Does compliance threaten meetings and events?

Professor Dr. Hans Rück and hotelier Ernst Aschi WyrschThe 188 booths sold out Conference Arena 2014 counted about 1200 professional visitors on January 30 at the Kongresshaus Zurich according to the organizers. The event, at which service providers in the field of seminars and conferences presented themselves, was dominated by the discussion about compliance, or organized righteousness, as Professor Dr. Hans Rück explained the term.Common senseThe increasing tendency to use compliance regulations to guarantee legally and ethically impeccable behavior in companies is fundamentally calling into question numerous, currently common forms of events for companies with tourism-related elements. Rück warned, for example, that from a German perspective, the whole of Switzerland could already become the focus of compliance officers because of its high penetration of tourism structures and leisure offerings, making it almost impossible to book events and congresses with certain companies.With few exceptions, common sense still works for Swiss companies in the area of meetings and events, explained Ernst Wyrsch, president of Hotelleriesuisse Graubünden. Wyrsch hopes that our country will therefore be spared a flood of compliance regulations.Over two billion francsKonferenzarena, the trade fair for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (MICE), was held for the second time this year at the Kongresshaus Zurich. Admission was free of charge for trade visitors. They were able to enjoy expert presentations and discussions. The fair presented the entire diversity of the conference, event, speaker and seminar sector, which plays an important role in Swiss tourism with a turnover of over two billion Swiss francs.