A Scottish agency is looking to get one step ahead of the game in the Covid-19 recovery - by setting out its own route map back to staging international events.
Fusion Meetings & Events (FME) has put together a 'realistic' plan which it hopes will guide them into a stronger meetings and events industry.
The agency, co-founded in 2009 by director Stuart Evans and group MD Alex McKie, has announced a calendar of international events beginning later this year.
“We always want to be proactive in the face of whatever barriers we face,” Evans said.
“We are collating our own realistic “route map” which we hope will help us navigate through the rest of this year, and into 2022 when we feel that our sector will properly explode back into life.”
FME’s first key event is scheduled for December in Heidelberg, Germany, for a long-standing US client.
“Along with the German meeting for our clients, International Student Exchange, a business which sources host families for exchange students, we’re working on a large oil industry conference which is planned to take place in St Andrews, Scotland in November of this year.”
Evans added that the optimism to host larger events toward the end of 2021 is spurred on by the successful vaccination rollout throughout the UK.
“There’s the option of a mix of hybrid and face to face too, which will at least enable some interaction, but our clients at home and abroad tell us that ultimately face to face is what they are missing, and they can’t wait to start getting together again,” Evans added.
“The irony is that the venues have been Covid secure for some time, so we know we tick the boxes on that. Our whole industry has worked so hard to make sure that is the case. All we can say at this stage is that when the world allows us to resume, we are ready to instantly respond.”
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
