Most meeting professionals agree: The future of the meetings industry hinges on the ability to prove the value of face-to-face events — not only to organizers, attendees and exhibitors, but also to governments. With that in mind, meeting planners took a step forward this week at the IMEX Politicians Forum in Frankfurt, Germany, which brought politicians and meeting professionals together to discuss the economic benefits of meetings and events.
Attended by 36 politicians and government officials from 16 countries, as well as 80 meetings industry leaders from 25 countries, this year's gathering opened with a video case study featuring San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego Convention Center President Carol Wallace and San Diego Convention Center CEO Steven Johnson, who talked about their partnership to turn San Diego into "the biotech city of the world."
The forum included two additional case studies — one featuring the European Society of Cardiology, the other featuring France Congres and the deputy mayor of Bordeaux — followed by a guided tour of the IMEX show floor. It concluded with a private debate, participants in which included Philippe Fournier, president of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC); Dieter Hardt-Straymer, president of European Cities Marketing (ECM); Edgar Hirt, president of the Association of International Palais de Congres; Nick De Bois MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events in the United Kingdom; Kevin Murphy, CEO of the Excel Conference Centre in London; and Gloria Guevara Manzo, Minister of Tourism for Mexico.
"Changing perceptions and increasing understanding among our political representatives remains an important task for the whole of the meetings industry," said IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom. "It is not something that any single association, company or organization can achieve on its own. I am pleased that once again IMEX has been able to bring the industry together for an open, intelligent and informed debate, and I'm even more pleased to see more and more destinations around the globe producing strong, credible data that makes the case for not just supporting but actively encouraging engagement with the meetings and events industry."
According to the IMEX Group, a detailed report of the day's discussions, findings and recommendations will be published later this year.