The Importance of Event Management Plans and Their Role in Tourism
Discuss about the importance of event management plans and how it plays a significant role in tourism.
All the societies perform certain rituals, public celebrations and festivities. It gives a particular feeling of oneness and moreover, it is seen as a unique destination image maker that helps in grabbing the attention of the tourists. Events and festivals have a power that helps in attracting the tourists and also, increasing their numbers. However, it is important to have a proper event management plan for the success of any event. A proper plan can help in securing the permission for the event to proceed. It helps in providing a road map to all the stakeholders. Events and festivals have significance in the modern day tourism. However, it is not just only an important part of tourism, but also it is considered as an inseparable part of the human society (Saayman 2012).
The purpose of the report is to highlight the importance of event management plans and how it plays a significant role in tourism. Taking the factor into consideration, the festival of Easter has been taken as an example. The event organizers are going to organize an event on the auspicious day of Easter, which is held in between March 22nd and April 25th every year. Easter is a festival celebrated by the Christian community and is followed by day long events and festivities. However, since the past five years, the country of Greece has been into some financial difficulties. This year, the country is going to arrange something better, which will attract the maximum number of tourist heads. Hoteliers have considered reopening their new properties and the country seems to be ready to organize new events in order to improve their economic condition (Yeoman et al. 2012).
The report highlights the benefits of the Easter event and how it is going to improve the economic condition of the country. In addition to this, the report will deal with the benefits of the organizer and the organizing community. It will further discuss about the objectives of the organizers, community, tourism development, hotels and directly or indirectly related suppliers. Moreover, the alternative approaches regarding the success of the event will also be discussed along with the selection processes.
Events have originated much before the appearance of money, but their acceptance and establishment was undoubtedly being followed by their development. The emergence of new products, new social relations and capitalism paved their way for further development of the ever increasing number of events. By the end of twentieth century, the number has increased a lot due to the living standards of people, discretionary income and high purchasing power. However, the country of Greece is under major focus as it has been suffering from financial crisis for the past five years. Recently, the country has undertaken some major steps in order to improve their financial status and also, it is focusing on the segment of event tourism. The organizers are taking some serious steps for organizing an event on the occasion of Easter (Andersson and Lundberg 2013). This segment of the report will give an idea of how this event is going to prove beneficial for the organizers and in turn, for the overall country’s economy.
Easter Festival in Greece – An Example of Successful Event Management
On planning an event, it is immensely crucial to take numerous factors into consideration. It is important to understand the reason why the event is being held, what the purpose behind it is and how it is going to benefit the country’s economy. Having a well defined objective and a clear focus will enable a direct planning procedure. In addition to this, it is important for the organizers to decide the time and venue of the event. Where and when the event is going to take place can have a major impact on the overall success of the event. Moreover, the size of the event and the number of estimated visitors also plays a crucial role into the event business (Gibson, Kaplanidou and Kang 2012). Therefore, these factors must be taken into consideration before organizing the Easter event.
In relation with the location or venue, there are also many variables to keep under consideration. These variables include; accommodation, availability of transportation and other facilities as well as the local stakeholders’ support. Generally, there is more than just one person involved in conducting or organizing a recreation or sports event. In some cases, it is immensely important to establish a committee for the event, and assign the members with responsibilities and roles for the success. In addition to this, there must be an event manager who will supervise the members to work effectively and efficiently (Dredge et al. 2013). Major decisions as well as directions must be given to the committee for conducting a successful event.
For allocating responsibilities to the individuals in the organizing committee, they must have clear goals and ideas of different aspects regarding the event, including equipments, venue, communication, catering, staffing, sanitation, ceremonies, transportation and more. It is highly useful to assemble an event checklist or plan, which will make sure that all the segments of the event are adequately and efficiently addressed at the stage of planning. For instance; on preparing an event on the auspicious day of Easter, it is important for the event manager of the organizing committee to keep a track of the income source and the overall costs, including the support and hidden costs. It is highly important to develop the checklist before making the budget as it will keep a track of all the costs related to the event (Getz et al. 2014).
