When I became an event manager 32 years ago we didn’t have computers, faxes or mobile phones, and Excel was something you did in sport. Urgent communications were sent by telegram at a cost of more than $2 a word (so you kept it very short) or “snail mail” via the post office. Not everyone had phones either. A simple task of producing a delegate or rooming list could take a team of secretaries a week to manually collate, alphabetise, type and retype, and then it was printed overnight (at double cost) by the local printers as photocopiers were extremely rare.
Ah, the good old days. Meetings were just as successful then as they are now and in some ways were better. Technology may allow us to do things faster, perhaps more accurately and cheaper, but it also removes a lot of the thinking component of event management, potentially turning us into mindless automatons – which I’m not so sure is a good thing.
In 1980 when I started writing EVENTS registration software (now developed by Amlink), I knew what needed to be done to design and deliver an exceptional event, but I simply needed tools to help me do it faster. Now I hear event managers being taught rote style that all you have to do is email the rooming list to the hotel without any explanation of room management, block utilisation, etc.
I never envisaged that a modern event manager would spend 90 per cent of their work day in front of a computer screen. They use programs like Internet Explorer to vicariously research venues or suppliers, Word to type up letters and running sheets, Outlook for email, Excel for budgets, and Project for time paths and checklists. Then they go home, log in and do it all again in their own time. They have overcomplicated the whole process. A modern event manager spends 90 per cent of their time interacting with a keyboard! No wonder events can be bland and repetitive.
We must get back to our roots and ask questions: why are we holding this event, what do we want to achieve, what are the key performance indicators, and how can we do it better? We must learn that technology is a tool, not the master. I know they’re strange words coming from someone who is connected 24/7, but let me assure you what I say is true.
In future editions we’ll look at meetings technology with the overriding themes of whether you need it and how you can use it to improve an event. We’ll look at the web (marketing and email), Voice over IP (and other communications issues), GPS (global positioning), messaging systems, voting systems and a host of other technologies that can enhance an event.
Ray Shaw is an accredited meeting manager (AMM), IT journalist and Chairman of Event Planners Australia. To contact Ray, email ray@im.com.au or visit www.eventplanners.com.au.
 Dreamtime 2006 has been a great success. Delegates were treated to a jam-packed program including a two day trade show as well as a famil showcasing the best of the Gold Coast and highlighting what Australia has to offer as a destination for business events.
Activities ranged from barefoot lawn bowling with some Gold Coast locals to dinner under the stars in a secluded rainforest, and a masquerade farewell party at Palazzo Versace. The weekend’s trade show days were very successful and the buzz on the floor from both sellers and buyers alike was very positive.
During Dreamtime Tourism Australia also released the National Incentives Study 2004.
The report focuses solely on the incentive market, providing valuable insights for the business events industry.
Key findings of the study highlight the economic contribution, source markets and destinations of the Australian incentive sector.
According to the study inbound incentive travel delivered 154,605 visitors in 2004 and contributed about $304 million to Australia’s inbound tourism expenditure.
More importantly the study reveals the excellent yields delivered by the incentive sector with the average revenue received from an incentive visitor being up to three times that of a leisure visitor ($375 per day versus $91 per day).
The findings of the study provide industry with information to assist in future decision making to win more business for Australia.
Australia has had some big wins in incentive business recently including 10,000 of Amway’s top sales people from the Greater China region to the Gold Coast in March 2007, in addition to incentives to Melbourne in 2008 and Cairns later this year.
These recent wins demonstrate Australia’s strong capability as a world-renowned business events destination. By increasing knowledge of the sector Australia will be better positioned to grow the sector further.
Tourism Australia would like to thank all the participating companies, their delegates, sponsors and partners for the support to make Dreamtime 2006 possible. We look forward to working with you again in the near future.
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