![\"bigstock-Team-of-friends-showing-unity--37117480\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-Team-of-friends-showing-unity-37117480.jpg\")
History will surely remember 2015 as a year of record\u00a0breaking\u00a0migrations of people searching for security and fleeing wars.
\nWe asked convention bureaus how\u00a0much\u00a0impact has migration had on\u00a0organizing\u00a0and running events in European\u00a0cities.\u00a0Although the overall impression is\u00a0that they avoid talking about the topic,\u00a0some of them that did comment\u00a0are the London & Partners, Vienna\u00a0Convention\u00a0Bureau, Amsterdam\u00a0Marketing, Madrid Convention Bureau,\u00a0and Serbia Convention Bureau.
\nMost of these Convention bureaus\u00a0believe\u00a0that the refugee crisis has no\u00a0special impact on MICE tourism in\u00a0their countries and they have no statistical\u00a0data about events cancellations\u00a0due to the problem.
\nAlso, there is a tendency to turn these\u00a0events into opportunities, chances\u00a0to prove the safety of a destination\u00a0exceeding any negative effects.
\u201cIt\u2019s too soon to know if the last\u00a0Middle East migrations have affected\u00a0the meetings industry in Madrid;\u00a0it is reasonable to think that\u00a0these population movements won\u2019t\u00a0be a crisis factor for us: we belong\u00a0to a country traditionally chosen as\u00a0a destination by migrants coming\u00a0from the African North, and this\u00a0fact\u00a0has never been a parameter\u00a0for the evolution of this specialized\u00a0tourism\u00a0segment.\u00a0What we should do \u2013 due to the\u00a0political\u00a0and safety situation of the\u00a0Middle\u00a0Eastern and Northern African\u00a0countries \u2013 is use the advantage\u00a0to become first choice for companies\u00a0and associations looking for\u00a0safer Mediterranean and South European\u00a0destinations,\u201d says the Madrid\u00a0Convention Bureau.
\n
\u201cWe notice how carefully customers\u00a0decide on European destinations,\u201d\u00a0notes the Serbia Convention\u00a0Bureau.
\n\u201cCertain events \u2013 even big\u00a0conferences\u00a0\u2013 are getting cancelled\u00a0or having their venues changed.\u00a0The tendency is less present in Serbia,\u00a0since these challenges are not\u00a0affecting\u00a0us as much as they are other\u00a0countries.
\nAlthough there are indications that\u00a0we could benefit from these developments,\u00a0due to the decision\u00a0of some organizers to move their\u00a0events to Serbia, the fact is that\u00a0long-term instability benefits no\u00a0one and the whole industry is wishing\u00a0for a soon and permanent\u00a0solution\u00a0to the ongoing troubles,\u201d\u00a0concludes the Serbia Convention\u00a0Bureau.
Meanwhile, security and safety concerns\u00a0have overtaken cost control\u00a0as the number one priority of corporate\u00a0executives when considering\u00a0business travel growth, according to\u00a0new research from American\u00a0Express\u00a0Global Business Travel (GBT).*
\n[quote_box_center]* The Barometer released during\u00a0the GBT\u2019s 25th annual EVP,\u00a0held in Paris. The Barometer\u00a0was prepared by Concomitance\u00a0from interviews with 580\u00a0persons in charge of corporate\u00a0travel budgets and possessing\u00a0an aggregated expenditure\u00a0of \u20ac1.3 bn.\u00a0The interviewees were spread\u00a0over companies based in 10\u00a0major\u00a0European countries.[/quote_box_center]
\nSadly, at the end of 2015 another event\u00a0took place and shook the globe,\u00a0at the same time touching on many\u00a0industries \u2013 event organizing in Europe\u00a0being among them.\u00a0The horrific November attack in Paris\u00a0caused justified fear and certain\u00a0discomfort in organizing larger gatherings.
\nAccording to the responses\u00a0of other Convention bureaus, their\u00a0cities\u00a0saw no cancellations of already\u00a0arranged events, while \u2013 for example\u00a0\u2013 a Michelin event for 550 people\u00a0was requested to be moved from\u00a0Paris to Amsterdam. Paris events\u00a0were\u00a0getting cancelled, but not in large\u00a0numbers.
![\"Paris\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/paris2.jpg\")
Music events certainly\u00a0were\u00a0getting cancelled, while U2\u2019s\u00a0performance\u00a0planned for November\u00a0was moved to December.
\nAs for the movie industry, Jane Got\u00a0a Gun featuring Natalie Portman and\u00a0Bridge of Spies, where Steven Spielberg,\u00a0Mark Rylance and Amy Ryan\u00a0were\u00a0scheduled to appear, saw the\u00a0cancelling\u00a0of their promotions.
\nThe Airbnb Open conference that\u00a0takes place in Paris where more than\u00a06,000 attendees reportedly visit\u00a0from over 100 countries across the\u00a0globe has been cancelled.
Currently, the company has over\u00a0600 employees in the city, as well\u00a0as 5,000 Airbnb hosts and \u201csuperhosts\u201d\u00a0in town who attended the conference.
