PAGE NEWS INDUSTRY STRAP INSIGHTS
Industry insights for 2022 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Esmaré Steinhöfel, regional director (Africa), International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
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ormality has still not returned for the business events industry this year. Most events were still held virtually with some hybrid meetings organised mid-year
bringing together a smaller number of in-person attendees vs digital. On a positive note, three new members joined the ICCA Africa community in 2021: the Ethiopia Convention Bureau, the Zambia Tourism Agency, and the Niger Convention Agency. In fact, the Niger Convention Agency is the first member based in West Africa. This is an indication that destinations in Africa are beginning to see the value of Convention Bureaux promoting business events. On the road to recovery, many convention bureaux are launching recovery strategy campaigns; for example, the Zimbabwe Convention Bureau began a campaign #MeetInZim. The restart of tradeshows such as IMEX America in Las Vegas and IBTM World in Barcelona – both held in November 2021 – is a good signal that in-person tradeshows will become the norm once again, in 2022. The new year will also see the start of Meetings Africa taking place from 28 February-2 March at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The latest ICCA Association Meeting Needs Survey, indicates that 38 per cent
10 Business Events Africa December 2021/January 2022
of regional and international associations interviewed are planning to schedule inperson meetings for 2022. There is also a clear trend towards regional meetings. RFPs are changing for many associations, with the most common mentions including changes to cancellation options and force majeure clauses, hybrid meeting requirements and flexibility regarding delegate numbers and dates. A key finding from the recent ICCA Global Association Meetings Report shows that 2022 will be the year of hybrid events vs virtual. Associations would like to return to in-person events but retain some of the benefits of virtualisation, such as making events more accessible to more people. The DestinationNEXT 2021 Future Study report identified the three transformational opportunities for the business events industry going forward: destination alignment, sustainable development and values-based marketing. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing all ICCA members and industry friends next year as face-to-face cannot be fully replaced with digital alternatives. www.businesseventsafrica.com
