The #ZnowuSieSpotykamy campaign is underway. The meetings industry is ready for action, but still hampered by restrictions. The sector is calling for solutions ahead of the coming fall.
In the middle of the holiday season and shortly after the implementation of the EU Covid-19 certificate, the Meetings and Events Industry Council summarizes the situation in the industry and launches the #ZnowuSieSpotykamy campaign, under the honorary patronage of the President of the Polish Tourist Organization. Organizers have long been prepared to host safe business and entertainment events, but restrictions are effectively curbing demand and hindering the industry’s recovery. The sector needs a clear and reasonable plan for the fall, announced in advance, in order to be able to meet demand, effectively fill meeting and event calendars, and rebuild losses in the reality of the “new normal.”
In June, the first MICE industry events took place, mainly group integration, incentive and reward trips for employees or business partners. Organizers carried them out in destinations that are prepared to welcome groups and are rationalizing local restrictions to enable the return of this type of activity. In Poland, mainly meetings for small domestic groups and outdoor meetings took place. Inbound tourism to Poland and meetings for foreign groups are still practically non-existent, as are the trade fair, congress and concert industries and city hotels focused on business customers.
We must remember the important role of business events in creating competitive advantages for the Polish economy—they ensure the exchange of knowledge and support the building of well-coordinated teams and partnerships that support sales. We are very pleased with the demand from customers who understand that they can increase the effectiveness of their programs by taking advantage of the bonus for being the first. The first projects show a huge need for a return to face-to-face meetings, rebuilding relationships, and reintegration after a long period of isolation and remote work. We are definitely seeing pent-up demand from the end recipients of the events we organize. Our customers want to meet and need professional business tools such as incentive travel and events to do so. These services can be provided by professional organizers who have been gaining experience for nearly a year and a half and are ready to comprehensively prepare safe meetings in the new reality. We could safely organize many more trips, conferences, and trade fairs if it weren’t for the inadequate limits imposed on the organization of business meetings. Demand is also being held back by the lack of a clear statement from the government regarding the status of EU certificate holders after the summer. – explains Łukasz Adamowicz, vice-president of the board of the Association of Incentive Travel Organizers (SOIT).
The limits and restrictions currently in force in Poland mean that the thawing of the event, congress, outdoor concert, conference and trade fair sector is de facto illusory. The limits do not allow for the implementation of profitable projects. The limited number of participants and significantly higher costs associated with the logistics and production of such events make their organization unprofitable. Therefore, talking in public discourse about “opening up” the previously closed meetings industry is unrealistic. The level of service provision in the hotel sector, the organization of various types of events and trips, and transport, compared to other areas of the economy that have resumed operations after being freed from restrictions, is still very low. In other industries, participation limits are much more liberal.
The trade fair industry was unfrozen on June 6 this year, so theoretically trade fairs can be organized. Theoretically, because summer is a dead season for the trade fair industry. Another important thing is that companies need at least 3-4 months to prepare a professional trade fair, and we received information about the upcoming lifting of restrictions on trade fairs just a few days before the official lifting, says Beata Kozyra, president of the board of the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry. Kozyra emphasizes that: trade fair companies are in the starting blocks. The calendar of autumn trade fair events is bursting at the seams. Many attractive events are planned, both those already known and completely new ones, as well as those in a new format. Organizers and trade fair venues are ready to operate despite the pandemic. Guidelines for trade fairs were implemented and tested last year, she adds.
The Event Industry Association decided to take advantage of the opportunity during this year’s edition of Event Biznes, aimed at representatives of the meetings industry. We surveyed nearly 100 conference participants to find out how many had been vaccinated. The survey results show that 80% have received at least one or two doses and 20% are planning to get vaccinated. These encouraging figures show that we are a responsible team of entrepreneurs ready to implement event projects. Now we are counting on the government’s full readiness to support us,” appeals Dagmara Chmielewska, president of SBE.
The Meetings and Events Industry Council is constantly calling for the creation of a rational policy of limits depending on the epidemic situation and the level of infection, taking into account solutions already in place in the European Union, such as the green pass introduced on July 1 or state funding for rapid tests for unvaccinated participants in public life in the area of meetings and events. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been paying particular attention to the fact that the meetings industry needs clear communication, specifics, and predictability to enable business planning several months in advance. This is crucial for the resumption of sales of services in this sector.
No EU country has a solution that allows participation only after vaccination. The most common model is to exempt from the limits (apart from those who have been vaccinated) also those who have been tested and have recovered from COVID-19. If someone is not vaccinated, for example because they cannot be, they have the right to be tested and attend the event. Importantly, in most European countries, tests are free or subsidized by the state. We advocate using our knowledge and that of Europe to develop equally reasonable standards that will genuinely support the vaccination process and help bring long-awaited concerts and events back to the calendar,” explains Mikołaj Ziółkowski, president of the Association of Artistic and Entertainment Event Organizers.
We fully understand the need for rational and safe operation in our industry. We have been working for many months to ensure the responsible organization of events. But we also see many inequalities between industries, primarily in terms of the number of people allowed in a shared space. The aim of our appeal is primarily to correct such inequalities and to discuss the rules for the fall. A COVID passport which would remove limits for vaccinated, recovered, and tested people, while maintaining a high vaccination rate among event organizers, would allow us to discuss fall projects with our business partners in advance,” adds Dorota Wojtczak, marketing director at Live Age and board member of the SAR Event Agency Club.
Launched in July, the #ZnowuSieSpotykamy (We Meet Again) campaign aims to show that with the participation of professional organizers, event and incentive agencies, and carriers, it is possible to organize safe trips and business and entertainment events. In these difficult times, meeting the social need for meetings and integration is crucial, and professionals in the meetings industry are ready to meet these needs using the safe tools and solutions developed over the last few months. However, event organizers need clear communication from public authorities in this matter, not obstacles.
Our campaign will be held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Polish Tourist Organization, Rafał Szlachta – we are very grateful for this support and for speaking with one voice! Throughout the campaign, we will present examples of projects successfully implemented by members of the Meetings and Events Industry Council. The campaign will be conducted in social media, industry and national media, accompanied by the hashtags #ZnowuSieSpotykamy, #WeMeetAgain and #WeTravelAgain. Our message is also to show the importance of the meetings industry in rebuilding social needs related to human relations in the broadest sense. In addition, we must accept the perspective that it is time to start functioning in a new reality, despite the pandemic. The European Union has developed a Covid certificate as an instrument to improve life and movement during the pandemic. Let’s learn how to use this and other facilities, let’s act sensibly so that our lives and businesses can slowly get back on track,” announces Małgorzata Musiał-Bzowska, Secretary of the RPSiW.
Photo: Pixabay
Source: Council for the Meetings and Events Industry
