ICCA Congress 2026聚焦业务活动新模式：涵盖酒店设施创新、目的地体验升级与食物浪费治理

Global industry leaders took to the ICCA Congress 2026 stage on Monday to discuss three core themes that are relevant to the meetings industry: rethinking hospitality infrastructure, challenging conventional event formats, and engineering local food systems.

The Mainstage Session, titled From all angles: What does it take to move our industry forward, kicked off with Kaye Chon, dean and chair professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) School of Hotel and Tourism Management, who urged delegates to foster a culture of continuous experimentation and challenge outmoded industry models.

He challenged the perception that innovation in hospitality and tourism no longer existed due to a crowded marketplace.

Chon pointed to the pioneering work of Hotel Icon – PolyU’s award-winning teaching and research hotel in Kowloon – in tackling real-world challenges through fresh ideas.

An example is the introduction of a “timeless floor” on property, which comes with complimentary lounge facilities, coffee, Wi-Fi, and shower access that are not restricted to check-in times. The service solved the common early-morning arrival frustrations faced by longhaul travellers.

Next, UN Tourism’s executive director Natalia Bayona examined the broader ecosystems driving destination growth. She noted that business event delegates yield an estimated US$2,700 per trip, and cautioned that such high-value visitors no longer want generic environments.

She urged destinations to replace cookie-cutter venue experiences with local heritage and culture.

As part of her call to action, Bayona announced the launch of the MICE Tourism Innovation Challenge, organised in partnership with ICCA and Central Link, Panama’s innovation network that connects talent, technology, and capital. The initiative invites startups, destination management, and research entities to scale sustainable solutions across three pillars: smart heritage destination management, business events experience promotion, and inclusive, accessible tourism for local host communities.

Shifting the focus to sustainability, Ploy Thirapongphaiboon, APAC Food Systems Partnerships associate director at The Global FoodBanking Network, outlined three actionable lessons for meeting planners to combat food waste.

First, Ploy encouraged planners to integrate local food recovery groups into their planning committees early. Second, venues must streamline collection logistics across multiple kitchens to support local rescue networks.

Finally, she urged planners to look beyond banquet kitchens and pay attention to the massive amount of edible waste generated from tradeshow exhibition floors.

Tying the various themes together, Matt Pearce, CEO of AIME, and Natasha Richards, director of impact and industry relations at the IMEX Group, together reflected on the broader mission of the business events sector.

Referring to the core business of convening, Richards noted: “We provide the platform, and that platform is there for others to shine… We need to be cognisant of people’s time, their intention, but also the return on carbon.”