ABSTRACT
Events and conferences are a growing industry, where there are approximately thousands of events held every year in the Philippines, including birthdays, weddings, entertainment shows, concerts, gatherings, and more. However, the year 2020 had various catastrophes, such as the Taal volcano eruption and COVID 19 pandemic. Quarantine guidelines were implemented, people’s movements were limited, and mass gatherings have been prohibited for the safety of everyone. This study aims to know the experiences of the selected events coordinators during the Taal volcano eruption and COVID 19 pandemic. The study precisely answered the question: “What are the experiences of the events coordinators during the 2020 catastrophes?”
The researchers then used a qualitative research design to conduct an in-depth interview with nine events management coordinators from Cavite through different social media platforms such as Messenger, Zoom, and Google Meet to gather the needed information. The researchers used a phenomenological approach, which explores the experiences of the participants during a phenomenon. These gathered data were coded and analyzed to create into four themes: “The condition of events management industry before the 2020 catastrophes”; “The distressing experiences of the events management coordinators during the 2020 catastrophes”; “Event management coordinators’ dealing with the 2020 catastrophes” and “The event management coordinators’ plans for their business in the future.” As this study progressed, the researchers proposed a crisis management plan for the preparedness of every events coordinator. It recommends analyzing the risks management, response and action plan for the clients, and the activation protocol.
Keywords: Teachers, Challenges, Implementation, Catch-Up Fridays, Groundwork, Sustainable Reading Program
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is all about the background of the study, statement of the problem, significance of the study, scope and limitation, conceptual framework and definition of terms about the experiences of the events management coordinators throughout the catastrophes happened in 2020.
Background of the Study
The tourism industry in every country has many advantages that can help improve a certain destination. It boosts the economy, employs thousands of people, enriches businesses, and pays for important public services, such as education and law enforcement (Stainton, 2020). Tourism is a movement of tourists or people outside their usual environment, whether for leisure or business purposes (UNWTO, 2014). However, tourism is not just all about traveling, it also comprises different sectors, and one of these is the events and conferences. Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) are a type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together (ICCA, 2010). Thakur (2015) stated that MICE is a unique type of travel that combines business with fun and recreation, and it is a widespread activity that connects people to one destination. It gives an important role in the tourism industry because it gathers people into the destination that could foster a great image. He added that MICE is considered part of tourism because all types of events can attract people who travel together to attend those events. Events management can depend on the hotels or other establishments where the management coordinators are in a partnership or under the name of an establishment. Aside from that, it could also be an independent events management where the coordinators are not under some establishments. They are the ones who will accommodate and look for the suppliers of venue, lights and sounds, caterings, and more.
Last January 12, 2020, an unexpected incident happened. The Taal Volcano erupted, and it spewed ashes to Region IV-A, Metro Manila, and some parts of Central Luzon. Ash falls, volcanic thunderstorms were reported, and the residents around the affected area were forced to evacuate. Because of the eruption, roads and houses were filled with ashes. Thus, classes and works were suspended, and the affected areas are prohibited from going out since there are possibilities to inhale the ashes, which was not good for everyone’s health. Aside from that incident, the Philippine Department of Health (2020) announced that the country got the first confirmed case last January 30, 2020, which alarmed many Filipinos. The COVID 19 case kept on rising in the country. In March 2020, the Philippine government conducted a travel ban inbound and outbound, avoids mass gatherings, restricted the individuals from going outside if it is not necessary, closing the tourists site temporarily, and implemented community quarantines which are the series of stay at home orders for the safety measures. Community quarantines have two different levels: the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), where public transportation was allowed but with limited capacity. Selected businesses were allowed to operate at 50 to 100 percent of their regular capacity, depending on their industry. Some selected stores at shopping malls were also allowed to operate (Quieta, 2020). Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), which is much stricter than the GCQ where locals were generally ordered to stay at home, residents were restricted to travel from different cities or barangay, and curfew hours were being observed (Limos, 2020). Because of these implementations from the government, many Filipino workers and businesses were affected by this quarantine, and one of these is the events managements’ coordinators in Cavite. Since the pandemic started, it was not allowed to have mass gatherings or events because it was important to distance other people. Therefore, only a few events happened in the first month of the year, and after that, all events were canceled because of the pandemic.
According to a 2018 global survey, as many as 1.5 million Filipinos are freelancers who survive from one event to the next (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2020). A live event is a wide spectrum that gives many opportunities to Filipino workers such as celebrities, performers, stage directors, technical people, events coordinators, and more. However, National Live Events Coalition Philippines (2020) stated that, because of the COVID 19 pandemic, there are approximately P132.83 billion lost with the revenue, and approximately 400,000 workers from combined jobs in the events industry were lost. Philippine Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (2020) stated that at least 4.8 million Filipino workers in the tourism industry were affected by this pandemic. Aside from that, events like weddings, birthdays, conferences, and more were also affected by this because mass gatherings and doing an event is prohibited during the pandemic, and the government became strict with the guidelines and the movements of the Filipinos were limited to minimize the spread of the virus. The industry is expected even to face more challenges when it comes to coping with social distancing and many new things with the new normal (Cailles, 2020).
The pandemic also challenged the Philippines for having limited resources and capacities, just like the quarantine centers for those who got the disease, and because of that, it is a challenge to flatten the curve (Remo, 2020). Luckily, public, and private sectors helped and became resourceful by transforming convention centers and other establishments into quarantine facilities. One of these is the World Trade Center Metro Manila and Philippine International Convention Center, two of the Philippines’ largest and most prominent business event venues, temporarily transformed into quarantine centers (Ocampo, 2020). Today, events and conferences focused more on doing virtual events through online platforms such as social media and other sites. Events managements in Cavite also experienced incidents such as job loss and event postponement, which also affected their business. In this study, the researchers focused on the experiences of the events management coordinators from Cavite throughout the 2020 catastrophes.
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