< Previousthe protection of workers. It was “two difficult years”. Even so, there was financial support, training and clear communication with consumers. It was a time of travel restrictions, of ‘studying’ and getting to know the destination better, but it was also time to launch new products, such as wine tourism or nature… “It was time to develop and structure our offer – from hotels to restaurants, from monuments to museums –, to be prepared for those who would visit us very soon. And that time has come. I am proud to say that we now see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel and that we are back on track.” Portugal has recovered 80 to 90% of its air capacity and there are strong signs from stakeholders, tour operators and travel agents around the world that the country continues to be an attractive tourist destination. Luís Araújo stressed that workers and companies are more ready than ever to host all visitors. Turismo de Portugal launched a recovery plan ‘Reactivate Tourism. Build the Future’, to reactivate tourism and restore market confidence; this plan represents an investment of six billion euros. And all this recovery has to be done with creativity and innovation. Luís Araújo recalled that recent years have highlighted the importance of having a strategy and the need for the sector to focus on protecting the planet, setting an example of how it is possible to have better tourism for a better planet; in the purpose of welcoming, respecting differences; and in people. “In tourists, giving them the best experience possible; in our citizens, so that they understand the value of tourism; and also in our workers”, so that they know that “this is a career for life” and that it is one of the most extraordinary, as it has to do with the relationship between people. “And this is something we love to do in Portugal and we love to show how well we do it”, he concluded. Maria João Leite WWW.EVENTPOINTINTERNATIONAL.COM 30 REPORT WHAT CAN AIPC DO TO SUPPORT ITS MEMBERS IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES? WWW.EVENTPOINTINTERNATIONAL.COM 32 OPINION CONNECTING THE DOTS 2.0 One of the main purposes of an association is connecting the dots. By definition we do so by bringing our communities together, enabling networking and sharing of knowledge. Over the last two years, we explored different ways of doing so, resulting into a blend of formats to be used going forward, increasing both our reach and impact. At the same time, the challenges faced by the AIPC community provide an opportunity to create a different kind of bridges, forfilling our role as global association for convention centers even more. As part of the preparation of the AIPC Academy, a one-week management course for upcoming convention center leaders, we ask the particpants about the challenges they face. For this year’s edition, we received ten (10) pages of challenges in total, from venues located in 9 countries (from Singapore to Canada). Service excellence is on the top of minds of almost all the participants and more specifically delivering excellence in a changing (market) environment. The changing customer requirements, in combination with factors out of control of convention center management, create a level of uncertainty which is not easily translated into business opportunities. Just to give an example: the big resignation creates labour shortage at convention centers, impacting service levels. In some cases, this means that convention centers need to cancel events, because they feel that the service level they can deliver is not in line with the level they want to deliver.This begs for the question: what can AIPC do to support its members in these circumstances? It is a challenge which AIPC shares with many associations worldwide. During the Brussels International Associations Forum (BIAF), it was one of the key topics – both on stage and during the informal networking moments. Many associations transformed themselves into agile, multi-channel community platforms, requiring completely new skillsets from their staff and – not to be underestimated – a new type of engagement with their members. But what more needs to be done? The Board of AIPC decided to take action addressing three key questions: 1) how can we address the resource issue by creating a talent pipeline for convention centers? 2) how can we stimulate innovation by building a bridge between start-ups and convention centers? and 3) how can stimulate knowledge sharing using our events as platforms? The first step in addressing the resource issue was the creation of a talent programme. Fourteen upcoming leaders convention center leaders were selected for a 9 month elevated management programme, which includes the development of an idea which can transform the future of convention centers. The outcome will be presented at the 2022 Annual Congress to an audience of convention center C-level leaders. This will be followed by the second step: transforming these 14 leaders into ambassadors for our industry, attracting talent by showcasing the opportunities offered. Building a bridge between start-ups and the convention center community is a second pilar. The idea is to channel the wealth of ideas generated in event start-up hubs across the world to the AIPC Community, providing the start-ups with a platform to showcase their ideas and giving the AIPC members the opportunity to discover cutting edge WWW.EVENTPOINTINTERNATIONAL.COM 34 OPINION technolgy, which could bring value to them and their customers. The AIPC Start-Up Lab was launched in March and we hope to see the first results soon. The third pilar is leveraging our events to become real platforms for knowledge sharing. This is of course already the case to a certain level, also because AIPC is a