The effect that technologies such as Deliveroo and Tinder have on people’s personal lives will influence the future of international meetings and events, according to experts.
Delegates attending Connections Meetings in Malaga took part in educational sessions and discussions about emerging personal technologies, and their relevance to the MICE industry.
David Benitez, head of business development at Connections, said: “We wanted to show delegates what technologies were coming up in everyday life, and how as meeting planners we have to know how to react to delegates’ expectations.”
Delegates shared their opinions on which technologies in people’s everyday lives would impact on MICE the most. In summary, they said:
• Big Data
Most delegates saw big data as the most influential technology issue for the future of MICE. It could be harnessed better so that venues know attendees’ accommodation, dietary and transport preferences, without even asking.
• Digital service competitors
Many attendees said the MICE industry needs to work harder to deliver better service than digital competitors such as Uber, Deliveroo and Amazon Prime. However, some said the industry should find a way to work with these competitors rather than against them.
• Virtual reality and holograms
Delegates saw virtual reality as an important marketing tool for the future, and a great way to see how an event set-up might work beforehand – possibly eliminating the need for site inspections.
• Drones
Some delegates saw the growing trend of using drones to record memories in people’s personal lives, and how this could become important during MICE activities and incentives.
• Tinder
Thanks to dating apps like Tinder, perhaps future meeting attendees will prefer short, instant bursts of content, with more focus on the visual aspect of events – and perhaps future delegates will be more ego-driven than they are today.
• Injectables
Some delegates said they could not see the trend for injectables taking off – where people physically insert computer chips into their bodies – and perhaps in the MICE sector, it would be more likely to be substituted for, say, a removable patch with a delegate’s digital information stored within. Others saw how the technology could appeal the millennial generation.