Following our highly successful MICE webinar, “Navigating the MICE Landscape: Buyers, Trends, Success”, we’ve put together a summary of the common industry challenges that our webinar attendees are facing, how their jobs are changing in response to these challenges and the potential solutions going forward.
During this session, attended by over 200 guests, M&I’s Commercial Director, Heri Kashema, asked a select panel of top MICE suppliers and buyers questions on the current MICE landscape. What did we learn? From budget constraints to AI integration and a huge push for sustainability, producing events in today’s world is difficult but the payoff for clients has never been higher, with an overarching move towards real, authentic experiences to provide a sense of escapism.
Our panel was made up of 4 key figures in the MICE industry on both the supplier and buyer side: Anna Peters, Creative Director at Evolve Events, Mette Ingstrup, Owner and CEO at Better Travel & Events ApS, João Pinto Coelho, Sales Director at Onyria Golf Resorts and Jenn Whittle, Sales & Marketing Manager at Hello Scotland.
More than ever, it appears that sustainability is at the top of clients’ wish lists, with a focus on sustainable travel options and corporate social responsibility. While this is largely rooted in a desire to reduce CO2 emissions and to travel ethically, clients are also concerned about the potential judgment associated with making less sustainable choices.
“Normally we could charter flights and buy airline tickets but this year we’ve had more and more requests asking how to make it sustainable and clients are worried about bad press from the transportation point of view.”
“The Scandi and Nordic countries keep coming up because of sustainability. I also see dual destinations come up a lot and because of sustainable travel as you can travel between from city to city on trains as opposed to taking flights.”
“Regarding ESG, for most of the hotels it’s about listing what we’re doing and being more visible the past 7/8 years so we’re not creating things from scratch.”
Takeaways:
Unsurprisingly, conversation made its way back to AI time and time again but perhaps more surprisingly, our speakers were generally unphased by the question marks it poses over their roles, with some using it to enhance their processes and others confident in their authentic and human approach to work.
“If you look at AI you can find out a lot of information about venues, but you can’t find out the info that the people come to an agency want to know. What’s the ambience like? What’s the experience like?”
“AI and tech-wise we try and visualise what that event will look like using visualisation tools for clients.”
“The technology innovation in my business is zero but I’m very good with people, so we meet and discuss the briefing and I find the solution. I have the personal edge.”
The shift to hybrid working post-COVID and the want for real, human-to-human connection in a tech-automated world has left the MICE industry with a huge demand for trade shows like ours.
“The industry has proved the irreplaceable value of live experiences post-pandemic, it’s a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Now we have sales reps in every major destination and what we did last year was invite all our DMCS to an event for one afternoon so we could collectively market.”
To conclude, it’s clear the solutions to the issues affecting the MICE industry today – namely hybrid working, budget constraints, short lead times and ESG – lie in embracing technology while retaining that personal touch and finding the most economical way to reach buyers, trade shows.
That’s where we come in. Our market-leading Forums, attended by all our speakers many times over, allow you to meet the best buyers from all over the world, saving you a month of work in just a few days. If you’d like to see first-hand how our events can solve these common industry challenges, register your interest in one or more our Forums and one of our team will be in touch.
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Global Buyers
16-20 Mar 2025 | Morocco
American buyers
24-27 Mar 2025 | Canada
UK & EU buyers
27-29 Aug 2025 | Croatia
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Open your property up to a new range of events and opportunities by taking advantage of an online assessment created by our event partner, Healthcare Venues, which will determine if your venue is capable of hosting healthcare meetings and events.
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Tim Chudley
Managing Director, Sundial Group
