HEADQUARTERS A S I A- PAC I F I C
the Asia-Pacific Magazine for Association Executives Supported by UIA, Union of International Associations, Brussels
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Headquarters Magazines Meetings Industry Publishers (Singapore) Published 4 times a year Edition November 2010
ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE MALAYSIA A CONVERSATION WITH ZULKEFLI HJ SHARIF
ALSO UIA: GOOD GOVERNANCE MATTERS THE CONGRESS ENVIRONMENT IN CHINA DESTINATION UPDATES
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A MEETINGS SYMBOL FOR THE ASIA-PACIFIC? THE BAMBOO! As a panel member during a congress, you sometimes have to face unpleasant but also pleasant - surprises. I’m talking of course about questions from the audience.
MARCEL A.M. VISSERS Editor in Chief
During a four-member panel at ITB Asia in Singapore last month, we were talking about ‘Future Trends: Asia and the Global Meetings Industry’, a subject that has always interested me, and always will. About a hundred association executives from all over Asia-Pacific were politely paying attention to our opinions on the matter when someone stood up and asked the following question to the whole panel: ‘You’re talking about trends in the Asia Pacific. But what exactly is the Asia-Pacific to our industry? Is there some kind of symbol evoking our region?’ We were baffled and looked at each other in silence. But I thought: I know of one! In this very magazine we use the bamboo stick as the main symbol for the whole Asia-Pacific region.
Oh the bamboo, that’s the Asia Pacific to me. Capable of growing 24 inches or more a day, the world’s What exactly is the Asia-Pacific to our industry? fastest-growing woody plant is Is there some kind of symbol evoking the region? highly notable for its versatility, That’s when I thought: I know of one! In this very just like the Asia-Pacific meetings magazine we use the bamboo stick as the main industry can adapt to quick changes. symbol for the whole Asia-Pacific region Bamboo is incorporated into simple homes as walls and flooring in the Philippines, but it is also used to decorate buildings in Japan. In Hong Kong, bamboo scaffolding is used in building skyscrapers, including some over twenty storey’s high! Talk about resilience isn’t that what the Asia-Pacific meetings industry is about? Also, in recent years, bamboo fibers have been woven into soft fabrics that rival cotton in comfort and style. Could the Asia-Pacific meetings industry be a fierce competitor to the Western one? You can find bamboo in all Asian Pacific countries. It’s a sign of growth, progress and prosperity. What not too many people may know, however, is that bamboo - the largest member of the grass family - also makes for delicious eating. Gulai rebung for example is a rich and delicious Indonesian dish. And there is also Vietnamese bun mang noodle soup. With its many culinary uses, it may seem over the top to mention its health benefits, but in fact bamboo is packed with nutrients. As a grass, bamboo embodies all qualities of the Asian Pacific countries: growth, strength, taste and elegance. Again, what the Asia-Pacific meetings industry is all about. Am I on the right train of thought for an Asian Pacific meetings industry symbol or what?
» READ MORE OF MARCEL’S STORIES ON HIS BLOG: WWW.MARCELSBLOG.TYPAD.COM!
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HQ > CONTENTS
CONTENTS
COLOPHON HEADQUARTERS ASIA-PACIFIC OR HAP IS A NICHE PUBLICATION FOR LOCAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS BASED IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION DEALING WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF WORLDWIDE CONGRESSES. PUBLISHED 4 TIMES A YEAR. CIRCULATION: 2,500 COPIES IN 14 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Subscriptions Subscriptions amount to 85 euros (all incl.). The online version of the magazines is available at www.headquartersmagazine.com Editor in Chief Marcel A.M.Vissers marcel@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Director Cécile Caiati-Koch cecile@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Editor Rémi Dévé remi@headquartersmagazine.com Contributors Sarah Lee Thomas Reiser Jennifer Salsbury Judy Wickens
Cover HAP4: As the Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Zulkefli Hj Sharif tells us more about the strengths of Malaysia as an association destination and what MyCEB is really about.
