Key Performance Indicators of the MICE Industry and the Top 25 United States and Canadian CVBs David Pearlman ABSTRACT. The conventions and meetings industry is very large and has many stakeholders. Several trade associations monitor and report industry activity; however, no one single document aggregates the various indus- try indicators. Approximately 15 years ago, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau started an annual survey of convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) regarding key performance indicators (KPIs). Additionally, other industry secondary data (e.g., labor rates and average daily airlift) were collected. In January of 2005, 111 CVBs in the United States and Canada were sent a self-administered survey. This report documents these findings with recommendations supporting standardization of recordkeeping and key performance indicator calculations. KEYWORDS. MICE, KPIs, budgets, exhibit space, labor rates INTRODUCTION The meetings, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) industry is very large and getting bigger. According to a presentation by Desti- nation Marketing Association International given last year, in 2005 there were 440 convention centers and exhibit halls in the United States and Canada with over 82 million square feet of exhibit space and another 23+ million square feet of meeting space (Meeting Professionals International David Pearlman is affiliated with University of New Orleans Lester E. Kabacoff School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, 451 Kirschman Hall, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70145 (E-mail: depearlma@uno.edu). Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, Vol. 9(2), 2008 Available online at http://jcet.haworthpress.com C  2008 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved. doi: 10.1080/15470140802195019 95