Pembatasan kerumunan, pengetatan penerbangan lokal dan internasional, perizinan penyelenggaraan kegiatan yang panjang menjadi tantangan PCO (Professional Conference Organizer) di masa pandemi.
Dalam situasi serba tidak pasti, pilihannya jelas, beradaptasi atau mati. Pelaku industri MICE termasuk di dalamnya para PCO banyak yang berusaha bertahan dan beradaptasi menjawab tantangan.
CEO Puntama Convex, Wisnu Budi Sulaeman menjelaskan bagaimana PCO berupaya bertahan. Antara lain dengan mengikuti peraturan pemerintah, melaksanakan kegiatan sesuai panduan CHSE dan memilih venue kegiatan meeting yang sudah tersertifikasi CHSE.
Namun, CHSE bukan sekadar soal fisik bangunan tapi melibatkan banyak unsur di dalamnya. Misalnya saja, untuk mendapat sertifikasi MICE, pengelola venue meeting dan PCO menggelontorkan investasi tidak sedikit, untuk menyiapkan fasilitas sesuai protokol kesehatan, termasuk juga soal menyiapkan sumber daya manusia (SDM).
Lalu secara berkala SDM harus menjalani tes usap atau antigen. Di sejumlah venue meeting pun, SDM wajib mandi sebelum dan sesudah bertugas. Hal itu tentu biaya tambahan, padahal pasarnya mengecil.
Adaptasi lain ialah dengan membangun kepercayaan. Kepatuhan pengelola venue MICE dan PCO dalam mengikuti panduan CHSE dan penerapan protokol kesehatan, mestinya bisa meredakan kekhawatiran banyak pihak yang masih ragu menyelenggarakan atau mengizinkan kegiatan meeting atau konferensi di masa pandemi.
“Kegiatan yang diselenggarakan pasti mengikuti panduan WHO dan pemerintah Indonesia, venue yang digunakan pun sudah tersertifikasi CHSE, semua peserta yang datang tercatat dan terlacak, lalu ada satgas Covid yang memantau, jadi mestinya ini bisa menjawab kekhawatiran yang ada,†jelas Wisnu.
Di sisi lain, Pemerintah melalui Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif (Kemenparekraf) juga berupaya untuk membantu pemulihan industri MICE nasional.
English
Challenges for PCO during Pandemic
Crowd restrictions, strict local and international air travel, and the permission to hold long term events have been such challenges (Professional Conference Organizer) for PCO in this pandemic era.
In uncertain circumstances, the choice that we can make is clear, it is to adapt or die. The MICE industry, including many PCOs, is trying to survive and to adapt in order to overcome some challenges.
The CEO of Puntama Convex, Wisnu Budi Sulaeman explained how the PCO is trying to survive. The strategies include following government regulations, running or organizing events according to CHSE guidelines and choosing meeting venues that have been CHSE certified.
However, the matter about CHSE is way more than just a concern regarding physical building as it involves many elements in it. For example, to get MICE certification, meeting venue managers and PCOs invest a lot of money to provide facilities that are in accordance with health protocols, and it also includes the matter of providing human resources (HR).
Not only that, the human resources must also undergo a swab or antigen test. Even in a number of meeting venues, they are required to take a shower before and after work. This definitely adds more costs, even though the market is shrinking.
Another way to adapt is to build trust. The compliance of the MICE and PCO venue managers in following the CHSE guidelines and health protocols should be seen as a means to ease the concerns of many parties who are still hesitant to hold or allow meeting or conference activities during the pandemic.
"The events are ensured to comply with WHO and the government directions, also the venues used are already CHSE certified, all participants are recorded and tracked, then there is a Covid task force that monitors everything, so this should serve as the answer to the existing concerns," said Wisnu.
Additionally, the government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf), is also trying to help the recovery of the national MICE industry.
