{"id":2164,"date":"2017-03-20T17:08:20","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T17:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eventsglos.wordpress.com\/?p=2164"},"modified":"2018-11-20T13:35:43","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T13:35:43","slug":"are-event-managers-living-for-today-or-planning-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/2017\/03\/20\/are-event-managers-living-for-today-or-planning-for-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Event Managers Living for Today or Planning for the Future?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are entering an age of uncertainty, full of controversy and change. Is this uncertainty affecting the events industry? And are events managers resilient enough to mould to the changes they\u2019re facing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Headline will be Next?<\/h2>\n

It is often impossible to characterise the world\u2019s current state with complete accuracy. However, many would argue that the sheer amount of global change; particularly in politics over the last four months have left society feeling uncertain about the future.<\/p>\n

Are Event Managers Resilient Enough?<\/h2>\n

Events are part of our social fabric, they can be shaped, shifted and impacted by\u00a0uncertainties, forever challenged in a turbulent environment. Therefore it is essential for event managers to be resilient and adaptable. Events can be affected by a multitude of external forces, it is imperative they recover and if necessary reinvent themselves to survive.<\/p>\n

Numerous academics highlight the importance of resilience, flexibility and adaptability within the events industry. It is crucial, then, that event managers are able to forecast risks that may arise and, if necessary, react and adapt through efficient and effective contingency planning.<\/p>\n

From Brexit to Trump to the growing fear of an imminent recession, there are numerous factors worldwide that are contributing to the ever expanding list of uncertain outcomes which are pushing the industry to adapt its ways in order to survive.<\/p>\n

The process of managing risk assesses positive and negative occurrences that may affect the way in which an event is designed and implemented. This acts as a contingency plan, evolving with current times and reflecting the necessary and possible actions based on the current understanding.<\/p>\n

However, if resilience and contingency planning skills are incomplete or out of date, the damage limitation will be inadequate. Event managers have a duty of care to event attendees, using risk management and contingency planning to assess and determine potential consequences.<\/p>\n

But with an ever-dynamic environment will the use of speculative analysis be enough?<\/p>\n

Reliable Media or Untrustworthy Tabloids?<\/h2>\n

Reliable or not, the media has the power to change a person\u2019s opinion in a matter of seconds. Every day we wake up to a new headline claiming to be \u2018breaking news\u2019 \u2013 to what extent does this affect the event world?<\/p>\n

Brexit and Trump are current topics but is what we are reading really that accurate? Or should we be taking it all with a pinch of salt? Is exaggeration overtaking media outlets?<\/p>\n

With news being so contemporary we do not know if statements made are accurate or not. There are positive and negative news reports floating around discussing the events industry. These can either be taken into consideration by the industry or put aside, as most news reports are not credible enough to affect the choices we make.<\/p>\n

What is Happening Now?<\/h2>\n

The haze created by Brexit is slowly starting to lift, but with a lack of action, anxiety still holds a presence among industry professionals. What hurdles will they have to face? It\u2019s difficult to forecast what Brexit will look like and how it will directly affect the events industry, if at all, but professionals are already thinking about what can be done to \u2018Brexit-proof\u2019 contracts.<\/p>\n

Despite the resistance from State judges in the USA, Trump persisted that a travel ban for certain countries would be put in place to restrict entry to the US border. However, Trump has not been put off and has stated that he will continue to push for the travel ban until it is securely in place. \u00a0Even though it has been argued that the ban is for selected countries (and not due to religion), the first attempt of the ban resulting in a 90 day border restriction showed many inbound visitors were judged at first glance. If Trumps travel ban succeeds, will event managers remove USA as an event destination?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Economic issues are inevitable and have been seen to directly affect the events industry.\u00a0During the 2008 economic recession organisations were seen to introduce cost-cutting measures relating to employee business travel and their participation in events. Several sources predict another recession in the future, therefore it is important to address whether event managers are resilient enough to tackle this issue, and whether past experiences have prepared them for another potential economic down turn.<\/p>\n

But, looking at the positives, the $ to \u00a3 rate could improve or lower\u00a0sterling could mean the UK becomes an attractive destination. Trump seems keen to negotiate trade deals with the UK, and look at how partnerships could benefit Britain after the Brexit vote.<\/p>\n

As soon as Brexit was announced, the \u00a3 began to drop and event managers questioned what impact this would have. Natalie Crampton, director at TEC in Dubai, stated she was tightening budgets as clients could no longer afford previous luxuries.\u00a0But, while overseas budgets have shrunk, the opposite effect has happened to UK .<\/strong> Excel London’s director James Rees stated that the referendum result had been a positive one for international clients calling to take advantage of the exchange rate. Where could this leave the UK as an event destination in the coming future?<\/p>\n

International Live Events Association chair, Kevin Jackson\u00a0agrees the industry is robust, with strong connections. He believes if event managers keep doing what\u00a0they do best, building relationships,\u00a0they can drive the industry forwards.<\/p>\n

Thinking to the future, where will event managers be in the next 5 years? Will uncertainty rock the event industry boat or will they be left unaffected? Could these uncertainties create opportunities?<\/p>\n

Industry professionals all over the world are voicing their concerns about the future of the events industry and whether\u00a0they can plan for the potential changes, or are there too many ‘unknowns’ that\u00a0they cannot possibly plan for the future?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are entering an age of uncertainty, full of controversy and change. Is this uncertainty affecting the events industry? And are events managers resilient enough to mould to the changes they\u2019re facing? What Headline will be Next? It…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":2994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[185,186,187,188,189,190,14,191,15,192,193,194,195,196,197,198],"class_list":["post-2164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-2017","tag-adaptability","tag-brexit","tag-change","tag-contingency","tag-economic","tag-enviroment","tag-events","tag-flexibility","tag-managers","tag-opportunities","tag-recession","tag-reslience","tag-travel-ban","tag-trump","tag-uncertainty","tag-usa"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2017\/03\/untitled2.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2164"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2995,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164\/revisions\/2995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniofglos.blog\/eventsglos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}