The organizing committee and the event manager must have a clear understanding of the overall expenses and the estimated budget. If they require sponsorship for the organization of the event, they must consult beforehand in order to secure the budget for the Easter event. At the time, while consulting with the potential sponsors, the event manager must be able to present a clear idea in front of them and ensure that they get convinced. It is important to develop a profile of the event in front of the potential sponsors. It may include; the brief history of the Easter event, type and the estimated head count, media publicity as well as coverage, its contribution to the overall economy of Greece and some other factors (Ziakas and Boukas 2014). This will help the organizing committee to target the relevant sponsors as well as to highlight the outcomes that is involved with the success of this event.
Factors to Consider while Planning an Event
It is true that organizing an event requires huge amount of hard work and dedication, which the organizing committee needs to undertake for its success. On the bright side, organizing an event proves to be beneficial for not only the country’s economy, but also for the organizing committee. In this part of the report, the benefits of the organizer or the organizing committee are discussed in a very detailed manner. Starting from the basic level, the Easter event, organized in the heart of the city, would fetch huge amount of money from the local visitors as well as the tourists. Easter is a very popular festival, celebrated by the people all across the country of Greece. Therefore, organizing a grand event on this auspicious occasion would prove to be very beneficial for the organizing committee (Ferdinand and Kitchin 2012).
A large number of tourists visit this place at the time of Easter; therefore, the organizing committee will be able to build their brand. The organizing committee must think about the event as an excellent way of increasing the hype revolving around the committee. In addition to this, hosting the events will help in promoting the name of the committee and also help the visitors connect with the brand (Morrison 2013). Moreover, tourists generally prefer travelling with their friends or family; therefore this will help the committee to extend their brand value as the attendees will refer to their friends. In addition to this, if the event is organized at a very popular place, it may prove highly beneficial for the organization itself. Therefore, while selecting the venue, the organization must keep into account the most popular places of Greece, so that the tourists do not find any major issue to discover the event venue (Walker 2016).
Having a fantastic venue to host the events always prove to be beneficial for the organizing committees. Therefore, while planning the event, it is important to showcase the utility, beauty and overall coolness that the venue brings into the space and in turn, contribute in attracting the tourists. In addition to this, the importance of brand recognition is also related with making face to face connections with the visitors, members or tourists. Creating such connections is considered as a key element for the success of such events. Moreover, keeping in mind the development of the connections, it is also important to strengthen the community. It will also help in building up relationships with the visitors, which in turn will encourage more active participation (Weaver and Lawton 2013).
How to Allocate Responsibilities and Generate Revenue while Building Brand Recognition, Trust, and Community?
In addition to these factors, building trust is often seen as an overlooked benefit. Therefore, the organizing committee must be able to build trust among the visitors, so that it yields better outcomes. Moreover, generating revenue is quite a time taking task. It requires huge amount of skills and abilities to generate revenue for the event. Convincing the sponsors is an art and it should be neglected. It is immensely important for the organizing committee to convince the sponsors in order to generate funds for the event (Hall 2012). Establishing the event requires huge amount of hard work and dedication. Therefore, the committee should also hold seminars in order to generate new ideas and concepts, which in turn will prove beneficial for the members. These factors provide values to the community and also help in establishing the overall business as a valued source (Lee 2013).
The event management process aims to manage and control the situations which may occur during the service operation. Such operations may cause issues in the event; therefore, to prevent those some crisis management operations must be carried out. The event manager plays a very important role in the coordination, subsequent access and planning of the event. This can be a very complex activity as the event managers may have to undertake several responsibilities and role of human resource manager, creative director, operations coordinator, master of ceremonies, health and safety officers, accountant, licensee and many more. Along with these significant responsibilities and multiple roles, the organizers generally require some help in order to ensure that the event is positive as well as a safe experience for the local community, staff members and the patrons (Mason and Paggiaro 2012).
