Op-Ed: ‘Business events are far than an adjunct to the tourism industry’ – Sarah Markey-Hamm, IAPCO
Sarah Markey-Hamm
President, International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO)
Our sector found itself in a unique position, and the path to a sustainable recovery has been individual to the region where our members are based and how severely the local industry was impacted by the pandemic.
To ensure a steady and constant recovery, each year we have asked IAPCO members to provide a Birdseye view on the business they have delivered and the business they plan to deliver so we can ensure a stable and secure growth within our industry.
Due to our extensive reach across the globe, support is an important aspect of our industry which is evident throughout our IAPCO membership base, having delivered over 13.5 billion euros in economic impact to destinations worldwide.
As our current base has shown impressive health with 7,722 events confirmed for 2023 and with those number extending and growing into 2024 and 2025 we need to promote an environment that can build on our current success.
As previously mentioned, promoting sustainability is an area for IAPCO that can support the positive effects on the countless cities our members and their events visit every year.
As an active supporter and ally of the JMIC Net Zero Carbon Events initiatives, we are currently developing a roadmap that our members can utilise and implement for a progressively improving sector on the ever-shifting industry we are a part of.
Within our own businesses, PCOs are very committed to sustainability, however we are often educating our clients about the various sustainability programs available. IAPCO encourages using the UNSDGs as a framework, specifically identifying 7 of the 17 SDGs that we can focus on. Our implementation of the program commenced in 2019 with our ‘Ticky the Turtle’ campaign which focussed on SDG 14, Life Below Water. We asked members, suppliers and clients to sign a pledge to stop the use of single-use plastics at our events.
IAPCO members work collaboratively with their suppliers through the planning and delivery stages of an event. IAPCO’s strategic partnerships with other industry bodies like AIPC, PCMA, EIC, JMIC, IFES, AMCI and Cocal means that our members can ensure environmental standards of those associations are applied to their convention centres and supplier members also.
Highlighting not only the sustainability of our output, but also on the seasonality and sustainability of a destination, business events are key economic drivers for many locations our members visit. And when looking at sustainability in a holistic sense, using the principles of yield management, destinations can offer different price points in those months where business events are needed to fill some gaps.
In this area specifically, my first vision is that globally the use of the term MICE industry is deleted and replaced with Business Events. Having our industry referred to as a rodent in the English language is not something we should be aspiring for. Considering the impact that business events brings to economies it is time that we give our sector a reference point that befits it.
Our industry is far more than an adjunct to the tourism industry and to have global recognition outside our sector for what is achieved would be my dream.
Overall the extensive work we are implementing, alongside our passionate members, the Business Events sector is an industry that will continue to grow and provide not only a positive impact on the millions of delegates that attend these events, but a lasting positive impact on our environment.
A great read! Very insightful. Had the pleasure of meeting and consulting with Sarah not so long ago, always thought she had the makings of a knowledgeable and articulate leader. A true veteran in the industry with a wealth of wisdom.