Pelaku industri MICE pasang mode bertahan di masa pandemi. Tetap menggelar kegiatan walau banyak keterbatasan. Keuntungan boleh tipis-tipis tapi yang penting tetap eksis.
Menyelenggarakan kegiatan MICE di masa pandemi memang dua kali lebih repot dibanding sebelum masa pandemi. Belum lagi, pendapatan yang dihasilkan bisa jadi tidak lagi sebanyak dulu sebelum pandemi.
Namun, mengadakan kegiatan MICE di era pandemi orientasinya memang bukan mencari pendapatan semata, melainkan mempertahankan roda usaha dan keberadaan industrinya agar tetap eksis walau situasi sulit.
Seperti diutarakan Direktur Utama Dyandra Promosindo, Hendra Noor Saleh dalam perbincangan Podcast di kanal YouTube MICE Indonesia. Ia mengatakan, daripada tidak mengerjakan apa-apa dan meratapi keadaan, lebih baik mengerjakan sesuatu walau hasilnya tidak semanis dahulu.
“Komparasinya (kegiatan MICE) tidak dengan keadaan normal. Tapi komparasinya ketimbang tidak bikin apa-apa. Memang melelahkan mengurus ini dan itu termasuk perizinan, tapi daripada diam-diam saja. Kita punya tanggung jawab pada stakeholders dan karyawan,†tegasnya.
Hal senada juga disampaikan Ketua Umum ASPERAPI, Hosea Andreas Runkat. Menurutnya, tahun ini kondisinya justru lebih berat bagi industri MICE dibanding tahun 2020. Ia menjelaskan, di tahun 2020 sampai bulan Maret masih sempat ada event.
Sementara di 2021 pasca libur Natal dan Tahun Baru, kasus Covid-19 melonjak dan trennya naik sampai Lebaran, baru menjelang akhir tahun ini mulai ada perbaikan.
“Ujian paling berat saat terjadi gelombang kedua pasca libur Lebaran. Kita baru mau mulai jalan lagi, dihantam kasus yang melonjak. Sempat hilang harapan, sampai September, Oktober mulai ada event-event lagi berjalan,†kenangnya.
Menurut Andre, motivasinya jangan mencari keuntungan dulu, melainkan kegiatannya tetap berjalan. Kalau sudah benar-benar mandek akan lebih sulit untuk bangkitnya kembali.
Itu kenapa, Andre dalam berbagai kesempatan selalu mengimbau pelaku industri MICE, baik organizer, venue, maupun vendor untuk saling bergandeng tangan dan tidak mencari keuntungan sendiri.
Tak apalah kalau untung yang didapat hanya tipis, yang penting pelaku dan industrinya tetap eksis.
“Kalau mengadakan event bisa duduk bersama berbagi beban. Ibaratnya kalau rugi ya sama-sama rugi, kalau untung juga sama-sama untung. Yang penting event mulai bergerak naik baru perlahan kita perbaiki,†pesannya.
Intinya, keberlangsungan industri MICE merupakan tanggung jawab bersama, baik pemerintah maupun pelaku industrinya. Pandemi memang harus terjadi, tapi semangat pelaku industri MICE tidak boleh mati.
English
Gaining Minimum Profit to Sustain the Business
MICE industry players have been in survival mode since the pandemic hit. We keep organizing events despite a number of limitations. The profit may be minimal, but at least we exert all efforts to sustain the business.
Organizing MICE events in the pandemic does give more work than pre-pandemic events. Not to mention the revenue is much less now.
However, holding MICE events in the pandemic shouldn’t aim to merely seek for profit, but also sustain the business and existence of the industry despite the difficult situation.
As mentioned by the Director of Dyandra Promosindo, Hendra Noor Saleh in our podcast on MICE Indonesia’s YouTube channel, instead of not working on anything and wallowing in sorrow, it’s better to work on projects that do not earn that much profit.
“The current situation (of MICE events) can’t be compared to the normal situation. But it’s still better than not doing anything. It’s tiring to work on many things at once including permits, but we are still responsible to our stakeholders and employees,†he said.
The General Chairman of IECA, Hosea Andreas Runkat, also believes that this year’s situation in the MICE industry is in fact more difficult than 2020. He said that there were still events up to March 2020.
Meanwhile, in 2021 following the Christmas and New Year’s break, the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed and still increased up to Eid Al-Fitr. It has just started to decline recently.
“The toughest challenge happened during the second wave following the Eid Al-Fitr break. We had just started going out, then the number suddenly rose. At first there was no hope, until there were events again in September and October,†he reminisced.
According to Andre, profit shouldn’t be the objective. We should at least try to keep running the events. If we hit rock bottom, it will be even harder to rise again.
Therefore, on many occasions Andre always encourages MICE industry players, be they organizers, venues, or vendors, to work hand in hand and put financial gains aside. It’s okay to make small profits, what matters is the survivability of the industry.
“If we organize events together, we can carry the burden together too. In other words, a loss is endured together, and a profit is shared together too. What’s important is that events start running again. We can improve later,†explained him.
In a nutshell, the continuity of the MICE industry lies in the hands of everyone, from the government up to its industry players. The pandemic may happen, but our spirit as MICE industry players cannot be diminished.