Consultation and coordination with the stakeholders is highly essential for the success of the event. Therefore, the organizing committee must take these factors into consideration. The success of the Easter event is highly assessed against the social, economic, safety and healthy factors. The measurements basically include the overall impact the event has on the event staffs, emergency services, police, patrons as well as the community (Kim, Boo and Kim 2013). The main objective of the organizing committee is to give an idea to the government officials of how the event is going to contribute to the overall economy of the country. In addition to this, the establishment of the tourist spots must also be taken into consideration. The managers need to be aware of all such responsibilities for ensuring that the event plans account for the safety, health as well as comfort of the event staffs and patrons. They should also check that organizing the event does not cause any harm to the local community (Fullagar, Markwell and Wilson 2012).
Conclusion
The suppliers of the event also play a crucial role into its overall success. They supply raw materials to the event spot which helps in organizing a fruitful event. In addition to this, there is an ever increasing community and government awareness of legal responsibilities of the event managers. More specifically, the overall responsibility is in relation with the duty of taking care of the local community and also taking the workplace health as well as safety issues into account. Furthermore, completing a detailed plan of event management will help in indicating the fact that the event has been help properly and the managers have also performed their duties in the most effective manner. Despite of many responsibilities and roles of the event manager, the organizing committee should perform as a single unit in order to reach the higher level of success (Jones 2014).
Comprehensive planning of the event and its completion will help in providing the best chance to the organizers to organize a successful and safe event. It also creates extra benefits for the organizing committees. Furthermore, it must always be kept in mind that the events and festivities act as a catalyst to attract the tourists, which in turn, contributes to the overall economy of the country. In addition to this, the efficient movement of the patrons, staff members as well as equipments all throughout the venue will help in making the event more fun and enjoyable. Moreover, it will help in engaging the tourists more and in turn contribute to the overall economy of the country. In this way, the hoteliers will also get benefitted by providing the tourists with accommodation, food and other facilities (Mallen and Adams 2017).
It is immensely important to keep some alternatives into consideration, while organizing an event. The event is a grand one; therefore, the organizing committee must keep some alternative spots in mind. If the selected venue is not available, then the committee must keep some other options in mind, which is equally popular (Kim et al. 2013). However, it is recommended that the bookings must be done at the earliest time, in order to avoid venue issues later. In addition to this, permission must be taken beforehand from the government officials as well as the administrative board of the local community for avoiding major issues later. Furthermore, the organizers should also keep in mind that the location can be easily navigated by the tourists, as they are not aware of the new country’s lanes and by-lanes (Quinn 2013).
In addition to this, parking facilities must be there for the local visitors. Moreover, the members of the organizing committee can offer valet parking facilities. This will help in building a connection with the visitors. Apart than these facilities, the organizers should also organize food stalls for the visitors. The quality of the food must be checked in advance so that it does not cause any negative impact on the experiences of the attendees. The venue should also have dustbins at places, so that the visitors can dispose their waste materials and does not litter all around the ground. It is important to keep the venue clean so that it does not create any negative impact in the minds of the government officials and the visitors as well. Moreover, the organizers need to pay some attention to the decorations inside the venue, which should have the power to grab the attention of the tourists. Furthermore, being flexible regarding the event date can prove to be a greater way of negotiating with the venues (Pedersen and Thibault 2014).
At the time when the organizers conduct an event, they are confronted by various decisions. Keeping all the things at place, selecting the venue and other factors, are some of the many decisions which have huge impact on the success of the event. The event date, catering options, pleasant experiences of the attendees and other factors are highly affected by the venue the organizers select. Huge amount of hard work and dedication are needed for carrying out the task effectively and efficiently. It is important to start looking for the venue at the first place. Once the organizers have a good understanding of their overall budget, event size as well as space requirements, the selection procedure will become easier. At the time while selecting the venue, the organizers must keep in mind that the visitors can easily navigate the place (Sigala, Christou and Gretzel 2012).
