New trends in business tourism
Or how the Covid-19 pandemic has permanently changed the way business tourism and professional events are ‘consumed’.
Cannes is of course famous for its Film Festival, its Croisette and its luxury hotels. But our global village is also France’s second-largest city for business tourism, with a Palais des Festivals et des Congrès boasting cutting-edge services and facilities.
So when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, whole swathes of the business events ecosystem collapsed, not just locally, but internationally too. And once we got over the shock of this economic and health disaster, we had to think about how to reinvent ourselves. Here’s a quick look at the new trends taking hold in the world of trade shows.
No Lions, no MIPIM, no MIPCOM, no Festival de la Plaisance, even less FIF or MIDEM… and a succession of postponements and cancellations: the first thing to do was to respond to the emergency: conference and trade show organisers quickly turned to 100% digital solutions, creating TV platforms for streaming, web conferences or multiplexes.
But using technology to compensate for the long-term absence of events very quickly had its limits, and with the health crisis gradually coming to an end, the digital component of events is tending to become more permanent, offering a ‘phygital’ approach, also known as the hybridisation of professional events.
This has led to the development of new combinations – half face-to-face and half face-to-face in this case – which will provide a new framework for professional meetings for some time to come. A recent example is Cannes, where the 2021 MIPIM (Marché International des Professionnels de l’Immobilier), which was due to be held locally over 4 days in June, will in fact be taking place in a hybrid format.
This underlying trend can also be seen in the hotel industry, where the majority of the world’s major hotel groups, already equipped with video conferencing solutions in their thousands of meeting rooms that are now deserted, have all launched their “hybrid meetings” programmes. These solutions combine excellent connectivity (Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Weframe technology, etc.) for remote meetings, with full compliance with health and safety protocols for face-to-face participants. The best of both worlds!
“We need to reconcile economy and health reliability to relaunch business as quickly as possible and in a sustainable way. The expertise of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès has been recognised for the professionalism of its teams for many decades throughout the world. Alongside the Palais, Cannes Town Hall has been doing its utmost since the beginning of the epidemic to protect the public and secure the economic activity. As the flagship of France’s event industry, Cannes contributes to the country’s reputation abroad, and the resumption of its activity is vital to the survival of the economic fabric of our region and beyond. We are ready to welcome the world as we have always done, and to do so in complete health safety”. (David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes)
The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes has also been awarded the “Ecovid Label“, issued by SOCOTEC, which attests to the measures taken to limit the environmental impact of the risk of contamination and dispersion of the COVID-19 virus.
Another underlying trend in the upturn is a commitment to sustainable development, with controlled waste management and CO2 reduction; reinforcing the social responsibility of players in the events industry and, of course, strengthening the eco-citizen positioning of players in the business tourism sector.
Hybridization, certification, higher quality services, digitalization and sustainable development are just some of the trends that will enable Cannes to boost its attractiveness as a tourist destination and raise its profile worldwide, in order to maintain its lead in this ultra-competitive market.