Pacific World the latest casualty of pandemic as it announces departure from meetings and events

Global DMC Pacific World has announced it is to cease operations in the meetings and events industry due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company which has a 40-year history in destination, conference and events management had previously announced that its Hong Kong operation would cease on 14 September. Now the company, part of the TUI Group, it is to close down its global operations in the MICE sector from November. CMW understands that 26 offices will close around the world with around 150 staff affected by the closure. Pacific World was founded in 1980 in Hong Kong by Jacques Arnoux and Bob Guy, who sold the business to First Choice in 2006 (later part of TUI Travel plc). Pacific World is one of three brands that are part of the TUI Group under its Destination Experiences Division: Intercruises, Pacific World and Musement. A Pacific World statement, 1 September, said: “The coronavirus is continuing to cause unprecedented disruptions in the travel and tourism industry. As a result, TUI Destination Experiences, parent division of Pacific World is moving to a digitalisation strategy and decided to stop participating in the Meetings and Events market. “TUI Destination Experiences will stop operating the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) business under the Pacific World brand in November 2020. This change impacts Pacific World globally.” The statement noted that the Pacific World brand had delivered over 40,000 event experiences in the past 10 years in over 100 destinations around the world. “We believe the industry will recover in the future, and our passion and legacy of innovation will create future solutions for our customers,” the statement added.