Update: Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this event has been postponed until a later date. 

Kyoto will host the inaugural M&C Asia Connections Japan, scheduled for June 29 – 30, 2020 at the Grand Prince Hotel Kyoto.

Organized by Northstar Meeting Group, M&C Asia Connections has taken place once a year in Singapore since 2017, but this year the MICE event will also take place in Japan for the first time. “Bringing this event to Kyoto is part of our strategy to strengthen our competitiveness as a top international meetings destination,” said Yoshiaki Matsui, Deputy Director of the Bidding and Promotion Division at the Kyoto Convention & Visitors Bureau.

M&C Asia Connections Japan will feature pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings in addition to educational sessions and networking events, connecting leading MICE suppliers in Japan such as hotels, meeting facilities, convention bureaus, and destination management organizers to influential companies and organizations from Europe, North America, and Asia with decision-making power over events with both economic potential and added value such as the ability to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In additional to potential international conferences, corporate meetings, and incentive tours, the event will also incorporate the luxury travel and bleisure (*1) markets.

Suppliers from Kyoto participating in the event will be able to not only capture future MICE business leads, but also introduce hosted buyers from around the world to uniquely Kyoto experiences through excursions and receptions. “This is also a good opportunity for Kyoto to take advantage of Northstar Meeting Group’s strong media influence and let the world know about all that Kyoto has to offer, which may lead to future events in Kyoto,” added Matsui.

In line with the City of Kyoto’s tourism policy and the Kyoto Declaration (*2) adopted last December during the 4^th UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism & Culture, M&C Asia Connections Japan will support an ideal model of tourism where events bring not only economic effects but also additional benefits such as a balanced distribution of visitors and harmony with residents, culture, and the environment.

*1 Bleisure: A term combining the words “business” and “leisure”, describing the growing trend of combining business travel with recreation

*2 Kyoto Declaration: A declaration reaffirming commitment to the sustainable development of responsible cultural tourism by safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage, reinvesting the benefits of tourism into cultural resources and community wellbeing, and transmitting culture and mutual understanding. Available online.

Event Details

Name: M&C Asia Connections Japan 2020

Date: June 29 – 30, 2020 (Appointments scheduled for June 30)

*Excursions and other events scheduled for June 28 and July 1

Organizer: Northstar Meetings Group

Venue: Grand Prince Hotel Kyoto

Inquiries: Northstar Meetings Group Japan Representative (R Project Incorporated)

Kelly Kim / Tomoyo Iinuma

TEL: 03-6824-9980 / Email: mcac@rprojectinc.com

About Northstar Meetings Group

Northstar Meetings Group is of America’s largest travel and MICE media companies, with a readership encompassing most of the world’s meetings and events industry. As the industry’s top marketing company with a network of 350,000 buyers, Northstar Meetings Group uses its many years of experience and extensive know-how to handle corporate meetings and incentive tours, in addition to organizing MICE events in Europe, North America, and Asia.

About M&C Asia Connections

M&C Asia Connections is a business event for professionals in the meetings and events (MICE) industry, organized by Northstar Meetings Group once a year in Singapore. Participation is limited to invited buyers only, and the event includes pre-scheduled individual appointments, educational forums featuring meeting professionals from around the world, and networking events.