This text is part of the special Business Tourism section
Tourisme d’affaires Québec (TAQ) will hold the first major conference on business tourism in Quebec in Montreal on November 29 and 30. The NOVAT conference (with a T for tourism) will bring together more than 300 hoteliers, organizers and suppliers of all kinds from the events sector.
“Because of teleworking and changes in habits, we can no longer organize conventions now as in 2019,” says Gilber Paquette, general director of the TAQ, formerly known as the Association of Convention Professionals of Quebec.
This major two-day conference will touch on both the role of artificial intelligence in marketing and how to organize an eco-responsible conference. We will unveil a new type of washable and reusable lunch box, but also the first LED screen of more than ten meters in Quebec. “The big theme will be training and experience. »
The main activity of the first day will be the Planners’ Meeting, with “creativity” as the key word. “Currently, people no longer travel for anything. It’s the content that brings convention attendees. This workshop will show participants how to regenerate their store of inspiring ideas. »
The second day will open with an original initiative: the Retournzy laboratory lunch. This solidarity cooperative creates new types of washable and reusable containers for use at conferences and festivals. “This laboratory lunch will allow us to test them, as well as a new type of sorting island. »
Another highly anticipated workshop will focus on contract negotiation. For several years, hotels have required guarantees on blocks of rooms, for example. “This poses serious financial risks to association organizers, who account for more than a third of business tourism, but whose members are absolutely free to register or not. » New habits, new data.
Throughout the conference, participants will be asked to think about how to manage profound changes in habits. For example, convention centers, hotels and caterers are called upon to organize last-minute conferences, with two weeks’ notice — whereas this was very rare before the pandemic. “This is particularly common in private companies, but it creates a real organizational headache,” explains Mr. Paquette.
The other big change in habit concerns the defections of registered participants, who have paid, but who do not show up. “We need to find a way to make people aware of the senseless waste of food and resources that this entails. »
According to Gilber Paquette, several regions broke records in 2022-2023, posting results higher than 2019, but Tourisme d’affaires Québec has commissioned a series of studies which will be revealed. Business tourism may well represent 40% of tourism activity in Quebec, but there are many gray areas as to what is happening around the four major products in the sector: business meetings, incentive trips, conferences and exhibitions.
Thus, an initial survey makes it possible, for the first time, to provide an overall portrait for all of Quebec.
For example, 59% of respondents saw strong growth in the business meetings market. “Employers are bringing their staff together more outside. They have fewer offices and they are looking for a nice place,” analyzes Mr. Paquette. For the same reason, incentive trips would also be on the rise, according to 41% of respondents.
The picture is very different when it comes to traditional exhibitions, where the decline is almost generalized: only 8% of respondents see a growth in fairs and shows, but 51% perceive a decline. The picture is a little better for traditional congresses, where perceptions are approximately equal between those who perceive progress, decline or balance.
“International conferences have not returned to the region,” says Gilber Paquette. On the other hand, we are seeing a new internal business tourism market in Quebec. These are not new dollars like foreign tourism, but they are new dollars for hotels. »
The NOVAT conference reflects the complete repositioning of TAQ. In fact, this conference is the first organized by the association in its 42 years of existence.
“Traditionally, we mainly organized tourist exchanges between buyers and sellers. We were a marketing office, with zero notoriety,” explains Mr. Paquette, who took office in February 2020 with the aim of making a 180-degree turnaround and launching a new strategic plan. “Our intention was to become the voice of the entire industry. »
It was one to midnight. The pandemic has rendered the traditional structure of the organization obsolete in addition to revealing major weaknesses, in particular the complete dispersion of an industry hit hard by health measures.
In 2022, the organization welcomed members of the Business Events Industry Group, which brought together event suppliers, caterers and decorators. In July 2023, TAQ expanded even further by opening up to all suppliers and event agencies.
“Now we are a complete sectoral organization that brings together all stakeholders. Working in silos is over. »
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.