How ethical is the MICE industry?

Dear Reader,

Welcome to issue 5 of #SupplierPost(s) ?? - the biweekly newsletter with information and thoughts for MICE marketing and sales in a changed market. Yours Peter

Why does the MICE industry in particular have to ask itself about its ethics and morals? Because it is committed to the theme of "sustainability", and sustainability focuses on people and the pursuit of an environment worth living in. It is mendacious to call for sustainability and look the other way when it comes to human rights. Or not?

Sustainability is based on the three pillars of ecology, economy and social issues. It is therefore not enough to deal with the ecological and economic aspects and look away from the social aspects. One such social aspect is equality - irrespective of gender, religion and other aspects. Human rights are the central and most important value when we talk about sustainability.

In 78 countries around the world, same-sex sexuality is punishable by law, and in some countries it carries the death penalty.?But in many of these countries, all kinds of events take place. Is that a problem?

How do homosexual participants of an event in such countries feel, or a homosexual supplier who (has to) participate in a trade fair or sales event there? How does a woman feel at an event in a country where women have little or no rights? What is the basic attitude towards human rights in such destinations for meetings, incentives and events? It is not always the "politically correctness" destinations where events and incentives take place. Sorry to tell, but i guess you know that.

Is it okay to ignore that? Keep one's mouth shut? Look away? Accept it and shrug your shoulders? The main thing is that the participants have fun in the destination, what does it matter how women, homosexuals or undesirable fringe groups are treated there? Is that the way business is and we can't change that?

Many Convention Bureaus in Europe and worldwide have identified China as a profitable market for future business. Very large budgets have been and are being invested in marketing and sales measures in China - even during the Covid 19 pandemic, in the emergence and spread of which China played a decisive role. Isn't that perverse and impious? Or is that the right thing to do??

It was just an accident. A bat at a wildlife market - could have happened anywhere. Couldn't it? No. Epidemiologists have been warning for a long time that a virus can jump from one animal species to another in the environment of the wildlife markets in Southeast Asia and thus also become dangerous to humans. Unfortunately, not enough attention was paid to these warnings. Of course, the Chinese population is not responsible for this, but the Chinese regime is.

The convention bureaus - as well as governments and business enterprises in many sectors - know exactly what kind of vile regime they are dealing with in China and yet they look the other way. Is that the way business is and we can't change that?

It is a fact that human rights are being trampled on in China. The regime wants to crush Hong Kong's democracy and the Urigurs - a Muslim ethnic group of around 15 million people - are locked up in concentration camps, tortured, forcibly sterilized or killed. The fact of being an Uriguru is enough to be deported to a camp. The Chinese regime wants to completely eradicate the religious traditions, cultural practices and local languages of the Uyghurs - as Amnesty International put it in a report in June 2021.

But that is only one example, there are numerous destinations where women's rights are trampled, guest workers have to live as slave labourers under inhumane conditions, or where heads of state and rulers sometimes kidnap their own daughters, and yet events are held there with great pleasure. In this case, the sustainability and rainbow flags are quickly taken down by companies and agencies.

Germany was recently voted the No.1 incoming destination - in surveys with buyers from the Chinese MICE industry - as soon as the travel restrictions from China to Germany are lifted again. (?? Congratulations!) There is no doubt that a huge volume of business will come from China to Germany and to other Western countries that also invest massiv money in China, it will be similar. Many Convention Bureaus, hotels and other suppliers in the MICE sector are hoping that incentive and event business with Chinese groups will be the big business of the future. The German Convention Bureau, for example, has shown far more commitment and made far more investments in China in the last two years than it has done to maintain and support the domestic MICE industry in the pandemic.?

How can such realities and facts be reconciled with the goals of a sustainable MICE industry? As a reminder, the issue of sustainability is not only about protecting the environment, but in particular and very concretely about protecting people. All sustainability measures are aimed at this. Also and especially in the MICE industry, because here it is always about people - who attend events as participants.?

Sustainable event planning has long since replaced Covid-19 as the top topic in the industry. Sometimes one has the impression that a "sustainability fanaticism" has broken out in the MICE industry. There is no Convention Bureau that has not anchored the topic in its brand DNA. Of course, it is nice to plan events with sustainable resources and to spread regionally produced bread rolls with honey from the hotel roof at breakfast. But when it comes to human rights, people are obviously willing to look the other way. In that case, they would rather deal with the honey of the hotel bees. Is that the way business is and we can't change that?

