Long recognised as a pioneer in sustainable travel and tourism, Monaco has decided to demonstrate its commitment in its latest destination marketing activation at the recently-concluded ILTM Asia Pacific, one of the region’s most prominent luxury travel tradeshows.
Its booth was furnished with sturdy, collapsible stools made from high-hardness kraft paper, as well as modular tables made from sustainable materials such as bamboo and recycled wood, that can be dismantled into slim panels, stored and re-assembled for future use.
Benoit Badufle, regional director of the Promotion Bureau of the Principality of Monaco in Asia, told TTGmice that the tourism authority has several sustainability projects every year, but he has decided to attempt a low-environmental impact participation – for the first time – at the luxury event to combat the wasteful nature of exhibitions.
He said: “Exhibitions are one of the most wasteful segments in the hospitality industry because a large fraction of the materials used to build the booths are discarded at the end of the event.
“So we decided to hunt down a supplier in Singapore that can help us create a sustainable presence.”
Badufle said such suppliers were challenging to find. The usual suspects have yet to put sustainable booths “on their agenda”.
A start-up event contractor was eventually found, and Badufle challenged the new firm to source for sustainable options that would work for the Monaco booth, as well as inspire other exhibitors at ILTM Asia Pacific to consider similar structures in future.
“Sure enough, I had five to six stand managers who came up to us and expressed interest in meeting our contractor,” he remarked, adding that despite the low-waste nature of the booth, furnishing “did not look shabby”.
“We earned many compliments for our booth design and objective, and had a chance to talk about it to many people. I believe this would lead to more of such sustainable booths at trade events,” he said.
