Conventions Are Big Business

I've been saying it for years, but it's amazing to see how we're starting to understand the value of human connection.

The convention / business meetings industry is bringing people together from all over. These gatherings offer many opportunities to actually engage in meaningful and in-depth face to face conversations, which is a very uplifting experience. It all comes down to the power of connection, which fuels everything in our world.

Europe Events Market to Reach $123.9 Billion by 2030, With a Sustainable CAGR of 8.7% From 2021-2030 EIN Presswire

Unlike other sectors that are feeling the downturn, the convention market is huge and projected to keep growing -

"Conventions are big business. They create jobs and generate sales. They impact the economy on both a micro and macro level, and they do so to a much larger extent than most people realize." Exhibit City News

A Better Way Forward

We definitely need to amplify the good moments to overcome all the tough things people are dealing with now. Mental health, depression, loneliness - the more we bring people together, the faster we'll be able to pull everyone out of that dark place they're in. For that we'll have to create very special and uplifting environments. Especially when we bring people together. Drinking some wine during a brief networking event at a show is not enough, because we walk away feeling empty.

Women Leading The Way

I love the fact that there are so many women leaders in this sector - it just makes perfect sense that women know how to make us all feel comfortable and get along great during these events. Women are constantly thinking about how to make everything better for us humans - a better atmosphere, safer and healthier environment, setting the tone by being polite, kind and inclusive. Just came back from a big show abroad and that's the thing that stuck with me the most. The women were so easy to talk to and really wanted good things to happen. They want people to have good experiences in their venue. For some female business leaders even that's not enough.

We loved meeting Debbie Phillips-Howie of Scotland who doesn't only want her hotel guests to have good time - she makes sure they have an absolute blast on her watch. (We could have kept talking for hours but we had to catch a plane!)

My Recommendation

Women like Debbie have the right idea. People want to have unbelievable experiences when they go away from their day to day life.

So to all the VC's, investors, CEO's, founders, professors, futurists, ad agencies and journalists subscribed to this newsletter since day one practically - here's the big tip you've been waiting for: Cool it with the tech investing a little, and rather use all that money you have laying around to invest in the convention industry.

Invest in these stunning venues that are managed so well by women mostly, and allow people to have incredible experiences more often. As I always say, none of this will come naturally. We're going to have to up our game to give people the ultimate sensation they're looking for - and it will all come from human connection. I know it may sound slightly na?ve at the moment, but trust me when I say, soon that will be the coolest and most in-demand "product" on the market.

Building Real Communities

The engagement with these customers will go far beyond the in-person event. But the foundation for everything will be the initial face-to-face interaction. Everything social media didn't manage to do will be accomplished on this new platform. Conventions have been around forever, but now we're going to start using them in new ways. So the potential for growth in this sector is probably phenomenal, and they seem to need a lot of good people to join their teams.