\nNow, organizers are looking for \u201csafe\u00a0destinations\u201d for their conferences,\u00a0conventions, or meetings, somewhat\u00a0more carefully than under normal circumstances.\u00a0We can say that everyone is aware\u00a0of and following the situation in Europe,\u00a0and by this working on promoting\u00a0their destinations as safe for\u00a0event organizing. They are expecting\u00a0everything to get back to normal,\u00a0without any major effects on MICE\u00a0tourism.
\nThis is evident in some of the 2016\u00a0plans noted by Convention bureaus\u00a0from across Europe.
![\"bigstock-a-crowd-of-people-at-a-concert-80271962\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-a-crowd-of-people-at-a-concert-80271962.jpg\")
\u201c2015 has been a fantastic year for\u00a0London\u2019s MICE sector, we\u2019ve had some\u00a0great events coming, and returning,\u00a0to the city, such as the European\u00a0Society of Cardiology congress,\u00a0which broke all previous\u00a0records\u00a0of\u00a0attendance,\u00a0London Technology\u00a0Week,\u00a0and Advertising\u00a0Week\u00a0Europe.\u00a02016 is set to be equally\u00a0successful\u00a0with great new events\u00a0taking\u00a0place\u00a0in the capital including\u00a0New Scientist\u00a0Live, which will demonstrate\u00a0how\u00a0science and technology\u00a0can improve\u00a0lives and shape\u00a0society, and the AI\u00a0Summit, which will explore the possible\u00a0applications of Artificial Intelligence\u00a0for business purposes.\u201d-\u00a0Tracy\u00a0Halliwell,\u00a0Director\u00a0of Business\u00a0Tourism\u00a0& Major Events at London\u00a0& Partners.
\n\u201cIn the meetings industry market,\u00a0we are confident that there will be\u00a0a continuous\u00a0increase of the activity\u00a0in Madrid; overall in the incentives\u00a0and corporate sector, as the companies\u00a0are investing more budget than\u00a0in these last years of economic\u00a0crisis and it appears that Madrid is\u00a0awakening more and more\u00a0interest\u00a0between event organizers.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0David\u00a0Noack, Director of the Madrid\u00a0Convention Bureau.
\nThe post The refugee crisis and Paris attacks – Effects of the Unfortunate Events in Europe on the MICE industry appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "Perhaps it is too soon to analyze the effects of the refugee crisis on the MICE tourism\u00a0in Europe and the region, but we should look back and revisit last year\u2019s\u00a0events\u00a0at the start of 2016.\nHistory will surely remember 2015 as a year of record\u00a0breaking\u00a0migrations of people searching for security and fleeing wars.\nWe asked convention bureaus how\u00a0much\u00a0impact has migration had on\u00a0organizing\u00a0and running events in European\u00a0cities.\u00a0Although the overall impression is\u00a0that they avoid talking about the topic,\u00a0some of them that did comment\u00a0are the London & Partners, Vienna\u00a0Convention\u00a0Bureau, Amsterdam\u00a0Marketing, Madrid Convention Bureau,\u00a0and Serbia Convention Bureau.\nMost of these Convention bureaus\u00a0believe\u00a0that the refugee crisis has no\u00a0special impact on MICE tourism in\u00a0their countries and they have no statistical\u00a0data about events cancellations\u00a0due to the problem.\nAlso, there is a tendency to turn these\u00a0events into opportunities, chances\u00a0to prove the safety of a destination\u00a0exceeding any negative effects.\n\u201cIt\u2019s too soon to know if the last\u00a0Middle East migrations have affected\u00a0the meetings industry in Madrid;\u00a0it is reasonable to think that\u00a0these population movements won\u2019t\u00a0be a crisis factor for us: we belong\u00a0to a country traditionally chosen as\u00a0a destination by migrants coming\u00a0from the African North, and this\u00a0fact\u00a0has never been a parameter\u00a0for the evolution of this specialized\u00a0tourism\u00a0segment.\u00a0What we should do \u2013 due to the\u00a0political\u00a0and safety situation of the\u00a0Middle\u00a0Eastern and Northern African\u00a0countries \u2013 is use the advantage\u00a0to become first choice for companies\u00a0and associations looking for\u00a0safer Mediterranean and South European\u00a0destinations,\u201d says the Madrid\u00a0Convention Bureau.\n\n\u201cWe notice how carefully customers\u00a0decide on European destinations,\u201d\u00a0notes the Serbia Convention\u00a0Bureau.\n\u201cCertain events \u2013 even big\u00a0conferences\u00a0\u2013 are getting cancelled\u00a0or having their venues changed.\u00a0The tendency is less present in Serbia,\u00a0since these challenges are not\u00a0affecting\u00a0us as much as they are other\u00a0countries.