LCB Archive Update
The global pandemic has created many new challenges for the tourism industry, which are likely to be relevant in the so-called post-COVID period. Stable export performance and sustained economic activity suggest that business tourism will gradually recover after the end of the pandemic, but it is already clear that it will not return in the usual format.
The current situation has allowed us to assess priorities and teach us a lot more. In the business and event tourism sector, we have realized that the conference part of an event can be replaced by digital solutions and that it is possible to reach an even larger audience. However, the "added value" of this sector - networking and communication - has not been completely replaced. This is exactly the aspect that the industry will need to focus on and look for ways to create valuable solutions to boost its competitiveness now and in the future. We believe that the business and event tourism industry will combine the best of face-to-face and digital formats in the future. That is why our task now is to support an industry that has proven itself qualitatively through face-to-face events.
Latvia has proven itself with a high quality of services
In recent years, Latvia has proven itself as a successful and growing destination for business and event tourism. With convenient international air connections, the advantageous location of the airport near the cities of Riga and Jurmala and the high quality of service providers, in recent years there has been a rapid development of the infrastructure of the business and event industry. Several new event venues were opened, including the largest conference center in the Baltics.
If at the beginning of the pandemic it seemed that nothing could be simpler than organizing online events, now reality has shown that a successful online event requires much more than creating a Zoom link. We have realized that a high-quality online event also needs a venue - a studio. Today, the "new reality" has led to the development of a hybrid event or figurative event niche business, where the event is organized in person, but spectators and lecturers can connect online. When the situation becomes safer, you will be able to come in person. The biggest challenge for a successful hybrid event is to be able to attract and retain the attention of both face-to-face and online visitors at the same time. Unlike a face-to-face event, where it is difficult, if not uncomfortable, for the visitor to leave the room during the event, it is incomparably easier to leave the conference room for online events, especially for large audiences. Consequently, conference organizers face not only the challenge of offering the best technical solution, but also ensuring high quality of content, as in the event of an error, the audience's attention is lost, which is then clearly visible in the collected data. The hybrid event includes effective pre-event communication and registration, dynamic program content creation, high-quality broadcasting, a visitor-to-visitor communication platform, gaming elements for the entertainment part and other activities to keep the online event visitor's attention in the most unimaginable 'background'.
In order for the event to have adequate technical and visual support, it is necessary both the equipment and the place, as well as people who know how to put it together professionally. It is a full-fledged business niche, in which several Latvian companies have already managed to apply. For example, at the end of 2020, the event agency 3K Management received the award of the Association of Northern European Event Organizers for the best organized online event "5G Techritory". The conference was held in November 2020 and brought together 180 industry experts from around the world as speakers, but several thousand people joined the event. Two other Latvian companies were nominated for the award - the creative association “Skudras metropole” and the agency “Meduza Event”. Edgars Kuzmans, Creative Director of 3K Management, shared his experience that hybrid events will not completely replace the face-to-face format, as it is very difficult to create the emotional saturation possible in face-to-face forums, but hybrid events are a very suitable format for business conferences.
How hybrid measures will affect the situation in the tourism sector
It is possible that part of the tourism industry may be critical of the contribution of hybrid measures to the industry, but I would like to emphasize that after easing the restrictions, state support will be provided only for hybrid or face-to-face activities, which will require all the usual services of the industry - catering, transport, rent, accommodation. , technical solutions, etc. It will also be an opportunity to organize much larger events, attracting a wider audience and world-class lecturers. It should be taken into account that after the pandemic, there will be a large market redistribution in the world tourism industry, many of the old developments will no longer work. People will have changed their travel habits and will at least initially consider the need for travel and the specific destination more carefully. As the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) estimates that the cost of a single business traveler is three times that of a leisure traveler, there is reason to believe that there will be fierce competition for destinations in the business and event tourism industry as everyone is interested in reviving business tourism. During this crisis, Latvia has done several “homework”, which, as the situation stabilizes, will help in the development process of the industry. One of the work done is the establishment of the Latvian Conference Journals Program in cooperation with the Latvian Congress Bureau and the Riga Tourism Development Bureau. The aim of the program is to popularize Latvia as a congress destination by working with experts from various world-class industries living in Latvia. The second work done is the creation of a calendar of Latvian events - a statistical tool that will allow monitoring the recovery of the Latvian business and event tourism industry, as well as work as a marketing tool, presenting Latvia as a potential destination for future events. The third important work has been the development of a tool to support conferences, congresses and seminars.
State aid for hybrid measures
The Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) has initiated a review of the support instruments available to the tourism sector in the International Competitiveness Promotion (IDS) program, providing co-financing for the organization of conferences in the amount of one million euros. The support available for organizing one event is up to 12 thousand euros. Support for face-to-face conferences has already been available so far, but after the amendments have been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the organizers of hybrid events can also apply for co-financing. The rules stipulate that event organizers will be able to recover between 30 and 40 percent of eligible costs. The conditions of the aid are in line with the national restrictions on the spread of Covid ‑ 19 virus. Namely, in the conditions of gathering restrictions, events without face-to-face visitors will be able to receive support, but as the restrictions decrease, those who will gather at least 25 people outside Riga and 50 in Riga will be supported. costs will include catering, transport, visits to tourist sites, rent of premises, technical costs of the event and the involvement of lecturers. Companies that have been registered in Latvia for at least two years and that have attracted at least two service providers registered in Latvia will be able to receive support for international digital conferences organized in Latvia. We are aware that this is a great destination advertisement and that with the development of such a digital event format, we can create interest in Latvia in different regions of the world. Therefore, the conditions for support are flexible. It should be emphasized here that the organizers of events must take into account the epidemiological security measures established in the country.
I am convinced that hybrid measures in the business tourism industry are on hold, so I call on the industry to use state aid to recover from the crisis and to prove its high level of professionalism and global competitiveness.
Department of Tourism, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia
+371 67039415