APPETITE TO MEET UP AGAIN HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER SAYS FUSION MEETINGS & EVENTS
- Scottish events firm is “busy & looking ahead” with half million pounds worth of business already placed into Germany, Iceland and Edinburgh
With the Meetings and Events sector one of the worst affected by the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, a Scottish based meetings and events company has spoken of its high hopes that a key annual event it arranges for a long standing US based customer, will go ahead in Heidelberg, Germany, in December of this year.
The same customer, International Student Exchange, a business which sources host families for exchange students, has already selected Edinburgh to be a host city for its annual get together in 2022.
Fusion Meetings & Events, which works across the drinks, leisure, pharmaceutical, finance & health sectors, and is active in over sixty countries worldwide, has an eleven year relationship with International Student Exchange, a business which sources host families for exchange students. Had it not been for the Covid19 pandemic, its annual 800 room, 400 delegate, eight day event, which FME organises, would have taken place in Edinburgh in 2020. ISE has agreed to come to Edinburgh in 2022, with its business being worth around one million US dollars to the City’s Hotel and Conferencing sector.
FME is also working on another 2022 event, a 100 plus, four day delegate event in Iceland for International Perinatal Collegium, a group of medical Doctors and Professors who come together biannually to advance practices and medicines in perinatal care.
Another long standing customer of Fusion Meetings & Events, IPG enjoyed a delegation in Greece in 2019 which was fully organised by FME. The Iceland meeting was supposed to have been held last year, but it too had to be cancelled due to Covid19. As it’s still not certain if any events can happen in the summer of 2021, it has been rescheduled to 2022 to make sure it definitely happens.
Said FME Director Stuart Evans: “Obviously, it was extremely disappointing that ISE couldn’t come to Edinburgh last year, and IPG to Iceland. These events alone represent over half a million pounds worth of spend. Enabling groups to meet in various locations all over the world is what we are all about.”
“We’re just glad to be busy now and moving forward. We’re delighted that we have already secured the business from ISE to bring them back to Edinburgh in 2022. We’re hoping and praying that International Student Exchange can meet in Heidelberg later this year. Closer to home we’re busy too, working on an Oil & Gas Industry Event which is planned to take place in St Andrews in November of this year.”
“With the vaccine roll out underway pretty much all over the world, we have to hope that the latter part of 2021 presents real and lasting opportunities for groups to meet up again,” added Stuart.
Stuart went on to say that various clients had been telling him how much they had missed the interaction, the networking, and the sheer pleasure of getting together in a beautiful place.
“The appetite for people to return to this sector soon has never been greater. When the world allows us to resume, we are ready to instantly respond,” said Stuart. “We’ll continue to give our clients the best transparent service we can, whether it’s for events staged here in the UK, or abroad.”
Stuart said that he was pleased that, within FME, 90% of staff had been fully retained throughout the pandemic, many of them redeployed to other tasks within Fusion Group.
“Several staff are working within our Accommodation Services division which supports the Hotel & Leisure sector with services such as an external reservations hub, procurement, plus property maintenance, protection and security,” he said.
“The pandemic will present opportunities for this sector, with many hotels looking to cut operating costs and improve efficiency when they re-open, perhaps with less staff on the payroll.”
“Ultimately however,” finished Stuart, “when you work in events you miss the buzz of a large scale event done well, and that is what we’re all looking forward to!”
Fusion Meetings & Events is active in 62 countries worldwide, with a client list including many blue chip companies in the drinks, leisure, pharmaceutical, finance & health sectors here in the UK as well as Europe and North America.
Established in 2006, and based in the Scottish Central Belt, The Fusion Group of Companies is a dynamic mix of separate businesses predominantly servicing the Hospitality and Meetings & Events sectors. These include Fusion Meetings & Events, now active in over 60 countries worldwide, together with the Destination Management Companies, Clearly London and Clearly Scotland. Included under the Fusion umbrella are numerous successful Hotels, self catering establishments & Holiday Parks, Restaurants & Venues, together with Serviced Apartments & Rooms, all operating as their own stand alone brands. Drysdale & Company, a commercial property agency specialising in the hospitality sector, has recently been added to the portfolio.