MARCEL’S PAGE
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CONTENTS
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HAP NEWS
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COVER INTERVIEW ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE MALAYSIA
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A CONVERSATION WITH ZULKEFLI HJ SHARIF, CEO OF MYCEB
RESEARCH ASSOCIATION PORTRAIT: SPIE
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UIA: GOOD GOVERNANCE MATTERS
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THE CONGRESS ENVIRONMENT IN CHINA
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CIBTM 2010 RESEARCH REPORT
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GET YOUR OWN FREE COPIES OF HQ ASIA-PACIFIC! Cécile Caiati-Koch
Headquarters Asia-Pacific, the must-have publication, is free to all association event planners. Just write to info@headquartersmagazine.com with your name, title and precise contact details and express your interest: you’ll be automatically added to our distribution list. Suppliers (convention centres, hotels, special venues, agencies, etc.) in the meetings industry can benefit from special rates for group subscriptions. Write to info@headquartersmagazine.com - we will happily answer your questions!
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EXPANDED HKCEC - MORE SHOWS ARE FLOURISHING Benefiting from the additional space made available through the second expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in 2009, the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair utilized all purpose-built exhibition space, as well as multi-purpose venues including the Centre’s Grand Hall and Meeting Rooms. The additional space in HKCEC not only allows established exhibitions to expand but also makes possible multiple events to be held concurrently. Earlier, the Centre hosted 5 major events during the same period including Asia Fruit Logistica / Asiafruit Congress 2010 with double-digit growth in space utilised compared to 2009, and a major international congress, Options for the Control of Influenza VII Conference. www.hkcec.com.hk HKCEC
MEETINGS INDUSTRY IN INDIA WITH MUCH ROOM FOR GROWTH India has yet to tap into its full potential as a conventions destination, said delegates at the recently-concluded Conventions India Conclave. India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) vice-chairman Rajeev Kohli said the country’s share of the meetings market is just 1.1%, which means there is Taj Maha, India
much room for growth. He noted that 87% of events attract from 500 to 1,000 people, a size that India, even with its lack of big convention centres, could easily accommodate. Moreover, 63%of meetings are held during India’s lean season from April to September and this could provide the country with off-season business. www.conventionicpb.org
BLACKBERRY APPS NOW AVAILABLE AT MEETINGAPPS.COM MeetingApps.com announced the inclusion of BlackBerry apps onto the World’s First Portal for Meeting Apps.Global planners and hospitality partners can now immediately locate BlackBerry apps to help operate their meetings and conferences. The smartphone app directory also includes apps to help planners achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility Program (CSR) targets during the meeting planning process. New BlackBerry meeting apps will be continuously added to MeetingApps.com, keeping planners up to date with the latest developments. BlackBerry.MeetingApps.com
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SECC AND GLASGOW CITY MARKETING LAUNCH ‘THE GLASGOW MODEL’ The Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre (SECC) and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) now share event organisers’ pain and gain with the initiative, and the first venue support model of its kind, that will become known as ‘The Glasgow Mode’. The project is a collaboration between the SECC and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, offering an entrepreneurial approach to sharing the risk with those holding large scale events. It has been developed in consultation with world leading professional conference organisers and is a pioneering business model that benefits both the destination and the client. www.secc.co.uk
DUBAI CONVENTION BUREAU OPENS OFFICES IN BEIJING AND SHANGHAI Since November 1, the Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB) has two representative offices in the largest cities in China - Beijing and Shanghai. The appointment of the two
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> HEADQUARTERS NEWS
Dubai
