EW reports from the third edition of the World Meetings Forum.
The 2015 edition of World Meetings Forum (WMF) took place in the idyllic beach resort of Cancun, Mexico, in early June, gathering 300 professionals from the exhibition and MICE industries, exploring topics specific to Mexico, Latin America and the rest of the world.
The event was attended by delegates including international association presidents, corporate buyers, specialist suppliers and keynote speakers and national and international press. More than 950 appointments were scheduled using the tabletop networking space throughout the three days.
It was the event’s third outing, directed again by Mexican organiser and publisher MasExpos. The company has wrestled with the best way in which to approach the manifold disciplines within the exhibition and MICE industry, and in 2014 split the event into two separate co-located entities, with WMF joined by a counterpart element, the World Trade Show Forum (WTSF). The event loosely followed two different agendas on two different day, with the first given over to workshops and special interest sessions.
This year the event, ostensibly taking place again under the two titles, instead had a daily structure related to three different strands of business tourism. Day one covered the matter of globalisation, day two was dedicated to event industry support and advocacy, with the third focused on technology. With one plenary hall for all sessions, both the WMF and WTSF brands were catered for together.
This fact that it brings together the exhibition and congress markets, as well as related business events and tourism, remains one of the more progressive aspects of the event. The industry has after all moved into a place whereby these markets often cross over and a working knowledge of all elements is fundamental to the success of a new project.
Chief among WMF’s goals this year was raising the awareness of the need to lobby the corridors of power, the public sector facilitators of our events, more effectively. To this end the event saw the launch of the Meetings Mean Business coalition in Latin America, an association that has been lobbying at a senior level to improve the perception of, and support for, business events in North America.
The coalition’s message was clear; it seeks to boost support for our industry from sectors of industry and the public sector that are necessary for making our events happen; the uninitiated that enable the industries our exhibitions and events are conceived to serve. MasExpos has taken it upon itself to press this campaign in Mexico and Latin America.
Continuing another annual theme, WMF again convened a meeting with the presidents of global tourism associations to establish agreements and deliver results during 2015.
Commenting on MasExpo’s approach to achieving this goal, CEO Rafael Hernandez told EW: “Commentary and discussion is all fine, but our industry’s progress is dependent on realistic, attainable goals. Gathering the associations and agreeing on such goals enables them to invest in each other and progress in a logical, reasoned fashion.
