The impact of geopolitics, elections and global conflicts on the meetings and events industry is complex and rarely linear. As the U.S. presidential election approaches, political uncertainty has global meetings industry leaders on alert.
Still, industry leaders are dealing with uncertainty. “Uncertainty is part of the world today. What has been uncertain in the past five or six years?” said Michael Dominguez, CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International.Arshi), in the 2024 edition of Change Conference Forum.
International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) CEO Senthil Gopinath joined Dominguez on stage to discuss the direct and indirect impact of geopolitics on the meetings industry. “Geopolitics is one of the key fundamental drivers of our industry,” said Gopinath, describing the meetings industry as an invisible and visible industry.
Today’s major armed conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine have a clear, direct impact on international travel. Nationalist and protectionist policies around the world can also challenge international cooperation and hinder the meetings industry. “There are nationalist movements rising around the world, which is a little bit dangerous for us, and we’ve already had arguments about excessive tourism in certain areas around the world, which I don’t think is going to benefit us in the long term,” he said. .
Despite the challenges, inward-looking governments can have a positive impact on the meetings industry by hosting more regional and national meetings.
The power of meetings
Dominquez and Gopinath are proponents of conference power. They see it as a tool for knowledge sharing and innovation. “Every great movement in our society, every great medical advancement, comes from bringing people together. It never happens in a vacuum,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez goes a step further, proving that meetings can heal social polarization. “I think we may have one of the best antidotes to ignorance, bigotry and racism around the world because the more we interact with different cultures and different people, the more we understand the differences,” he said. Going one step further , he believes that international trade shows are inclusive gatherings where “no one cares what part of the political aisle we stand on.”
speak political language
A number of industry organizations worked to secure political support for the conference. IMEX’s policy forum in May used the slogan “good meetings, not more meetings,” emphasizing that meetings need to be purposeful and objective.
However, Gopinath says the way we gain political support may be wrong. In meetings with 46 politicians from around the world over the past two years, he realized that discussing the value of meetings was not the primary concern of those in power.
“Every four years, when we get a new politician, it gets worse. [about] Their mentality, their vision, their plans,” Gopinath said. The mission and election manifesto are top considerations and determine future plans, “so they want our storytelling to have to follow those principles. “Even if ministers are re-elected, the stories we tell about the meetings industry must be remade. “This is a completely new mission because they need to show the local public what they are doing, but they haven’t done it in the past. So we got involved.
The relationship between politics, economics and the global meetings industry is not always obvious. Still, Dominguez and Gopinath encourage meeting professionals to pay attention to geopolitics and engage in dialogue.
