The 2018 IMEX Policy Forum (formerly Politicians Forum) featured significant changes in format in an ongoing bid to optimise interactions between government representatives and industry leaders and to make outcomes clearer and more actionable.
The 2018 Policy Forum programme included four key parts:
- An advance discussion group of national level government representatives addressing policy issues relevant to the meetings industry.
- A corresponding advance discussion workshop for local/regional government representatives to explore the evolution of cities in the meetings industry.
- An opening presentation to the Forum from Gloria Guevara Manzo, President & CEO, World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) on how the WTTC views primary travel-related issues impacting the meetings industry.
- An Open Forum featuring a panel of industry leaders addressing current industry concerns, initiatives and issues raised by government representatives, with feedback from those government representatives. The Open Forum was described by global urban development advisor Professor Greg Clark CBE of The Business of Cities as a way of characterising wider government/industry interaction, and of showing how this could be used to mutual advantage.
These key parts were enhanced by two additional activities:
- A presentation at the IMEX Opening Ceremony from Gloria Guevara Manzo that engaged the broader IMEX audience in key issues to be discussed at the Policy Forum in the afternoon.
- A tour of the IMEX show floor which demonstrated to visiting government representatives the scale and diversity of the industry, and how their respective cities and countries present themselves to a global market.
