1. Read and retell the text. Events management

A village festival, an agricultural show, a teachers’ conference, or the Olympic Games – big or small, local or international, all of these are events, a growing and important area of tourism. Events show two defining characteristics:

* they occur infrequently – the Olympic Games is once every four years, village festivals once a year – or even only once (called a ‘one-off’ event);

* they are a chance for people to enjoy their leisure time or for business people to meet.

Events management is the process of planning, organizing, coordinating, directing, and evaluating an event in order to see how it went, and determine to what extent its objectives have been met. Event objectives vary greatly. Public sector events often seek to raise awareness of a city or region that does not have a very high tourist profile. Such events do not generally attempt to make a profit. An exception to this is a product launch, where a company makes a first public presentation of a new product. This can be done at a trade fair, at the company’s headquarters, or in a specially rented space.

Effective planning is vital to the success of any event, and can include any or all of the following:

• creating an organizing committee;

• determining the event’s objectives;

• deciding on a venue;

• elaborating timescales (the sequence of activities and processes leading up to and occurring during the event itself);

• setting deadlines;

• elaborating budgets;

• elaborating the success of the event.

Most events are static and take place in a city or in prepared space in the country. Some events, such as rock or pop concerts, will move from one place to another. This is often referred to as a roadshow.

In the business world, MICE (Meetings, Incentive tours, Conferences, Exhibitions) provide events organizers with a constant supply of work. In the tourism industry, familiarization trips (fam trips) are used to allow tour operators and travel agents to get to know different destinations that they might later promote or sell.

In events management, you need TEAMWORK:

T is for Training to practice and improve skills;

E is for Enthusiasm for the event and the team;

A is for Awareness of the tasks to be carried out and the needs of others;

M is for Motivation to meet the objectives and to help others in the team;

W is for Willingness to adapt to change and take decisions;

O is for Organizing yourself to undertake responsibilities;

R is for Recognition of the work of others in the team

K is for Knowing what is happening and keeping everyone informed.

2. Read the text and answer the questions. Andrea Geuggis about her job

Andrea Geuggis, 29, is from Switzerland. Before moving into tourism, she used to work in finance, but she now works as a roadshow coordinator.

‘Roadshows are very important events in the business world. They’re basically a marketing tool for the corporate client to meet their key investors so as to maintain a good relationship and perhaps raise more capital.

I’m part of a team that organizes the whole event. We arrange flights, hotels, venues, and entertainment. We’re responsible for everything – from the distribution of handouts to the temperature of the champagne! Because there are usually millions of dollars at stake, the whole operation has to be super-efficient and of the very highest standard.

I’m working on a fairly typical event right now. Our client is a major technology company based in India. We’re flying the CEO – that’s the Chief Executive Officer – the Chief Finance Officer, the Head of Investor Relations, and five other senior staff to Stockholm, Copenhagen, and the Netherlands. They’ll be staying in the best hotels; we’ll be using limousines and private jets to get them to their meetings. The catering will have to be five-star plus, and for the entertainment we’ve arranged a private viewing at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam given by the museum director himself. As you can see, only the best will do!’

Answer the questions

1. What type of event do you think a ‘roadshow’ is?

2. Who takes part in it?

3. What do the organizers have to do?