More than three years after 9/11, security remains
a major issue for the industry. Yet, claim some industry insiders,
a majority of meeting planners remain largely unconcerned.
“Right after 9/11, attitudes about security changed
dramatically,” said Peter Alexen, owner and president of RA
Consulting, a Santana, Calif.-based security management company
that advises conventions and trade shows worldwide. “Soon after
that, though, people already started forgetting, and the priority
of security faded away.”
“This industry has become complacent again,” echoed Bradley D.
Weaber, CMP, vice president, mid-Atlantic region, for
Cleveland-based Conferon Inc. Weaber cited a recent conference he
conducted with more than 200 meeting planners, at which he asked
attendees to name the top three present concerns in the industry;
security did not even figure in the top tier, appearing at number
five.
“Absolutely, our industry has been dangerously lax,” said
Steven Hacker, president of the Dallas-based International
Association for Exhibition Management. “Of course there are
planners out there who are just as vigilant as they should be, but
too many of our members have not moved security issues to the
priority level they deserve.”
According to Dr. Jack Harrald, director of the Washington,
D.C.-based George Washington University Institute for Crisis,
Disaster and Risk Management, while hotels and convention centers
have become increasingly attentive to security concerns, planners
have failed to take the lead. “I don’t think planners are
unconcerned, but I think there’s not a lot of knowledge about what
the next step should be,” said Harrald, who suggested that in the
absence of a clear industry standard, meeting planners are waiting
for security guidance from the government, leaving attendees at
risk in the interim. “What the industry needs is a set of practices
that it creates for itself,” he added.
For its part, IAEM established the Center for Exhibition
Security & Safety, which published several white papers on the
issue. The Chicago-based Professional Convention Management
Association, which ran an online forum in May called “Security Door
to Door: A Comprehensive Approach for the Meetings Industry,” said
it plans to distribute its own white paper on the topic in the near
future.
“Any planner who feels unsure on how best to proceed with
security should invest two hours in reading up,” said Hacker. “It’s
their responsibility to gather information and develop a plan.”