Faced with a more unstable global environment, the MICE sector must now contend with multiple risks: geopolitical tensions, cyber-threats, unbridled artificial intelligence, climate disruption, and disinformation. To help the industry better anticipate these challenges, the Copenhagen Copenhagen Convention Bureau presented at IMEX Frankfurt, the MICE trade show, its "Copenhagen Risk Navigator – International Strategies and Tools for Business Events", a strategic and operational guide intended for MICE professionals.
Developed with the consultancy firm GainingEdge, in collaboration with the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) and the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), this new tool is a world first for the meetings and congress industry.
The project is based on several months of research: interviews with risk experts, particularly from finance and insurance, surveys of associations, destinations, organisers and suppliers, as well as an analysis of over twenty international reports on risk-related trends.
According to Bettina Reventlow-Mourier, Deputy Director of the Copenhagen Convention Bureau, the findings are not very encouraging. Research shows that 43% of organisations still do not have a formal risk management strategy. Bettina Reventlow-Mourier highlights this paradox: whilst technological risks are by far the top concern – particularly cybersecurity and artificial intelligence – 80% of the organisations surveyed admit to having no specific plan for managing AI-related risks.
The report also highlights the industry’s lag in the use of foresight tools. Only 13% of organisers currently use planning scenarios to anticipate future crises, whilst nearly two-thirds would like to start doing so.
A free assessment tool
For the Deputy Director of the Copenhagen Convention Bureau, the aim is to move the sector from a reactive logic to a genuine culture of preparedness: « Risk management can no longer be considered a simple crisis or communication plan. It must be integrated into governance, operations, the supply chain, security, human resources, and the protection of destination reputations. "she explains.
Le Copenhagen Risk Navigator This proposes 14 tools covering the entire event lifecycle: strategic planning, procurement, contracting, operations, security and post-event review. Each tool is accompanied by practical fact sheets detailing the objectives, conditions of use, necessary resources and best practices according to the organisational maturity level.
A five-step quick-start guide has also been developed for organisations that are new to risk management.
Project leaders stress the need to develop a more collaborative approach across the entire MICE ecosystem. In particular, the report highlights the growing importance of reputational risk for destinations, as an incident during a conference or event can have a lasting impact on the image of a city or country.
The document also identifies several major challenges for the coming years: rising geopolitical tensions, a skills shortage, an increase in disinformation campaigns, and tighter security measures surrounding major events.
The Copenhagen Risk Navigator is available free of charge to all professionals in the industry and already benefits from the support of many international MICE organisations, including ICCA. With the hope that the tool will eventually become a mandatory benchmark for assessing a MICE destination. Just as ecological and sustainability criteria are now.