\nAlthough there are indications that\u00a0we could benefit from these developments,\u00a0due to the decision\u00a0of some organizers to move their\u00a0events to Serbia, the fact is that\u00a0long-term instability benefits no\u00a0one and the whole industry is wishing\u00a0for a soon and permanent\u00a0solution\u00a0to the ongoing troubles,\u201d\u00a0concludes the Serbia Convention\u00a0Bureau.\nMeanwhile, security and safety concerns\u00a0have overtaken cost control\u00a0as the number one priority of corporate\u00a0executives when considering\u00a0business travel growth, according to\u00a0new research from American\u00a0Express\u00a0Global Business Travel (GBT).*\n[quote_box_center]* The Barometer released during\u00a0the GBT\u2019s 25th annual EVP,\u00a0held in Paris. The Barometer\u00a0was prepared by Concomitance\u00a0from interviews with 580\u00a0persons in charge of corporate\u00a0travel budgets and possessing\u00a0an aggregated expenditure\u00a0of \u20ac1.3 bn.\u00a0The interviewees were spread\u00a0over companies based in 10\u00a0major\u00a0European countries.[/quote_box_center]\nSadly, at the end of 2015 another event\u00a0took place and shook the globe,\u00a0at the same time touching on many\u00a0industries \u2013 event organizing in Europe\u00a0being among them.\u00a0The horrific November attack in Paris\u00a0caused justified fear and certain\u00a0discomfort in organizing larger gatherings.\nAccording to the responses\u00a0of other Convention bureaus, their\u00a0cities\u00a0saw no cancellations of already\u00a0arranged events, while \u2013 for example\u00a0\u2013 a Michelin event for 550 people\u00a0was requested to be moved from\u00a0Paris to Amsterdam. Paris events\u00a0were\u00a0getting cancelled, but not in large\u00a0numbers.\nParis\nMusic events certainly\u00a0were\u00a0getting cancelled, while U2\u2019s\u00a0performance\u00a0planned for November\u00a0was moved to December.\nAs for the movie industry, Jane Got\u00a0a Gun featuring Natalie Portman and\u00a0Bridge of Spies, where Steven Spielberg,\u00a0Mark Rylance and Amy Ryan\u00a0were\u00a0scheduled to appear, saw the\u00a0cancelling\u00a0of their promotions.\nThe Airbnb Open conference that\u00a0takes place in Paris where more than\u00a06,000 attendees reportedly visit\u00a0from over 100 countries across the\u00a0globe has been cancelled.\nCurrently, the company has over\u00a0600 employees in the city, as well\u00a0as 5,000 Airbnb hosts and \u201csuperhosts\u201d\u00a0in town who attended the conference.\nNow, organizers are looking for \u201csafe\u00a0destinations\u201d for their conferences,\u00a0conventions, or meetings, somewhat\u00a0more carefully than under normal circumstances.\u00a0We can say that everyone is aware\u00a0of and following the situation in Europe,\u00a0and by this working on promoting\u00a0their destinations as safe for\u00a0event organizing. They are expecting\u00a0everything to get back to normal,\u00a0without any major effects on MICE\u00a0tourism.\nThis is evident in some of the 2016\u00a0plans noted by Convention bureaus\u00a0from across Europe.\n\n\u201c2015 has been a fantastic year for\u00a0London\u2019s MICE sector, we\u2019ve had some\u00a0great events coming, and returning,\u00a0to the city, such as the European\u00a0Society of Cardiology congress,\u00a0which broke all previous\u00a0records\u00a0of\u00a0attendance,\u00a0London Technology\u00a0Week,\u00a0and Advertising\u00a0Week\u00a0Europe.\u00a02016 is set to be equally\u00a0successful\u00a0with great new events\u00a0taking\u00a0place\u00a0in the capital including\u00a0New Scientist\u00a0Live, which will demonstrate\u00a0how\u00a0science and technology\u00a0can improve\u00a0lives and shape\u00a0society, and the AI\u00a0Summit, which will explore the possible\u00a0applications of Artificial Intelligence\u00a0for business purposes.\u201d-\u00a0Tracy\u00a0Halliwell,\u00a0Director\u00a0of Business\u00a0Tourism\u00a0& Major Events at London\u00a0& Partners.\n\u201cIn the meetings industry market,\u00a0we are confident that there will be\u00a0a continuous\u00a0increase of the activity\u00a0in Madrid; overall in the incentives\u00a0and corporate sector, as the companies\u00a0are investing more budget than\u00a0in these last years of economic\u00a0crisis and it appears that Madrid is\u00a0awakening more and more\u00a0interest\u00a0between event organizers.\u201d\u00a0\u2013\u00a0David\u00a0Noack, Director of the Madrid\u00a0Convention Bureau.\nThe post The refugee crisis and Paris attacks – Effects of the Unfortunate Events in Europe on the MICE industry appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2016-03-29T14:56:41+02:00", "date_modified": "2017-12-18T11:51:46+01:00", "author": { "name": "Svetlana Gavric", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/ceca/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Ceca.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Pocetna1a.jpg", "tags": [ "convention buerau", "Madrid Convention Bureau", "mice industry", "Paris", "serbia convention buerau", "Hot topics" ] } ] }