relatively small association, which allows for real engagement between members when they meet at our events. But we wanted to take it a couple of steps further. A first test was our Operations & Facility Summit last December, which we transformed into a one day workshop facilitated by a global strategic thinker. Outcome at the end of the day: an exhausted and inspired group of participants. As a result, this format will play a more important role in all our events, including the Annual Conference, where we will have a Lego Seriously Play session. The goal of the actions described above is simple: to support the AIPC Community in bringing excellence to the next level, by connecting the dots – globally and in a different way. Sven Bossu CEO AIPCTHE IMPACT THE METAVERSE WILL HAVE ON EVENTS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT EMAIL HAD ON TRADITIONAL MAIL WWW.EVENTPOINTINTERNATIONAL.COM 36 RADAR WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL OF THE METAVERSE FOR THE EVENTS AND CONGRESSES INDUSTRY? If for brands the metaverse is seen as an enhancer of their respective reach among different target audiences, for events and congresses even more advantages are pointed out. In an ideal scenario, the technology inherent in the metaverse will allow the user to feel physically at the event, with 3D environments in high definition that can be accessed through virtual reality glasses. In addition to other avatars that you can interact with and even physical items that you can pick up and examine with tactile gloves or game controls. Some metaverse advocates say VR headphones will be needed to fully embrace the concept, but other tech companies are releasing avatar-based platforms that don’t require any special hardware. A recent example is Mytaverse, a new platform launched in November 2021 that offers a variety of pre-built or fully customised 3D environments that can include meeting and conference rooms, simulators, auditoriums and more. Participants customise their own avatars and can run, jump, wave, dance and more. Lachlan Phillips, CEO of Orbits, believes that the impact the metaverse will have on events is similar to what email had on traditional mail. While Bill Gates’ prediction, which points to the shift of all virtual events to the metaverse in two to three years, is still a long way off, some international event experts told BizBash that virtual event organisers do indeed need to have the metaverse on the radar. Lee Gimpel, founder of Better Meetings, says that “it’s crazy to say that we’re going back to an era where most events are in person”, alluding to the fact that, in just a few weeks, online events, which were once passed over by face-to-face events, became the first form of events for long months, with the pandemic. Gimpel believes that online events will continue to “grow, prosper and evolve”, but this does not mean that they will move entirely to virtual reality. The technology that supports virtual events is improving and changing over time, and “we will likely see a steady progression towards more immersive platforms each year.” Greater interaction Virtual visits to meeting venues and spaces, digital meetings that appear face-to-face, and immersive presentations. These are some of the possibilities that are being announced and that can be facilitated by the metaverse. An added advantage, say industry experts, is the promotion of networking in the metaverse, when compared to the digital and hybrid events that we have resorted to in the last two years. Ben Chodor, president of Notified, communications cloud for the world of events, public relations and investor relations, stated in an opinion piece in Forbes that the metaverse has the potential to take digital events experiences to the next level. “As the president of a company that offers a platform for virtual © Tumiso WWW.EVENTPOINTINTERNATIONAL.COM 38 RADAR events, I have seen users drive demand for more interactive online experiences, in which they can participate in sessions in a complete and easy way, interact with colleagues, identify new leads and, most importantly, increase human interaction”. Harry Prince, Creative Content Manager at Spacehuntr, recently stated, in an opinion piece for Event Point, that the metaverse can solve one of the main problems that digital and hybrid events have not been able to overcome: networking, or rather, the connection between participants. “Due to the immersive nature of the metaverse, this problem can be relegated to the past”, emphasises the person in charge. He explains that “watching an event remotely is seeing the action happening from a computer screen. It is an alienating experience.” In this sense, HarryPrince argues that the metaverse “can solve this problem by its intrinsic nature of gamification. Even before the metaverse, gamification led to 87% of users feeling more socially connected.” Equal access to all participants Lachlan Phillips provides an example of what is already happening at Orbits, an immersive online venue for events, workplaces and others: the metaverse has crucial benefits, in particular for hybrid events. “There will no longer be a clear division between who is in person and who is virtually at an event.” “When we hold a hybrid event on Orbits, the speaker speaks to the live audience and the virtual audience as if it were a large auditorium, and no matter where they are on the planet, they can interact with the speakers, participate in Q&A and workshops , specialised experiences or simply being with people at the bar.” There is also the fact that, with avatars, participants can present themselves as they wish, without being limited by gender, physical limitations, age or sexual preference. Racism or discrimination has no place in the metaverse environment.Next >