Rising desire for CSR fulfilment, emotional engagement, tech interaction among event trends: Pacific World

Chavry:

Global DMC and event management specialist Pacific World has identified a series of notable trends in business events, among them a greater importance placed on CSR activities, a stronger desire for emotional engagement with a destination, and more expansive usage of technology and social media during an event.

The findings will be published in a new study conducted by Pacific World, set to be launched in a month’s time.

Chavry: desire to engage with local communities still tops

Elaborating on these top findings in an interview with TTGmice this morning, Selina Chavry, global managing director, said the rise in CSR requests are “driven by the millennials who are now forming a larger part of event attendance”.

“They have different expectations of a meeting or incentive programme, and want to be engaged differently. They are socially aware, and not looking to only do the typical things in a destination. They want to give back to local communities,” she said.

When asked if lethargy could set in for the typical CSR activities such as building schools and cleaning beaches, Chavry said there was, and her team “is constantly challenged to come up with new CSR possibilities that also meet the client’s own CSR missions and bjectives”.

“We are seeing a stronger desire for emotional engagement – how event attendees connect with the local people and walk away with a memorable experience. Our product developers are watching this closely as they create products and activities,” she added.

“As well, we are taking a deeper look at how technology and social media are being integrated into corporate programmes. How will technology and social media be used to encourage interaction among attendees, for instance.”

While these are global trends, Chavry said the one biggest trend affecting Asia-Pacific destinations, particularly in how they are presented in event programmes, is the growing desire among event attendees to engage with the local communities.

She explained: “This is in part driven by a changing perception of what Asia is. I see that particularly for China. There is a perception, for example among US clients, of China being not as developed. They could not believe it when we showed them the technology every day people are using in China. Transactions are all on mobile devices and people no longer carry money. And when I showed them all the functions a single WeChat app could do, they were blown away and now think they’ve been left behind. In terms of infrastructure, even the secondary cities are advanced and modern.”

Chavry believes that Pacific World’s products and activities can “reposition Asia in clients’ mind”.

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