Conference Matters 142

EDITOR’S NOTE

Who

are we?

It feels like a collective identity crisis within the Meetings industry. During the EU Dialogue in Brussels on 17 April last, sector representatives met with European Commission representatives and peers from the logistics sector. To use the most outdated and at the same time most vague term available, are ‘we’ the MICE sector? An abbreviation intended to clarify that not only Meetings but also Incentive travel, Conferences and Exhibitions are involved. Anyone unfamiliar with the abbreviation – which is almost everyone outside the (events) sector – naturally thinks in terms of small, hairy animals with a pointy nose and long thin tail. Or are we simply referring to a segment within tourism, as assumed by many policy-makers? After all, guests and participants in the meetings are in fact business tourists who spend money on flights and train tickets, hotel rooms, taxis and restaurants, and are therefore a good fit within the existing statistics. This is a major source of frustration for representatives of ‘they who initiate and facilitate meetings’. Such meetings offer far greater value, when we factor in the transfer of knowledge and inspiration in an impactful manner and the engendering of new contacts and networks between people, which in turn lead to (accelera ted) innovation. This not only results in much higher – immeasurable – economic value, but at the same time opens the door to yet another designation: the impact industry. We are in fact a sector within every other sector, was another suggestion. The binding factor within each ecosystem. Representatives from other sectors fail to understand why so much energy needs to be invested in gaining acknowledgement as an independent, main industry. Surely it is more effective to collaborate with other sectors on specific issues, such as the logistics sector when it comes to transport and sustainability policy within the EU? The naming discussion is actually already old news. In agreement with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the choice fell on the Meetings industry, back in 2006. And now to simply await the acknowledgement of the unparalleled added value of this industry.

Edwin Nunnink Editor-in-Chief Conference Matters edwin@zynchrone.com

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