HONG KONG The International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) has conducted a study on the effects of last month’s Icelandic volcano eruption on the MICE industry.

A giant ash cloud rendered most of Europe a no-fly zone for several days, grounding thousands of flights and resulting in reduced delegate attendance, missing keynote speakers and complete cancellations at business events as far away as Australia.

“The effects of the volcano created some challenges, particularly for our European delegates and our staff coming out to the event,” said Gerard Brown, event leader of Routes Asia, which was held in Adelaide from April 18-20.

ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: "This unprecedented shut-down challenged our industry as never before, and has been a massive wake-up call for us to think about how we will deal with the inevitable future crises. 

"What it also demonstrated is the vital importance of strong long-term working relationships between suppliers and meeting planners.”

ICCA will present its findings and the implications at a seminar as part of the IMEX trade show in Frankfurt on May 25.