By Beth Spacey, Strive
The first images that flashed into my head when I was asked to speak on a panel in Monaco were, firstly… a whole lot of blanks.
I knew about the casino, the supercars and the yachts. Beyond that? I didn’t feel like I knew enough about the destination to have much to say.
But I’m definitely not one to turn down such a special opportunity, so I said yes.
Recently, I attended the micebook Shadow Board Annual Legacy Trip to Monaco and came home completely and utterly in awe of a country I seemingly knew so little about.
Over the few days we spent there, it became very clear that almost everything I associated with Monaco before arriving was just surface level.
Yes, the glamour exists. The incredible hotels, cars, yachts and once-in-a-lifetime experiences are all there. But there is so much more beneath the surface.
Monaco has an incredibly rich culture and history, and the people we met spoke so fondly about its heritage. You can see how much preserving that heritage means to them everywhere you look.
One of my favourite examples was the Oceanographic Museum. It is one of those iconic buildings you immediately notice, standing proudly over the Mediterranean, but I would challenge anyone visiting to spend ten minutes outside before walking through the doors.
Look properly at the intricate details and carvings. You’ll see sea creatures, references to past expeditions and the initial ‘A’ for Prince Albert I. The building itself almost feels like a love letter to Monaco’s relationship with the ocean and its commitment to protecting the species that call it home.
That commitment was something we saw throughout the destination. We learnt about Monaco’s approach to sustainability, the measures being taken across its hotels and buildings and the lengths taken to consider the marine environment when developing venues such as the Grimaldi Forum.
Then there is the accessibility.
Monaco is the second-smallest country in the world, and almost everywhere we needed to be was within around ten minutes. Go much further and you quite literally end up in another country, which still blows my mind.
In two full days, we experienced so much. And I’m not just talking about helicopter rides and fast cars.
We experienced a culture unlike anything I expected. We met people who were incredibly welcoming and genuinely proud to share the stories behind their destination. We also saw a MICE community that seemed committed to working together rather than against one another.
And that made the final morning particularly interesting.
I had originally arrived wondering what on earth I was going to say on a panel about Monaco. By the time I sat down in front of a room filled with the destination partners who had hosted us, I felt like I had so much to say.
One of the questions put to us was simple: What did you think of Monaco before arriving, and what do you think now?
There is something slightly daunting about telling a room full of people who live and work in a destination that your perception of their home had been completely wrong.
But that was also the value of the session.
micebook created an environment where we could speak openly as buyers and agency professionals, without feeling as though we had to give the polished answer everyone wanted to hear. I could admit that Monaco hadn’t previously been a destination I fully understood and explain exactly what had changed my mind.
But my contribution went beyond my perception of Monaco.
The panel gave me the opportunity to share what we actually need from destination partners as an agency, the types of clients we believe Monaco would be perfect for and, just as importantly, the clients and briefs where we perhaps wouldn’t recommend it.
I think there is real value in being able to have those conversations openly. It wasn’t about simply saying what people wanted to hear; it was about sharing genuine feedback from an agency perspective and giving the partners in the room an insight into how we make decisions when recommending destinations to our clients.
Familiarisation trips allow us to experience destinations, hotels and activities first-hand, but creating space for honest conversation between the people selling a destination and the people ultimately proposing it to clients takes that learning so much further.
I arrived in Monaco thinking I didn’t have much to say.