FCM Meetings & Events Unveils Expansion Plans; Appoints Simone Seiler as Global GM

Dark/Light Mode (02/10/23)  FCM Meetings & Events (FCM M&E), the flagship division of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), has appointed Simone Seiler as Global General Manager.

Simone Seiler

The company already has a strong footprint across several countries in multiple continents, and Simone will now lead the company's global growth strategy and bring all its M&E businesses into one.

Events, event travel and meetings are leading the business travel bounce back globally with a recent white paper by FCM M&E revealing that MICE market size, in terms of revenue, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent from 2022 to 2030 to reach US$1563.3 billion by 2030.

“We believe the meetings, events, and event travel markets are ripe for disruption worldwide. With this investment, we’re well-positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for high-quality and personalised event experiences that has seen an exponential bounce back,” Simone said. “It’s clear the demand for in-person connection continues to increase, with recent data showing conferences and events being one of the top two reasons for travel among both SME owners and decision-makers ... What’s particularly exciting is just how big the MICE industry is globally, and we know we have an incredible opportunity to both grow and position ourselves as the travel management company of choice for meetings, events, and event travel. We’re experiencing and anticipating a steady annual growth rate of demand at 12 per cent year-on-year for in-person meetings, which means we have some exciting opportunities coming our way. We’re thrilled to embark on this new chapter for FCM M&E, and with an exceptionally talented team globally, I’m very confident we can achieve our ambitious goals.”

Event at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in July 2023. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Priorities for growth include the development of innovative technology solutions and investing in extra talent with the company planning to focus on three core areas:

- Meetings: Provide a wide range of meeting services, including venue sourcing, managed meetings, basic planning and onsite support.

- Event Travel: Offer group travel, from flights and hotels, through to transfers and team building.

- Events: Provide full event management services including planning, strategies, execution, and delivery.

“FCM is a business that is proudly global, with a footprint in more than 100 countries worldwide, but we stay loyal to our mantra of our ‘glocal’ approach where we have industry experts leading their own regional teams to cater for different cultural requirements,” said Marcus Eklund, FCM Global Managing Director. “The M&E business has been firing in the last 18 months and the scope for growth is outstanding. With our superior technology and decades of industry experience within our teams, we couldn’t be in a better position to capitalise on industries that are desperate to be back to face-to-face. Recent research published by GBTA stated that more than eight in 10 executives prefer in-person meetings to virtual contact and that’s certainly something we’ve experienced in recent times. I’d also like to offer my congratulations to Simone, who has been part of the very fabric of our M&E business for many years, her appointment is the perfect example of the ‘Brightness of Future’ we offer our employees at FCTG.”

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