offices in China as well as the new hire of a Dubai based Congress Development Executive solely focusing on the Asia Pacific region enhances DCB’s efforts in the promotion of Dubai to the meetings market in China. The United Arab Emirates became an Approved Destination Country in 2009, facilitating the free travel of Chinese citizens. Since 2000, Chinese outbound travel has increased by 22%. Leisure travelers and business groups currently represent up to 80% of Chinese outbound tourism travel. www.dcb.ae
ITB ASIA SIGNS THREE-YEAR EXTENSION WITH SUNTEC SINGAPORE Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia, will continue to hold its worldrenowned travel trade show, ITB Asia, for another three years from 2011 through to 2013 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. ITB Asia, the tradeshow for the Asian travel market, was established in Singapore in 2008. Singapore’s strategic location, within easy access of many ASEAN countries as well as the newly emerging economies in the region, augmented the city-state’s credibility as a destination of choice for the Asian edition. sme-itb-asia.com
MPI TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR CHINESE MEETINGS INDUSTRY Meeting Professionals International (MPI) confirmed a comprehensive meetings industry partnership undertaking with the Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA) aimed at supporting Asian MPI members, providing
career-minded education and creating strong business opportunities. With the activation of this partnership with the BTA, MPI extends its presence in the growing Asian meetings industry. MPI recently completed sessions of its Global Certificate in Meeting and Business Events II (GCMBE) program in Seoul and Hong Kong as part of its Global Training Practice. MPI has had a chapter in Seoul, Korea since 2008 and recently the MPI community in Japan achieved full chapter status in July 2010. www.mpiweb.org
DAMION WAN APPOINTED ZZICEC GENERAL MANAGER Damion Wan has been appointed to General Manager of the Zhengzhou International Convention and Exhibition Centre (ZZICEC). Mr. Wan joined the ZZICEC as Deputy General Manager in May 2009 and has served as Acting GM since March of this year. He will continue to lead the ZZICEC’s business development efforts and concentrate on positioning the ZZICEC as the model exhibition and convention venue in China that will contribute to establishing Zhengzhou as one of China’s most respected capital cities for exhibitions and meetings. Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China’s most populated province of just under 100 million inhabitants. www.zzicec.com
LEIGH HARRY NAMED CHAIRMAN OF THE BUSINESS EVENTS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre CEO Leigh Harry is the new Chairman of the Business Events Council of Australia, taking over from AEG Ogden’s Convention Director Geoff Donaghy at the council’s AGM last October. Elected Vice-Chairman was Adelaide Conven-
tion Bureau CEO Damien Kitto, while Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre CEO Ton van Amerongen retained the position of Treasurer. Harry brings extensive global experience to the role through his presidency of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC). www.businesseventscouncil.org.au
ARNALDO NARDONE ELECTED AS NEW ICCA PRESIDENT During the ICCA General Assembly, that took place in conjunction with the 49th ICCA Congress in Hyderabad, India, Arnaldo Nardone has been elected as the new ICCA President for a 2-year term. For the first time in 8 years, two candidates were running for the ICCA Presidency. The presidential elections were the highlight of ICCA General Assembly, after an impressive election campaign by presidential candidates Arnaldo Nardone (Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel) and Jurriaen Sleijster of MCI (Incon Group). www.iccaworld.com
2011 MEETINGS INDUSTRY FAIRS WORLDWIDE: MAKE YOUR CHOICE! AIME // 15 & 16 February 2011, Melbourne // www.aime.com.au GIBTM // 28-30 March 2011, Abu Dhabi // www.gibtm.com IMEX // 24-26 May 2011, Frankfurt // www.imex-frankfurt.com AIBTM // 21-23 June 2011, Baltimore // www.aibtm.com IT&CMA // 4-6 October 2011, Bangkok // www.itcma.com.sg IMEX America // 11-13 October 2011, Las Vegas // www.imexamerica.com ITB Asia // 19-21 October 2011, Singapore // sme-itb-asia.com EIBTM // 29 November-1 December // www.eibtm.com
» VISIT WWW.HEADQUARTERSMAGAZINE.COM FOR MORE NEWS
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> ASSOCIATION PORTRAIT
SPIE A talk with Karin Burger SPIE IS THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR OPTICS AND PHOTONICS
SPIE Europe 2010, Plenary Session at SQUARE, Brussels
Could you briefly present SPIE? SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. It annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions, and education programmes in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific.
