Northstar

27 JAN-FEB 2020 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM I n this day and age, no facet of life is immune to digital disruptions. The meetings and conventions industry included. And any players failing to stay up-to-date with the technological advancements risk falling far behind. That is the unanimous sentiment of industry stakeholders M&C Asia spoke to regarding the seismic shift towards technology in the MICE industry. "Change has always been scary and having to adapt to a new way of working is never easy. But digital transformation is inevitable if you want to keep people engaged and stay competitive," admitted John Burke, deputy general manager of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Agreed Frederick Wong, Hyatt's vice president of sales operations and global sales, Asia Pacic, who said: "In a technological environment that is moving at lightning speed, staying current and knowledgeable of technology's impact on meeting productivity can be daunting. "Even leadership within select organisations don't always seem to grasp how technology is revolutionising the meetings experience today." Sam Lay, senior director, Asia Pacic, CWT Meetings & Events, said the Embrace technology, but with human touch Stay updated What are the new ways of doing things? "It will be important to stay updated and continuously monitor the latest technology trends such as the use of Articial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Audience Participation Tools, 3D Printing and Projection Mapping, to name a few," said Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre's Mr Burke. "It is also vital to engage and network with industry peers and get talking about technologies they're using. "Ultimately, with the marriage of technology and data becoming increasingly important to successful events in the future, there's a huge amount of potential to further enhance the customer journey by taking advantage of these resources." CWT's Mr Lay believes event apps have evolved to not only oer travel itineraries and agendas, but as an eective way of in reacting with attendees. "These include functionalities that will speed up the check-in process, guide them on where they need to go, and facilitate engagement with organisers and other delegates," he said. Keep the human touch While technology will play a key role in the future success of the MICE industry, industry observers believe it is important to still have a human touch. "The MICE business can never be done by only using technology. It is a complex process from ideation to production, from A to Z, by combining technology and human touch," said Shinya "Billy" Kurosawa, the president and CEO of JTB Global Marketing & Travel. "Contrary to the increase in online engagement caused by technological disruption, non-virtual communication through MICE will play a signicant role in people-to-people networking." Agreed Mark Flower, IHG's vice president, commercial, Southeast Asia and Korea, who said: "Because of the signicant advances in technological tools and digital engagement, the return to face-to-face personalisation and experiences are again being sought." biggest challenge – and opportunity – for the MICE industry is the need to innovate and constantly reinvent ourselves against an ever-evolving external environment. "Client requirements are evolving and new technologies and new ways of doing things are rapidly coming up," Mr Lay added. "The MICE business can never be done by only using technology. only using technology. It is a complex process from ideation to production, from A to Z, by combining technology and human touch." SHINYA "BILLY" KUROSAWA, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JTB GLOBAL MARKETING & TRAVEL GLOBAL MARKETING & TRAVEL Stakeholders urge industry players to stay up to date with tech trends or risk falling behind CREDIT: OATAWA/GETTY IMAGES

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