Business Events are the Fast Track to Recovery

The report is produced jointly by AIPC， the International Association of Convention Centres， ICCA， the International Congress and Convention Association， and UFI， the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， three main global trade bodies representing and serving the business events industry.

Amsterdam / Brussels / Paris – 22 February 2022： Two years into the global COVID pandemic， with a majority of the world’s population vaccinated against the disease， policymakers around the world are faced with the challenge to stimulate and manage societies and economies. As COVID related restrictions are rolled back and lifted， policy priorities are shifting.

Business events will be a key driver of this recovery， both locally and globally. Bringing communities， markets and industries together face to face has always and will remain the best way to drive innovation and business. Business events are the fast track to recovery.

To support the re-opening of business events as well as the wider events industry， we are pleased to announce the launch of a new policy white paper： Business Events are the Fast Track to Recovery.

The report is produced jointly by AIPC， the International Association of Convention Centres， ICCA， the International Congress and Convention Association， and UFI， the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， three main global trade bodies representing and serving the business events industry.

The report supports advocacy efforts of the business events industry by highlighting the value and importance of the business events industry and gives examples of what other governments and policymakers around the world are doing to support the return of events.

AIPC， ICCA and UFI hope that this paper will support the efforts of our members， our customers and the wider business industry as we reopen our meeting places and market places. As more and more international events take place safely and successfully around the world， we hope this will encourage and empower other to follow suit. The recovery of our industries and economies depends on the swift return of face-to-face business events.

AIPC CEO， Sven Bossu says： "With the world of organised events opening up again， collaboration is more important than ever. The bridges built over the last two years have allowed to create a joint vision on organised events. This vision now needs to be nurtured and further developed， allowing all stakeholders in the organised events industry– including regulators and authorities – to boost collaboration， innovation and trade. This new paper is the next step in doing so".

Senthil Gopinath， ICCA CEO， comments： “The business events industry is in need of a guiding strategy to showcase the importance and economic impact of our industry and the position paper demonstrates the reality. The G3 effort is intended to serve the worldwide industry with a roadmap to keep the industry moving forward. It’s a document that can shed light on opportunities for collaboration and innovation.”

Kai Hattendorf， Managing Director and CEO of UFI adds： “We have seen the speed of reopening gathering pace， and this is very encouraging. However even when we are fully open once again， we still have some work to do. We need to ensure that government and policymakers do understand and appreciate the value we being to their economies， which is not the case everywhere so far. However， we can help shape this conversation， to position our industry in the collective minds of governments around the world and give it the recognition it deserves. It is a great opportunity.”