FOUNDED IN 1955 TO ADVANCE LIGHT-BASED TECHNOLOGIES. SERVING MORE THAN 180,000 CONSTITUENTS FROM 168 COUNTRIES, THE SOCIETY ADVANCES EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARY INFORMATION EXCHANGE, CONTINUING EDUCATION, PUBLICATIONS, PATENT PRECEDENT, AND CAREER AND Karin Burger
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH. KARIN BURGER, SPIE EUROPE MANAGER,
EXPLAINS WHAT CHALLENGES THE ASSOCIATION HAD TO OVERCOME OVER THE YEARS AND WHERE IT STANDS REGARDING EVENTS. INTERVIEW RÉMI DÉVÉ
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In 2009, the Society provided more than $2 million in support of scholarships, grants, and other education programmes around the world. SPIE also publishes the SPIE Digital Library, containing more than 296,000 research papers from the Proceedings of SPIE and the Society’s 9 scholarly journals with around 18,000 new papers added each year, and more than 120 eBooks from the
> ASSOCIATION PORTRAIT
SPIE Europe 2010, Student Lunch
A SELECTION OF SPIE’S UPCOMING EVENTS
An ongoing challenge are the rising event costs as opposed to the inability to raise attendee prices to the same scale as cost for services and venues have risen SPIE Press catalog. The SPIE Press publishes print monographs, tutorial texts, Field Guides, and reference books. SPIE also publishes a wide variety of open access content.
Also an ongoing challenge are the rising event costs as opposed to the inability to raise attendee prices to the same scale as cost for services and venues have risen.
Membership includes Fellows and Senior Member programmes. The Society has named more than 840 SPIE members as Fellows since 1955, and implemented its Senior Member programme in 2008. SPIE’s awards programme serves to recognize outstanding contributions from individuals throughout the scientific community regardless of membership status.
Another challenge - which in a way is of course a nice problem to have - is that events grow and sometimes outgrow venues where established work patterns have been running for many years. Moving events to new venues and trying to work out price structures commensurate with the budget of the event is always a major job.
+ 22-27 January 2011: SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, USA + 12-17 February 2011: SPIE Medical Imaging Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), USA + 28-31 March 2011: SPIE Eco-Photonics, Strasbourg, France + 18-20 April 2011: SPIE Microtechnologies, Prague, Czech Republic + 22-26 May 2011: European Conferences on Biomedical Optics, Munich, Germany + 24-26 May 2011: ISPDI 2011, Beijing, China
exhibition, or (mostly in the US), conference, exhibition, and short courses. We run a two-legged model - volunteers construct the conference, i.e. the technical content, and SPIE staff runs the logistics such as where to place meetings, collect abstracts and prepare the programme in cooperation with the chairs, collect manuscripts for publication and run the meeting onsite. SPIE headquarters has a staff of 140, the European office has a staff of 5, and HQ provides backup in issues such as design, marketing, and promotion, as well as, at the end, publication of the proceedings/digital library.
What kind of events do you organize? SPIE has had a European office since 1985, in various guises. Today’s SPIE Europe office was founded in August 2001 and is based in Cardiff, Wales, UK.
What kind of challenges has the association overcome in recent years? As a scientific society, printing the publications from our events was always part of the business model. One of the biggest challenges that we have tackled and are continuously tackling is the conversion from print volumes to digital/online display. We have successfully introduced our online library, the SPIE Digital Library which now houses all publications since 1990. We are also constantly working on keeping our events and the promotion thereof up to date using the latest technological advances and online media.
