NOVember/DECEMber
2016
Hobbits for a night: delegates at
the 40th annual CINZ conference
in Hamilton were treated to a
night of magic for the gala dinner
held at Hobbiton. Tony Gardner,
CINZ Board chairman; Kylie
Brittain, Orange Exchange; Janet
Matheson, Conferences & Events;
Shayne Forrest (aka chief orc),
Hobbiton. Head to page 56 for full
conference coverage.
‘One of the problems we have is when we
say the ‘meetings industry’, it’s automatically
as though we’re focusing in on hotel rooms
and meeting rooms and what’s happening in
rooms as opposed to the broader impact of
what that actually accomplishes,’ says Gary
Grimmer, CEO of GainingEdge.
‘The ‘in’ cities are going to be the ones
that realise that the hospitality industry is
actually an enabler of a much broader, much
more important enterprise and that is about
intellectual exchange, creative exchange, and
cultural exchange.
‘Those cities that keep thinking the
reason we’re doing this is that we need
more visitors, we need more consumption
of our best supplies, are not going to be
the ‘in’ cities, they’re not going to be the
successful ones.’
Emerging trends show that successful
destinations are focusing on quality rather
than quantity.
Grimmer says sectoral strengths are
becoming much more important, with market
appeal trumping destination appeal.
‘If your goal is filling hotel rooms then
of course having 5000 rotarians or lions is
much more important than having 500 rocket
scientists. But if your goal is actually to
develop your aviation industry, then having
500 rocket scientists leaves a much greater
legacy than the great spend because 5000
people came, fed themselves, and slept in
your hotel rooms.’
Grimmer spoke in a keynote session at the
recent Incentive Travel and Conventions,
Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) conference in
Thailand, outlining issues facing the meetings
industry now and in the future.
Technology is one talking point that the
industry can’t seem to get past, but Grimmer
Intellectual
exchange trumps
destination appeal
Cities looking at the meetings industry as simply an
endeavor focused on building hotel rooms are going
to fall behind in an increasingly sophisticated market.
...continued on page 11