In uncertain times, collaboration is the new modus operandi

In today's uncertain climate of permacrisis and polycrises, no sector is immune. Although they are enjoying a revival as interest in business events and tourism picks up, the beleaguered MICE operators and convention bureaus face a myriad of challenges ranging from resource constraints to cashflow headaches and last-minute client cancellations.

The solution? Strategic collaboration, says industry experts at BE@Penang 2022, which took place from 8-10 December in Penang. By working together, the industry could address their gaps and shortcomings and whip up interest in Asia as the place du jour for business events.

Speaking during the session “Collaboration Post-Covid: Is It More Important Today?” veteran conference organiser Yap Shook Fung shared that the pandemic has totally upended the way people do business.

“Your customers are different, a company’s budget is different, the work process and work environment have changed. When business starts trickling in, would you have enough resources or the manpower to build a team? No. Your events will benefit from collaborating with good partners – people in the supply chain, venue providers and suppliers who would have the resources you require.” Hence, collaboration is the quickest solution.

Fellow speaker Girish Kwatra of India’s Meetings and More agrees but says for any collaboration to be successful everyone has to check their egos at the doorstep. “At the end of the day, it’s about teamwork. We need to see the bigger picture and grow the potential of the region’s business events industry.”

Echoing Kwatra’s point on teamwork, Dato Vincent Lim from CIS Network added that for collaboration to work, there needs to be a clear vision, aligned goals and measurable impact. “The key to collaboration is finding mutual goals and mutual interest,” he said.

Yap noted that while everyone agrees that Asian PCOs, PEOs as well as associations need to ideate and move the industry forward, there still remains those who are reluctant to collaborate simply because the pie is not big enough. “Here’s where we’re competing with each other and this mindset needs to change. We need to work together to make the pie bigger for everyone,” she added.

Commenting on ways to maximise the success of the businesses through collaboration, Kwatra opined, “Perhaps we should start with having strategic partnerships for regional meetings or country to country meetings to build a global brand in Asia. Together everyone achieves more and I think that is a winning mantra.”