This is obviously where the topic of sustainability in the MICE industry ends - how else should one evaluate the facts? When choosing the next event destination, the local conditions on site - the treatment of people, minorities, refugees - obviously play no role in the destination. Isn't that mendacious? Shouldn't the industry set an example here? Especially the MICE industry, which always brings people of different ethnicities, cultures and religions together with events. But is that the way business is and we can't change that?

Wouldn't it be better to show the red card to destinations that violate human rights and no longer hold events there??

Ultimately, everyone will be judged by their actions - including the players in the MICE industry. Events are rightly scrutinized much more frequently and much more thoroughly for such aspects. Younger generations in particular are taking a close look. Or do they?

Perhaps it would do the MICE industry good to show more attitude and also pay attention to human rights compliance in destinations in their sustainability efforts.

Why is there no movement in the MICE industry for human rights, against racism, oppression of minorities, discrimination of all kinds? Why is the industry silent on these issues and at the same time so loud on sustainability? Is this credible?

We will not do a MICEboard trade event in any of the 78 states where same-sex sexuality is under criminal prosecution, nor will we go to countries where women and other groups have no or not the same rights. This is our most important contribution to sustainability: to always put the well-being of people first. Even if we can only change a little, a functioning moral compass is important to us. But what do moral compasses looks like in the MICE industry? And this question is not only for the suppliers, but also for the companies, associations and agencies of the industry.

Would it be good for the MICE industry to show a little more moral stance? Wouldn't the pursuit of sustainability then be more credible and better? What moral obligations do MICE suppliers have? How is the moral compass of each individual adjusted? And is this adjustment correct and future-proof?

Reflecting on these questions strengthens the DNA of a supplier. In the post-pandemic period, the MICE industry will change dramatically, primarily due to changes in the demands of the participants - i.e. the grassroots. Suppliers must be careful not to ignore these wishes and needs. Because that is exactly what threatens to happen. It is hard to imagine that a "Fridays for future" generation will look the other way when it comes to ethics and morals, as the ?baby boomer generation“ did. You don't believe that? Then take a look at YouTube and see how the young generation is critical of the states of the United Emirates - especially Dubai. And this with very good arguments. Or look at the justified criticism of the Winter Olympics in China. Is it really still advantageous to present oneself as a company at such events? 66% of the German population rejects the Winter Olympics 2022 in China because of the human rights violations.

The mindset of many suppliers is far too often unchanged, even the pandemic has not triggered any rethinking among many, but rather an even greater longing for the pre-pandemic state. This became clear at the trade fairs and sales events in September, October and November 2021, which were loudly celebrated (only) by the suppliers as a comeback of the ?old reality“ with many postings in the social media. For the (few) participants (buyers), however, it mostly felt different. The "it's-as-it-always-is" was perceived by many as a disappointment. Here, MICE suppliers have to be careful not to lose their target customers by sticking to the existing formats.?

But this can only be achieved with changes in MICE sales and marketing. The pandemic has clearly shown that it does not necessarily take the usual MICE communication channels - especially trade fairs and sales events - to generate business. Wherever suppliers have succeeded in generating interest and enquiries through other channels, these channels are becoming an alternative to face-to-face appointments.?

Many real events will become online events and remain online in the future. Business travel will never again reach the level it had before the pandemic. That alone will have serious consequences for the infrastructures and for all suppliers in the MICE industry. And how much acceptance the future business from China will actually get at the base of the industry remains to be seen.?

Does it make sense to look at the moral compass, or is successful business - no matter with whom, no matter where and no matter under what conditions - the only thing that should matter? Where should sustainability in the MICE industry begin and end?

What is your opinion? What does your ethical compass tell you?

#SupplierPost(s) ??

This newsletter is aimed at suppliers from the MICE industry. It aims to stimulate, criticize and confront. It does not want to embarrass anyone, but to encourage out-of-the-box thinking. To have the courage to critically question the existing and to question methods of MICE marketing and sales.

It is not about right or wrong. It's about securing the future of an industry. If you are a MICE supplier, we would be very happy to hear your opinion on the topics.

The newsletter is published every 14 days and aims to stimulate thought with an article. Thank you for your time, we wish you a successful week!