. Kactus has also become the first European MICE player integrated into the OpenAI ecosystem.

Additionally, the industry is seeing a rise in residential seminars, which grew from 30% of organized events in 2023 to 35% in 2025. Other emerging trends in the travel and tourism sector include a resurgence in river cruising driven by slow tourism and increased competition for hotel inventory in the Mediterranean holiday club market.