David Thompson is not lacking for confidence.
The event director for IBTM World remains steadfastly convinced in the positive future of the meeting and event industry, even as his signature event, traditionally one of the last major meeting industry gatherings of the year, transitions to a virtual event in 2020, a direct impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“Our research shows that there’s still a huge appetite to meet face-to-face, though for some, obviously, travel restrictions make that impossible for the time being,” Thompson says. “In the future, however, it’s likely that we may have to make some adjustments in order to be able to meet face to face, at least in the short term.”
For example, he says, at the top of a meeting planner wish list is likely to be venues with open space, which helps when planning events with physical distancing in mind.
Domestic or regional destinations, and those that are accessible without air transport in order to avoid the travel restrictions and quarantines of individual countries, are also likely to be popular, he says, adding that destinations with robust and clear health and safety protocols, as well as those that can demonstrate a low number of COVID-19 cases, will help bolster confidence.
“What’s impressed me most about our industry is how resilient it is and how quickly it adapted.”
Finally, exhibitors at virtual events will need to showcase their new and adapted services to help event planners plan their future events.
“We believe that nothing can beat face to face, however, and when the industry is ready, we will be there, and we look forward to seeing everyone in Barcelona in 2021,” Thompson says.
For now, the annual global gathering for IBTM World in Spain’s beautiful city of Barcelona has transitioned to a virtual event Dec. 8-10 and will include one-to-one meetings between exhibitors and buyers, as well as a diverse education program.
Thompson says attendance for IBTM World Virtual is looking very strong, with hosted buyers and exhibitors representing some of the biggest corporations, associations and agencies, as well as several major global exhibitors including the Luxembourg Convention Bureau, the Melbourne Convention Bureau, the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Hankyu Travel DMC Japan, the San Francisco CVB and others.
The education program includes keynote Pancho Campo, former tennis professional turned high-profile events producer, who will speak about the “Future of Events: Lessons Learned from Working with Barack Obama,” and Isabel Bardinet, CEO of the European Society of Cardiology, who will deliver her thoughts on “Going Digital: Lessons Learned and Going Forward.”
Mikael Ek, managing director, EMEA, for BCD Meetings & Events, will discuss the state of the industry, and Patrick Rush, senior regional director, head of Asia Pacific for American Express Meetings & Events, will address 2021 global meeting and event trends.
IBTM World, 8-10 December, 2020: Learn More and Register
Thompson says there is no doubting the impact that COVID-19 has had on the business events industry.
“What’s impressed me most about our industry is how resilient it is and how quickly it adapted,” he says.
At IBTM, for example, when the impact of coronavirus became clear, the organization—part of Reed Travel Exhibitions, which also includes IBTM Africa, IBTM Americas and the recently launched IBTM Asia Pacific—quickly realized the need to provide a platform for customers, partners and the wider event industry to stay connected, and launched IBTM Connect, an online resource hub.
“There have been many examples of other such initiatives throughout our industry, and it is this creativity and flexibility that I think will ultimately ensure our future success,” Thompson says.
It’s also been a year of personal growth for Thompson, who says he has developed new skills sets, gained confidence to act quickly in an ever-changing environment and recognized the importance of having a strong and supportive team “that accepts mistakes and celebrates successes.”
“For me personally, it’s been inspiring to see how working together, we can achieve fantastic things in a really short space of time,” he says. “Under huge time constraints, we’ve moved to a fully online event for this year’s show, and we’re incredibly proud of the whole team, as well as grateful for the support of the industry, for helping to make it happen. We’ve all learned new skills, we’ve had to do things outside of our normal job roles and comfort zones and, importantly, we’ve pulled together as one to make it all happen.”
Through all the challenges, though, Thompson remains a firm believer that as an industry, “we need to support and promote each other, especially at times like these. At IBTM, we work incredibly closely with our partners, the wider industry and our customers both to promote our industry and to develop and deliver our events. This pandemic has, I think, really united us and shown the strength and tenacity inherent within the business events world.”
That collaboration will be critical as the industry strives to recover in 2021.
“It’s difficult to predict where this virus will take us, but we’ve already seen that the event industry is incredibly nimble and creative, and has the qualities needed to enable it to adapt to the challenges ahead,” Thompson says. “In the short term, some adjustments will be necessary to ensure that we can continue to meet safely, and ultimately, face-to-face events are likely to be supplemented by some form of virtual or online content in the future.”
He says the industry must constantly evaluate and evolve events in what is an incredibly fast-paced industry.
“We’ll continue to do the same post-COVID-19 to ensure our events continue to deliver for our partners and customers,” Thompson says.
