Athens has become one of the European congress industry’s ultimate meeting places of 2006, with representing international bodies like the World Tourism Organization, ICCA and IAPCO meeting up with…
Athens has become one of the European congress industry’s ultimate meeting places of 2006, with representing international bodies like the World Tourism Organization, ICCA and IAPCO meeting up with leading European professional congress organizers.
The 2nd General Assembly and Annual Congress of the European Federation of the Associations of PCOs took place at the original Olympic city’s Helexpo Congress and Exhibition Centre from December 7 to 9.
That event took on a new significance following the news that EFAPCO has become the first PCO-based body to be invited to join the WTO’s Affiliate Members Council.
The Council’s President, Prof Carlos Vogeler, made a keynote presentation during the congress on “The Evolution of Meetings and Business Tourism around the World”.
Some 30 speakers and contributors from all over Europe took part in an action-packed two-day program featuring 15 business sessions.
The event brought together a wide range of European, national and Professional organizations including the European Parliament, UNWTO, the European Commission and specialist exhibitions like IMEX and EIBTM, International associations including IAPCO, plus the private sector including hotels and airlines.
Burning issues being tackled include:
- The European Commission’s approach to business tourism
- How PCO’s can improve their relationships with Convection Bureaus
- The explosive future of e learning and how e-technology can be harnessed by the meetings industry
Session moderatos included IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom; Paul Kennedy Group Exhibition Director Meetings & Incentive Events, Reed Travel Exhibitions; former Greek Minister of Tourism Nikolas Skoulas; Andre Vietor, President IAPCO, from Barcelona; and Georgios Karamanos, Manager, Marketing & Public Relations, Athens International Airport.
Speakers range from Jean Bergevin, European Commission International market & Services DG on the Commission’s approach to business tourism to Jade Sebek from the Prague Convection Bureau and Julius Klosowski, General Director of Warsaw Voice a weekly newspaper dedicated to international businessmen working in the Polish capital, on market opportunities in new member countries of the EU.
The line up also included Jose Zamarriego, Director of the Deontological Supervision Unit of Farmaindustria, Dr Paris Tsartas, Professor in tourism Development at the University of the Aegean, and Mrs. Rodi Kratsa- Tsagaropoulou, Member of the European Parliamentary Committee on transport & Tourism, Greece.
The Assembly’s program committee Chairman, and Secretary General of EFAPCO, Zacharias Kaplanidis, said: “the Federation has made tremendous strides in the last three years. We now have ten national associations in membership and many of our 60- plus associate members are taking part. The program committee has devised a schedule which will tackle many of the crucial challenges faced by the MICE industry, worldwide, and by the EU’s member states.”
“It also served to underline Europe’s position at the world’s foremost convections destination. Sessions will also discuss the development of an updated code of ethics for PCOs, the future of air transportation, the furthering of relationships with hotel chains and congress centers and the evolution of core PCOs” he added.
The program included visits to EXPORAMA show, the Mediterranean Special Event for Exhibitions, Conferences and Below-the-line activities, which took place at the same time in the Helexpo Palace.
To underscore the broadening of EFAPCO’s vision, the Federation’s President, Julio Abreu, expressed delight at its recently approved role with the WTO. “It’s great news for our Federation and for Europe’s conference and meeting sector. It will give EFAPCO a voice, and influence, in the global travel and tourism industry’s most dynamic forum. One of the main reasons we formed EFAPCO was to campaign for proper political and financial recognition of our industry, in particular along the corridors of European power” Abreu added.
“Now we have an opportunity to broaden our vision into global dimensions and to further our promotions of Europe as the world’s foremost congress and business travel destination. It gives a new momentum and focus to our deliberations in Athens and I think this means we have generated a larger and wider attendance than was originally expected.”
The annual congress gave the opportunity to organizers to address the EFAPCO`s targets for 2006 and a platform for 2007 initiatives.
- Presence at most of Europe’s leading industry fairs and trade shows including: IMEX- Frankfurt; EIBTM- Barcelona; International CONFEX- London; WTM- London; FITUR- Madrid; EXPOEVENTOS- Estoril; BTC- Florence.
- Executive Board meetings in Prague, Frankfurt, Malaga, and Athens.
- Creation of operations office in Madrid while maintaining legal and postal addresses in Brussels has helped to make EFAPCO more efficient and to reduce structural costs.
- Acceptance of EFAPCO as the first PCO-based organization to become a member of the UNWTO’s Affiliate Members Council.
- Start of discussions with the CEN, European Committee for Standardization with a view to EFAPCO joining its task force 181 for Business Support Services. The aim is to help in establishing a common code of quality and ethnics- as one of he most effective ways for PCOs to become recognized as a profession by the EU.
- EFAPCO members to lobby national representatives on the European Committee for Standardisation about EFAPCO’s role as a federation of national associations which in turn all have SMEs as members.
- New full Members include the national associations of PCOs from Italy and Hungary plus new Associate Members from many of the nine member countries.
- Encouragement of professional interest about EFAPCO’s development girth across the European MICE industry.
- On- going campaigning to secure a tenth national association as a Full Member, with the eventual aim of having a Full Member representing the industry in all 27 EU states.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
