More than 200 meetings industry professionals are set to gather in Malaga in mid-January for the 6th EFAPCO Congress.
Professional Congress Organisers from across Europe will be joined in the capital of the Costa del Sol by senior staff from conference and exhibition centres, convention bureaus, hotels, DMCs, tourist offices plus event management students, for what promises to be the Federation’s groundbreaking SMART Congress in a SMART congress destination.
In addition to progressing the Federation’s European Observatory – EUROBS – research programme, the two days of interactive sessions will showcase Malaga’s conventioneering capabilities and study the impact of SMART technologies on all aspects of the meetings industry: on cities, venues, applications, technology and the sector’s sustainability.
Vicente Serrano, President of OPC Spain – EFAPCO’s Spanish member association – said: “In preparing the Congress programme we have placed strong emphasis on those features that will allow all members of our industry to gather new knowledge across all aspects that will help us to improve standards and optimise use of resources.”
The Congress is taking place at the Trade Fair and Congress Center of Malaga on January 17 and 18, with a programme that will also allow delegates to discover the city’s touristic offer. Added Serrano: “Our city is well suited to hosting this type of event. In 2012 Malaga welcomed 160 professional meetings, involving a total of 63,175 participants and generating an economic impact of more than 75 million Euros.”
Malaga Convention Bureau, an agency within the Department of Tourism, took part in 60 promotional events (fairs, industry conferences, promotional days and workshops) during 2012. And at present it has some 160 bids in the pipeline for upcoming events, conventions and professional meetings. This year has seen confirmations for major conferences including the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy and the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine.
EFAPCO now embraces over 1,500 specialist organisations active across 13 member states thanks to its associate membership system. They include congress centres, convention bureaus, AV and technical support specialists, hotel chains, interpretation and hostess companies, designers and exhibition builders. The Federation is also committed to helping PCOs in non-member countries to form their own associations and in turn join the EFAPCO network.
One of the Federation’s main aims is to secure greater support for the PCO sector from the European Union. Stronger recognition of the economic, cultural, professional and social impact generated by PCOs would help the industry to determine its own pan-European regulations and guidelines. EFAPCO has also established, as a priority, the inclusion of congress organisation within the subjects covered by university degrees in tourism.
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
