IAPCO INTERNATIONAL TOURISM & DEVELOPMENT MINISTERS’ FORUM
A TALE OF OPTIMISM: 5 MINISTERS SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON THE RECOVERY OF THE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL EVENTS INDUSTRY IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES WITH IAPCO Foreword by Ori Lahav, IAPCO President In December 2019, when COVID-19 started making the headlines, the stories of a lock-down in Wuhan Province sounded unreal, almost dystopic from everywhere else in the world. We looked at the news in disbelief, certain that a lock-down would be impossible for us – economy shut down, schools closed: unthinkable. We blindly affirmed that the virus would remain distant and contained. After all, measures were taken to keep the virus
them on 5 key aspects of re-opening the business events sector. Videos of these interviews are available here. These interviews bring me hope, as optimism and resilience inhabit each of the messages Ministers shared : the road ahead is still long but together we go further.
Denise Guillén, Vice Minister of Tourism, Panama
out of our borders, and we believed that was enough. We
We are looking at re-opening
were collectively dismissing the nature of a virus and the
in July, with progressively
nature of our societies: in our global environment, borders
adapting our capacity
don’t matter much.
standards. We have built strong biosafety protocols
We all know what happened next. The experience was
that have met international
chaotic and uncoordinated. We quickly realised how critical collaboration is. As I was leading our first IAPCO virtual Council in May 2020, our industry was collapsing. We were in need of a better understanding of what was happening locally, and build a collective answer. We decided to call on national associations of Professional Congress Organisers (PCOs) to share knowledge and leverage local intelligence to propose a global approach. The Strategic Global Task Force of National PCO Associations, under the lead of Monica Freire and now, Alejandro Ramirez Tabche, was born. Using the combined expertise of the 9 associations and IAPCO members, the Task Force created and distributed advocacy guidelines for PCOs worldwide in collaboration with Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC).
implementing the IATA Travel Pass. We feel ready. Panama has a lot to offer, and we are confident for 2022. We are focusing on sustainability and believe it will be key to future successes.
Michelle Fridman Hirsch, Secretary of Tourism Development, Yucatan, Mexico The MICE industry represents 1.6% of global income in Mexico - which is a big part of the economy, yet we have to ensure that this is known. We see other industries being
Over the months, 14 associations joined the group and worked relentlessly to advocate for our industry as recovery plans were being established. I would like to thank each of the members for their outstanding dedication and hard work. Today, we are going a step further: we are bringing together 5 Tourism and Development Ministers to discuss their plans for the future of the meeting and events industry. I interviewed 6
standards. We are considering
| July 2021
more influential despite bringing a smaller share. The government and business organisations share a common goal: I believe they are the true heroes and the PCO is one of the key players we engage with at government level. I am very optimistic and confident that we will rise stronger, and hopefully more sustainable, inclusive and with a long
