It was mostly work and no play for more than 20 senior executives of Macao’s MICE industry as they grappled with a novel environmental management framework introduced by Dr. Julie Whitfield of Bournemouth University and Dr. Don Dioko of IFT.
More than 20 executives and high officials of Macao’s MICE industry attended the GREENER VENUE Knowledge Transfer Seminar held Monday, 13 September 2010, at IFT’s Taipa Campus. The GREENER VENUE is a novel environmental management framework for conference venues operated by hotels, educational institutions, as part of visitor attractions or as purpose-built facilities. The management framework is being developed by Dr. Julie Whitfield of Bournemouth University, U.K, and Dr. Leonardo (Don) Dioko of IFT.
The Knowledge Transfer Seminar was held in order to share recent data collected by Drs. Whitfield and Dioko in the U.K. showing important findings highlighting how venue size and type influence the degree to which organizations adhered to sound environmental management principles. The seminar also saw all participants measuring and “plotting” how their own organizations stood up to the framework, and giving an inkling of how the entire MICE industry in Macao performs as a whole. (Surprisingly, preliminary data from the seminar shows the industry stacking up well to environmental standards.) Participating organizations in the seminar included executives and officials from:
- The City of Dreams
- The Venetian
- The Macao Tower
- Wynn Resort
- Altira
- DAFOO Facilities Management Co., Ltd.
- The University of Macao
- Macao Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre
- The Shun Tak Group
The GREENER VENUE research is being conducted jointly by Bournemouth University and IFT in recognition of the huge impact conference venues and the MICE industry will have not only on tourism but also on the environment of host destinations. Data is now being collected in Macao, Hong Kong and across cities in Mainland China to compare findings with the U.K. data.
For more information, on the Center for Events and Sports Research, Bournemouth University, click here. For more info on the GREENER Venue research, please click here. For inquiries as to how conference venue managers and operators can participate in this research project, please contact Ms. Wendy Tang via email at itrc@ift.edu.mo.