Events Sector Searches for Future at IMEX Frankfurt
Skift Take
Industry trade shows often act as a celebration of a sector's successes. A trip to IMEX Frankfurt, though, shows the meetings and events sector needs to embrace change instead of what has worked in the past.
By most accounts, it has been a banner decade for the global meetings and events sector.
At IMEX Frankfurt this week, the usual parade of promotion and celebration was on display around the show floor. Concern about the industry's future, though, was common in discussion with leaders, particularly in the areas of sustainability and the health of group bookings overall.
Sustainability has become a stronger focus for the meetings and events sector, but some raised the concern that greenwashing and the perception of events as wasteful could decrease demand for events in the future, particularly if these issues become a political focal point around the world.
For Don Welsh, CEO of Destinations International, part of the problem is the lack of best standards for destinations. He pointed out that Houston is one of the only cities with a strong sustainability program for travel in the U.S., while Scandinavian countries lead the green wave in Europe. Every destination should be buying into sustainability, but most aren't.
It's not that everyone else is avoiding the issue, he said, but that the lack of clarity on goals and buy-in from local politicians makes a focus on sustainability challenging for destination marketers and managers. Smaller cities, though, are starting to embrace the challen
