Perubahan yang cepat dan ketidakpastian menjadi kelaziman yang dihadapi pelaku MICE hari ini. Siapkan skenario untuk menghadapi penundaan, pembatalan, sampai relokasi acara.
Penyelenggaraan pameran tinggal menghitung hari, vendor sudah mulai bekerja, promosi pun gencar dilakukan, namun kasus Covid-19 yang tiba-tiba melonjak bisa jadi membuat kegiatan ditunda atau bahkan dibatalkan.
Situasi semacam ini merupakan kelaziman yang dihadapi pelaku MICE di masa pandemi. penyelenggaraan acara sangat bergantung pada perizinan yang bisa saja tidak turun jika angka kasus tiba-tiba naik.
Karenanya organizer di masa pandemi, mesti siap menghadapi tiga risiko ini:
Pembatalan
Sudah tak terhitung betapa banyaknya agenda MICE baik skala nasional dan internasional yang terpaksa batal karena pandemi. Ketua Umum ASPERAPI, Hosea Andreas Runkat dalam perbincangan di kanal YouTube MICE Indonesia menyebutkan, di tahun 2020 opportunity lost dari industri MICE mencapai Rp43 triliun. Tahun 2021 pun situasi tidak lebih baik dibanding 2020.
Namun 2022 dengan pelonggaran level PPKM, dan turunnya angka kasus, serta peran Indonesia menggelar berbagai kegiatan MICE berskala internasional cukup membangkitkan optimism pelaku MICE Tanah Air.
Kendati begitu, karena pandemi belum usai, sebagai penyelenggara sejak awal Anda harus mengomunikasikan kemungkinan pembatalan acara baik kepada vendor, sponsor, atau audiens. Sampaikan secara terbuka dan profesional untuk menghindari miskomunikasi. Serta diskusikan solusi yang baik bagi kedua pihak jika terjadi pembatalan.
Penundaan
Nah, selama pandemi, pelaku MICE juga akrab dengan acara yang harus ditunda. Sejumlah event internasional pun sempat mengalami penundaan, dan berangsur digelar pada 2021 atau baru akan digelar tahun depan.
Keputusan menunda kegiatan harus berdasarkan persetujuan semua pihak yakni vendor dan sponsor. Organizer harus meminta pendapat dan saran sebelum memilih menunda kegiatan. Hanya saja, menunda acara akan sulit bagi kegiatan yang fokusnya menyampaikan informasi terkini atau berkaitan dengan waktu.
Relokasi
Kalaupun tetap ingin mengadakan kegiatan di tanggal dan waktu yang sama, opsi relokasi tempat kegiatan bisa jadi solusi. Misalnya memilih tempat yang lebih mudah dijangkau baik secara waktu dan jarak. Atau memilih tempat di ruang terbuka yang sirkulasi udaranya lebih baik, sehingga mengurangi risiko penyebaran virus.
Atau merelokasi konsep kegiatan, yang tadinya offline, bisa berubah menjadi hibrid atau memadukan online dan offline, sehingga mengurangi jumlah peserta yang hadir, dan yang lokasinya terpaut jarak bisa hadir secara online.
Tentu kita berharap, situasi seperti hari ini, dimana kasus Covid-19 terkendali dan aktivitas mulai longgar kembali, bisa berjalan konsisten sehingga kegiatan MICE bisa segera pulih.
English
The Three Risks of Organizing MICE during the Pandemic
Rapid changes and uncertainty have become something normal to MICE industry players today. Prepare a scenario to tackle delays, cancellations, and venue relocations.
Picture this: the exhibition will take place in a few days, vendors have started to work, ambitious marketing has also been implemented; but suddenly the number of COVID-19 cases skyrockets, so you have to postpone or even cancel the event.
This kind of situation is the New Normal for MICE industry players during the pandemic. Event organizers depend on the permits that may never be issued if the cases suddenly rise.
Therefore, during the pandemic organizers must be ready to tackle these three risks:
Cancellation
There were countless MICE events (national and international) that had to be cancelled. General Chairman of IECA, Hosea Andreas Runkat, in a podcast on MICE Indonesia’s YouTube channel said that the opportunity lost from the MICE industry reached up to Rp 43 trillion in 2020. In 2021, the situation isn’t better.
But in 2022, there will be reduced public activity restrictions, fewer cases, and international MICE events hosted by Indonesia. These obviously bring an air of optimism to MICE industry players.
Despite that, the pandemic isn’t over yet. So as an organizer you need to communicate possibilities of cancellation early on to vendors, sponsors, and audience. Tell them openly and professionally to avoid miscommunication. Then discuss the best solution for all parties in case cancellation does happen.
Delay
During the pandemic, MICE industry players are also familiar with events being postponed. A number of international events had also been postponed, and some have been held in 2021 or will take place next year.
The decision to postpone an event must come from a consensus between all parties involved, including vendors and sponsors. Organizers need to ask for their opinions and suggestions before deciding to reschedule an event. However, rescheduling an event will become an issue if the event itself is aimed to deliver up-to-date information or dependant on time.
Relocation
Even if the event will still be held on the same date at the same time, relocating it can be a solution. For example, you can choose a location that is more accessible, time and distance-wise. Or choose an open space with better air circulation to decrease the virus transmission risk.
Or you can also relocate the event concept, i.e. from offline to hybrid (combination of offline and online) so you have fewer physical participants with online participants who live far from the venue.
Of course, we hope that our fortunate situation today, where COVID-19 cases are kept at bay and we can do more activities, will remain so the industry can recover soon.
