features: personality profiles: Profile/Vanessa Cotton
Profile/Vanessa Cotton
Newly appointed chair of Reed Travel Exhibitions’ meetings and incentives events portfolio, Vanessa Cotton talks to Meetme about her new role and her vision for the future of the meetings industry
What plans do you have for Reed Travel Exhibitions’ (RTE) meeting and incentives events?
I would like to take all the shows in the portfolio to a new level, making them even more relevant to the people and organisations that exhibit at and visit them. This will include some exciting new initiatives and an innovative development of the shows’ educational content.
Have you brought in any major changes yet since you took over the reins at RTE?
I have been actively involved in the recent announcement that we will be launching AIBTM in Baltimore in 2011 and I will be leading on the development of the event over the coming months. I am working closely with the RTE team and a number of industry associations to develop all our shows’ educational content – both face-to-face and digital - so that we can deliver even more value to industry professionals at all stages of their careers.
Have your shows been impacted by the economic downturn in 2009?
The exhibition business is a resilient one. What has been particularly pleasing to report is that figures for GIBTM in Abu Dhabi, AIME 2009 in Melbourne, and CIBTM in Beijing show the importance the industry is placing on RTE events.
The portfolio’s flagship event, EIBTM has seen total attendance increase by over 31 percent since 2006, reaching 8,131. Hosted buyers were up 12 percent to 3,725, with a 29 percent increase over 2007 in pre-scheduled appointments, which topped 51,000. Additionally, over 2,600 delegates participated in the education programme – 30 percent up on 2007. The event attracted 75 new exhibitors; 54 exhibitors took increased stand space and a total of 138 group co-ordinators attended.
The events are a testament to the need and importance of bringing buyers and sellers face to face to do business.
What are your projections for 2010, do you see a recovery next year?
Despite a tough 2009, I believe we can look forward to 2010 with some confidence. Meetings, events, conferences and incentives are still taking place all over the world. What is more important than ever to clients everywhere is that their events are smartly priced, innovative and deliver return on investment.
What do you think is the key to success for events organisers in this economic climate?
The key to success is that as event organisers we provide the right environment and forum for suppliers and buyers to come together to do business, to expand their industry knowledge and to network.
We must ensure that all participants attending our events feel that they are achieving return on investment. Recent research from MPI has shown that it is organisations that maintain or increase their marketing budgets that stay ahead of the game and thrive; those who cut budgets will have to face the consequences of doing so.
Which country or region do you think shows most promise in terms of becoming a leading global hub for the meetings industry in the future and why?
In recent years, as highlighted in the launch of GIBTM and CIBTM, the Middle East and China show most promise in becoming global meetings hubs due to the enormous amount of investment from both public and private sectors.
China, in particular, through the legacy of the Olympic Games, has enormous potential. The meetings industry in the country is certainly in its infancy but there is a commitment and determination for it to become a major international force.
What are the major challenges still facing the development of a meetings industry in the Middle East and how do you think it compares on an international level?
The Middle East has tremendous opportunities in the meetings industry: an ideal location between east and west, rapidly developing airline hubs and an increased capacity to host meetings. The industry is developing at a staggering pace.
What is a major challenge is the need to build a knowledgeable, well-trained workforce to compete effectively on a global scale and gain the returns on the infrastructure investment. What is needed is a training plan that builds a meetings workforce that attracts, develops and nurtures talent at all levels of their careers. One of our global partners, MPI, is committed to achieving this and we are working with them to develop education training content for all our events, including GIBTM.
Is focus still being placed on CSR and environmental practices or have these been brushed aside due to budget cuts in the downturn?
From RTE’s perspective we are continuing our commitment to CSR and environmental practices. Being BS8901 accredited - one of the first in the industry - has already paid dividends in terms of how exhibitors have altered their attitude to sustainability at exhibitions.
Over 35 percent of exhibitors at last year’s EIBTM indicated that their behaviour was influenced by pre-show communications, encouraging them to bring less onsite marketing material. An impressive 67 percent said that as a result of EIBTM communications, they intend to bring less printed material in 2009, whilst 46 percent would aim to source more sustainable materials.
From an industry perspective CSR and environmental issues will continue to play an important and growing role in the future, but as you would expect in difficult economic times, the industry has to prioritise business objectives.
How do see the meetings industry developing in the future? What are the major challenges and are there any major changes you would like to see implemented?
The most interesting development is the impact that the newest generation in the global professional and managerial workforce is having on the industry. Generation Y - those born between 1977 and 1995 - have high expectations, a desire for ongoing education and great technological aptitude. The way we design our events, whether exhibitions, conferences or incentives, will have to change to accommodate and appeal to this new audience, which is the fastest-growing group of employees worldwide.
We all need to be asking ourselves what will motivate Generation Y to attend and engage with our events. At RTE, we want to take all the shows in our portfolio to a new level, making them even more relevant to the people and organisations that exhibit and visit them. This will include some exciting new initiatives created specifically to attract Generation Y exhibitors and buyers.
Personal:
What one personal trait is needed to succeed in the exhibitions industry?
Tenacity, pragmatism, energy and flexibility all come to mind. The most important though in my opinion is clarity of vision and purpose – the ability to see what is important and then to focus upon it, without getting bogged down in detail.
What has been the most rewarding event you have ever worked on?
The most rewarding was a conference and exhibition for the Commonwealth Ministers of Education, a hugely prestigious and important event that I organised for the British Council in Gaborone, Botswana. The infrastructure there was unsophisticated and the supply chain very limited, but the enthusiasm and commitment of the local workforce was phenomenal. We created a team of UK industry professionals, suppliers from South Africa and the local community, and a Botswanan workforce and together we pulled off an amazing event.
What has been the biggest challenge of your career so far?
I was a director of the London Tourist Board, which then became Visit London, for a total of five years. During that period I was also a Mayoral Commissioner, tasked with looking at the need for major new convention facilities within the capital.
When I began my term at London Tourist Board, leisure tourism had been its focus for many years and the single biggest challenge was to persuade the city that business tourism was worthy of more investment. It was hugely satisfying to work with my colleagues on the Board and ultimately achieve not only a much bigger budget overall, but also a much greater share of it for business tourism.
