Fu Bingbing

Around 100 leaders of the worlds largest Business Events organisers convened at the Asia CEO Summit on 5-7 October at The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore， to reaffirm their commitment in the sustainable growth of the Business Events and MICE sector in Asia. Besides exchanging insights on their respective markets experience in the resumption of physical Business Events， it was an opportunity for global industry leaders to do business and build momentum for more business events in the region. The inaugural Asia CEO Summit brought together the industrys collective knowledge and thought leadership from around the world， addressing key challenges and opportunities facing the industry such as Talent， New Business Models， Innovation and Sustainability. To activate the potential of Business Events in delivering post-pandemic recovery that can be immediately utilised by governments， regional industry leaders and government representatives also discussed and agreed on key areas of collaboration during the opening Joint Leadership Summit（JLS） on 5 October.

Industry leaders， trade associations and government representatives gathering at the JLS agreed to develop five key areas to activate the potential of Business Events and to boost the growth of the industry through international and regional collaboration.

Senior representatives from global Business Events organisers underlined their commitment in the region and the vital role that the industry play in supporting national and regional governments in implementing their economical and societal development priorities. They emphasised that the sector is a critical element in delivering post-pandemic recovery that can be immediately utilised by governments.

1） Define Business Events as “controlled gatherings”

Business Events are not public gatherings， but highly controlled assemblies. They need to be classified as distinct from generic mass gatherings. This will ensure that， in future situations， the sector can continue to operate and fulfil its strategic role for governments.

2） Establish Business Events as both an economic and tourism tool

Business Events are economic， scientific， and professional in nature. Beyond serving as a key pillar of the tourism and hospitality sector， it also provides industry platforms to discuss and achieve strategic priorities. Therefore， it is imperative that business events are recognised as tools and platforms to be leveraged upon in the context of trade， economic development， social and investment， and policies should be mirrored as such.

3） Accessibility

The success of Business Events that gathers international delegates relies on accessibility of respective markets. Accessibility is driven by cross-regional alignments on issues related to travel， immigration， and health & safety protocols. There needs to be cross-regional collaboration to reduce accessibility hurdles to empower Business Events to deliver their benefits.

4） Talent and capability development

The pandemic has caused a massive talent loss to the industry and attracting new and existing talent back will be among the key challenges to ensure the increasing demand of physical business events is met as the region continues to reopen. The region needs to come together to address and reduce the talent gap through talent sharing and collaboration on capability development initiatives.

5） Sustainability

While reviving the regions Business Events industry remains the key focus， there is an understanding that sustainability plays a key role in the growth and revival of the industry. More than ever， delegates and attendees are demanding greener events. Therefore， we need to seize opportunities to collaborate internationally， regionally and locally between stakeholders （countries/cities， venues， organisers and suppliers） to step up our efforts to ensure that we not only deliver on our customers needs， but create a more sustainable future for the industry together.

The parties will reconvene next October to review the progress and discuss additional measures to drive the next stage of growth for the regions Business Events industry.