Conference & Meetings World Issue 103 | Page 3

Leader As the world’s largest employer, the tourism industry must bear the weight of responsibility A problem for one is a problem for all Managing editor, Paul Colston e live in turbulent times. Demonstrators have been on the streets of wealthy Hong Kong for several months, and in Santiago – long considered a model of economic prosperity – violent protests have erupted, resulting in at least a dozen Chileans losing their lives. November has also seen tens of thousands of demonstrators burning tyres and blocking major thoroughfares in Baghdad, as anti-government protests escalated. These demonstrations cost an estimated 250 lives in the Iraqi capital alone. There have been more sedate but similarly large-scale demonstrations on the issue of Brexit in the UK, and in Haiti where six weeks of demonstrations saw the removal of the President. And then there’s Venezuela, where tensions have been boiling beneath the surface for some time, and seem to be on the point of erupting. MANAGING EDITOR PAUL COLSTON [email protected] GLOBAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR IAIN STIRLING [email protected] JOURNALIST STUART WOOD [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SIMON GEORGE RAMY SALAMEH PRODUCTION MANAGER ELIZABETH NIXON GRAPHIC DESIGNER KATERYNA SMIRNOVA [email protected] Of course, political repression and economic hardship will always provide fertile ground for rebellion, but our events industry can offer platforms for people to demonstrate solutions to world problems, a point made powerfully at the ICCA Annual Congress in Houston in October. There was much to consider in terms of holding perpetrators of violence to account, and the congress brought out some poignant personal stories. The issue of climate change and sustainability was also right at the top of the agenda and, thankfully, without a whole lot of greenwashing. In a month that also saw pollution levels in New Delhi hit 810 micrograms per cubic metre, grounding flights and threatening international events, CMW travelled to Copenhagen to hear some radical new solutions to the climate crisis. At the Tomorrow’s Urban Travel conference, academics, journalists and the founders of CIRCULATION MATTHEW WILLIAMS PRINTED BY PENSORD MASH MEDIA GROUP LTD 2ND FLOOR APPLEMARKET HOUSE, 17 UNION STREET, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES KT1 1RP TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone] EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: WWW.C-MW.NET @CM_WORLD innovative startup businesses made their pitches for the future of sustainable travel. As the world’s largest employer, the tourism industry must bear the weight of responsibility. If we fail to tackle violence and security issues at source, our livelihoods and our industry will be threatened. Hong Kong is facing the consequences of its political leaders’ actions and one of the world’s leading meetings and events destinations is in real danger of seeing years of hard work undone as organisers stay away. Of course, in our battle for better societies we should stand shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in the world’s hot spots. And that is where the strength of our global industry associations lies. © COPYRIGHT CONFERENCE + MEETINGS WORLD ALL MATERIAL PUBLISHED IN CONFERENCE + MEETINGS WORLD IS COPYRIGHT AND REMAINS THE PROPERTY OF THE PUBLISHERS. NO MATERIAL MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHERS. THE PUBLISHERS DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS, NOR DO THEY ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INTERPRETATION IN THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS PUBLICATION. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED, STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR BE TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM BY ANY MEANS ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR OTHERWISE WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHERS. ISSUE 103 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 3