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As ABPCO (the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) enters its 25th anniversary this year, the Association reflects on how life within the meetings industry has changed over the last quarter of a century:
1987-1991
1987 – ABPCO is incorporated, the Apple Mac computer is launched, badge production and data capture (via embossed plastic cards) for the trade show industry are invented
1989 – Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web
1990 – Meeting Industry Association (MIA) is founded
1991 – NEC opens its doors
1992-1996
1994 – Two Stanford students create “Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web” which was soon renamed Yahoo
1995 – Holiday Inn provide the first hotel website with the option of booking rooms online
1997-2001
2000 – The first virtual trade show, ExpoExchange, is held
2000 – ExCel opens
Websites become an integral element of event marketing and communications
2002-2006
2002 – UK venues host an estimated 1.5 million conferences and meetings
2004 – Google went public
2004 – facebook was founded
2005 – Conferences and meetings in the UK worth an estimated 11.7 billion per year
E-mail marketing is a key element of event communications
2007-2011
2007 – twitter was founded
PCOs talk about going green and how to recycle at events
Hotels interpret force majeure clauses (the ability for a group to cancel without penalty if a disaster strikes)
2008 – MPI publishes a Corporate Social Responsibility Survey results, part of the Green initiative
2010 – The Barbican joins as ABPCO’s first corporate member
Hybrid conferences become more pronounced with companies
2011 – ABPCO’s Conference Cloud calling for free wi-fi for delegates launches.
Today the association is thriving, with PCO’s and in house event planners organising an estimated 3500 conferences and events a year. ABPCO are still the only association to have individual membership of conference and event organisers, which welcomes both the independent and the in-house PCO/Event Organiser.
ABPCO Chair Michael Foreman commented: "We have come a long way since the beginning and are proud of how the organisation has grown and the achievements that have been made. We could not have come this far however, without our wonderful members and the commitment and support from them.
We have always been positioned as the leading UK body representing the interests of Professional Conference Organisers and our aim has been to increase the profile and recognition of professional standards in our industry. Over the last twenty five years we have made significant progress and have fostered professionalism across the meetings industry."
To mark the start of ABPCO’s Silver Anniversary year, ABPCO’s annual conference will be held at The Barbican from 25-27th January with a spectacular gala dinner to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Thursday 26th January. Additional tickets have been made available to extend the event beyond those attending the conference to join in on the celebrations.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
