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Mr. Julio C. Abreu, the president of European Federation of Professional Congress Organizers, analyzes in TravelDailyNews International the new challanges of meetings industry in Europe as well as EFAPCO’s initiatives for a healthy MICE environment.
TravelDailyNews: How does the existing legal framework prevent the development of the meetings industry in Europe and how are you planning to change this?
Julio C. Abreu: It is not exactly true that the legal framework prevents the development of the meetings industry. The reality is that our profession, specialising in the handling of congresses, conferences and events in general, is not fully recognised nor defined by the authorities in tourism in the European Union member states. We do exist, everybody knows that. But no-one has defined and regulated our economic activity. Of course, this is affecting us and probably the development of the industry as a whole. Therefore, we as EFAPCO, are trying to obtain that recognition from the European Union and the Commissions in Brussels, in the hope that it will also become the case in the 25 member states.
TDN: The EU now has 25 member states. Many of them do not have a national PCO association. What is EFAPCO doing about this, especially in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe?
J. A.: You are right, not all EU Countries have PCO associations. We are encouraging PCO companies to get together and form their own national associations in those countries which don’t have one at present.
TDN: How can individual PCOs benefit from EFAPCO?
J. A.: There are many benefits. To mention a few: the right to use the EFAPCO logo in all publicity materials and on stationery; regular news coverage in trade journals; sales leads to help generate lucrative new business; a stand presence at major trade shows and events which members can use to display promotional literature and as a meeting place. Members can also exchange business opportunities with each other. And they also feature on the EFAPCO website and in the Federation’s directory.
TDN: EFAPCO gives special attention to developing a consistent education programme. Can you describe EFAPCO’s initiatives in this area?
J. A.: Several association members of EFAPCO are doing a fine job in collaborating with various local universities. For example, Spain has been working on a post-graduate degree course with the European University of Madrid, for the last five years, with very good attendances. We are also working with other universities in Spain, with classes and presentations to students after their degree courses in tourism. In Greece, there is a very good co-operation with Trinity College, while the United Kingdom works closely with Westminster University, London. Our aim is to give students a theoretical background before they embark on their own professional careers.
TDN: What are the proposals for an institutional framework that you are currently preparing? You have opened lines of communication with the European Parliament and the internal market. At what level is this communication pitched? And how does the European Union view these initiatives? Who are the other organizations and companies that co-operate and share EFAPCO’s ideas within the European market?
J. A.: There are several lines of communication with the European Parliament and the European Commission, all of them focused in the same direction: the recognition of our profession and the official definition of our specialization, primarily to protect our clients, thereby making sure that companies saying they are PCOs, really have what it takes to be one of us: insurance policies, experience, multilingual staff, office equipment, economic stability, quality standards, plus strict codes of conduct and business practice which are vital in ensuring that PCOs, can provide the service that clients deserve from any of us.
TDN: How does EFAPCO contribute towards the increase in the global market share of conference travel in and towards Europe?
J. A.: We hope to get backing from the European Union for some joint campaigns directed at increasing the market share enjoyed by EU countries. We must try to halt the trend, of the last ten years, which has been generated by increasing competition from other quarters of the globe.
TDN: How can you guarantee the integrity and the homogeneity of the statistical data produced by the meetings industry? The World Tourism Organization, through its tourism satellite accounts, gives special attention to this. Are you cooperating with UNWTO in this work and to what extent?
J. A.: Yes, we are in close contact with the UNWTO and we have recently asked to be accepted as affiliate members. In addition, we are providing information to the UNWTO about our activities in the different members’ countries, in relation to business travel. The present statistics produced by several organizations are not homogenous in their criteria, and that means the results are difficult to measure and be interpreted. We are currently in close collaboration with several universities to work on the production of statistics in the EU, and we will present the results at our next General Assembly in Athens, in December.
TDN: What kind of challenges does the meetings industry face today in Europe?
J. A.: We have many challenges ahead of us. One is to give excellent services to our clients, to make sure that meetings in Europe are superbly organized and well-developed, making full use of our service infrastructures, communications networks, venues, hotels, and leisure possibilities. Security is always a high priority among clients and provisions always have to be carefully planned. We must also work very closely to such codes of ethics and practices published by people like the pharmaceutical industry. We must fully respect European law in all such key areas as legislation on labour rights, fiscal obligations, transparency on book-keeping and accounting and, of course, to observe our own codes of ethics and business conduct. Our role is to work 100 percent on our clients’ behalf – maximum success, with everything done at the right time, with the right partners, at the right cost.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