Majority of the attendees will come from several parts of the country; therefore selection of a popular place is of immense importance. It is highly recommended that if the venue is near the hotels or airport, the attendees will not face any trouble to visit the spot. Moreover, the organizers must also keep the transportation, parking facilities and traffic into consideration. Furthermore, the event is a big one; therefore, it is important for the organizers to choose a bigger place for avoiding any issues. In addition to this, parking facilities must be available for the local visitors. The volunteers can also offer valet parking facilities, in order to make the guests comfortable. Additionally, if the organizers are planning to invite a chief guest for the opening ceremony, it should be done beforehand. The organizers must also keep some factors in mind, which can save them time. Contacting the local convention as well as government officials of the area is highly recommended. It will give them an idea regarding the venue they have selected (Rojek 2014).
Organizing an Easter event at the heart of the country of Greece, can be a difficult task. Managing the event may require huge amount of hard work and dedication. However, the success of the event highly depends on the project’s planning and execution. The organizers of the event must keep certain factors into consideration. This includes; initiating the event, planning the event, executing and monitoring it and lastly closing it. At the first place, initiation generally involves defining the event as well as gaining approval for beginning with the work. Considering the Easter event, the organizers must discuss with the country’s government officials, administrative bodies, local council and others. After getting their approval, the organizers may proceed with their event (Mason 2015).
Secondly, the planning procedure involves some brainstorming sessions where the organizers must stay attentive as well as engaged in all sorts of activities. The organizers must conduct a team session, where the details of the events must be discussed. This include; venue selection, finalizing the budget, organizing stalls and many more. The members of the event must voice their opinions and make recommendations on what they feel would attract more visitors’ attention. Food stalls must be set up and the organizers must check the quality of the food and beverages beforehand, in order to avoid complicacies later. If some members of the event are absent on the day of meeting, communicating the details is highly recommended. Furthermore, the manager of the event must have good leadership qualities, so that he/she can influence others to follow his/her steps (Getz 2013).
Thirdly, the execution procedure must be carried out in the most effective manner. This step is a very crucial one, as the success of the event highly depends on this factor. Planning the steps is comparatively easy that executing the same. Execution of the events must be done as planned. The organizing team must arrive early at the spot and check over all the items. The execution process in most of the events is considered to be a series of predictable steps and the organizers must check that they complete every deliverable. Along with event planning, comes the execution phase which must be completed efficiently. In addition to this, the fourth step is the controlling or monitoring procedure. The project manager should continuously monitor and control the execution procedure. He/she must ensure that the results match the expectation level of the stakeholders (Mair and Whitford 2013).
The last step is the closing process. It ensures how the visitors enjoyed the event, what are the areas of improvement and what more can be done in the upcoming events. The managers should assign members who will conduct surveys among the visitors, which will give an idea about their likes and dislikes (Page 2014). Preparatory notes must be taken by the manager, status reports and others in order to get the feedbacks of the attendees. In addition to this, the manager must check the videos of the event, so that he/she can understand what the main attraction was and what went wrong. Moreover, if any chief guest was invited, a thank you note and must be sent as a token of gratitude. It is important to make sure that the event met the expectation level of the attendees, sponsors as well as the stakeholders (Getz and Page 2016).
Conclusion
To conclude, events and festivals have existed for a long time and has become a significant part of the human society. To the visitors or guests, an event is regarded as an opportunity for social or cultural experiences and leisurely activity, beyond normal choice range and everyday experience. The report discusses about an Easter event, which will be conducted at Greece. The event is a grand one; therefore, tourists from all across the world will visit the place. It will not only prove beneficial for the organizers, but also contribute a huge chunk to the economy of the country. The event management team must check that the program attract a huge number of visitors and help in the development of tourism. Not only this, the event will also help in raising awareness, profile or image of the festival. Furthermore, it is important to go through the planning and execution stages, in order to make the event a successful one.
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