Heads in the Sand

Nearly three out of four planners have not altered their approach to meetings despite, ongoing terrorist attacks and U.S. military activity. Some experts, however, insist change is needed.

According to Successful Meetings' poll of 226 meeting planners taken in November, most organizations have not even created new contingency plans to prepare for complications that may arise from military or terrorist actions. This evident lack of concern with security could be very dangerous, according to Richard Werth, president of Franklin, TN-based Event and Meeting Security Services. "Terrorists have finally realized how effective tourist destinations are as targets," he warns. "Many airlines, government agencies, and corporations have vastly increased security levels, so terrorists have begun to look elsewhere. We must assess destinations, facilities, venues, activities, and dates even more than we did before."

A lax approach to security can raise the ire of attendees and the general public, says Werth. Case in point: the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Boston, has already drawn fire from critics who say the event's preliminary security budget of $10 million is insufficient. (The 2000 DNC spent $22 million on security.)

Meanwhile, leaders in the meeting planning industry underscore the importance of event security in times of conflict. "In war we will go on meeting," says Terri Breining, president of San Diego-based Concepts Worldwide and chairwoman-elect of the Meeting Professionals International Board of Directors, "but we have a duty to protect our events."

Protecting an event means creating contingency plans for emergencies, and researching security issues through venues, convention and visitors bureaus, embassies, and local news sources. Also, says Breining, "Planners should make sure force majeure clauses are included in contracts, so financial liability is limited if events must be cancelled."

Terrorism and armed conflict have caused uncertainty in the future of meetings, say planners. "I don't think that anyone can say what their meetings in April will look like," admits Ilsa Block, director of meetings and conferences for Alexandria, VA-based Society for Human Resource Management and chairman of the board of Chicago-based Professional Convention Management Association. One thing is certain, though: Block's events will be better-policed than they were last spring. "We work with a security consultant," she says. "We have a crisis management plan we are ready to implement."