We organize scientific events, specializing on optics and photonics research. Photonics is the science of light, and the results and tools obtained from the research and later application reach the broadest audience possible - the entire world population. Be it in the CD player which operates a laser to play music which is stored in optical storage, or in the endoscope which carries a camera invented by the field, be it solar cells which have been produced using optical ‘ingredients’, or body scanning techniques improving the safety checks at an airport, all of these techniques and products would not be available without the photonics - the science that teaches you what light can achieve. The events can consist of conferences only, or a combination of conference with
What is the association’s decision process concerning the organization of a conference? We have a set field, i.e. photonics, in which we organize events. In each field there will be hot topics, and they dictate the topics of our conferences. Once the topics have been determined with specialists in the field who take on the symposium chairmanship, SPIE takes the final decision on the location. There are several criteria, and events should fulfill at least two, better more. The ideal situation has us placing a meeting in an area that is technically relevant, such as our Astronomy event which tends to be held in areas that have aerospace-related research laboratories and companies locally. Another criteria is obviously the space
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Ottawa Tourism
When you mention your meetings in Canada, everybody wants to attend
www.meetings.canada.travel
> ASSOCIATION PORTRAIT
that is required. We tend to use a number of conference rooms in the 50-120 theatre range, and those can be hard to come by especially in Europe; those venues that do offer these medium-sized rooms often have them distributed throughout the building so that networking is made more difficult for the attendees. There is no point in going to a larger format as the room will look empty, thus suggesting that presentations may not be relevant. Some events have an accompanying exhibition of up to 100 companies. Ideally, that should be placed in the middle of the conference room area to give exhibitors maximum exposure to attendees. Maybe the biggest criterion the venue selection is influenced by is cost. In this day and age, venues must absolutely be prepared to negotiate - we’re a nonprofit association and the budget is certainly not endless! Also, with the recession hitting over the last two years, we have come away from venues that could be considered holiday locations as we find that attendees don’t get funding from their universities/companies. The venues itself vary from universities (sometimes) to conference centres (mostly) and hotels (rarely).
Do you work with a PCO or a DMC? Why? No, we don’t tend to work with a PCO or a DMC, other than for the hotel reservation process, as we have inhouse departments to deal with the meeting logistics and promotion. In the European office, there is only one exception when that could be the case, and that is when we know we will only go to a country very rarely and that country offers an option to run a congress through a local agency who will then deal with the VAT return to the authorities. We will use an agency that can run the hotel reservation process for our attendees, as we do not get involved in that, other than asking for the blocks to be on hold up to a specified date.
How would you summarize new trends in the association congress world? I have just attended an event on renewable
SPIE Europe 2010, at the Comic Strip Museum, Brussels
SPIE Europe 2010, Exhibition
Overall, the internet offers threats and opportunities and rather than condemming it, associations should be aware to use its full potential in social media to promote their meetings energy scenarios, and when you talk to that group, it becomes very clear that a lot more needs to be done to make events carbon zero. I think associations should probably put some more pressure on venues to provide better recycling facilities, video conferencing at reasonable rates and other options that will enable events to have less impact on the environment. Some venues are already working on that, but it needs to become much more broadly applied. I can’t see that in the future there will be only events on the internet, the human contact factor and the networking from that is too important. Overall, the internet offers threats and opportunities and rather than condemming it, associations should be aware to use its full potential in social media to promote their meetings as well as e.g. allowing attendees to find their own hotel rooms - most of the offers out there will be better than what is on offer through the official process. In the current economic downturn and uncertain funding for congress attendees, we find that attendees are waiting later and later to commit to attending and to making their hotel reservations. In the US this can be quite disturbing where we have to guarantee hotel
rooms for attendees in the city and we have cut-off dates for negotiated hotel rates that will revert to rack rates at that time. When attendees don’t book until last minute there is the constant worry of not making your hotel block guarantee. Another trend is attendees’ increasing use of internet booking (web specials) for hotel rooms instead of booking in association blocked hotel rooms. The association has to guarantee the hotel rooms they block and if attendees don’t choose to book there, then the association is on the line for those liabilities. We think more and more that attendees are seeking customization of everything. When it comes to congresses they want more freedom to choose the ‘package’ of services they want. More and more attendees want and need demonstrated value for the time out of the office and money spent. We certainly work to deliver that value but the value proposition is getting harder to identify for each individual attendee and deliver it in a cost-effective way.
spie.org
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> COVER INTERVIEW
Zulkefli Hj Sharif
AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE MALAYSIA CONVENTION & EXHIBITION BUREAU (MYCEB), ZULKEFLI HJ SHARIF LEADS AND OVERSEES THE OPERATION OF THE BUREAU AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR STRENGTHENING AND GROWING MALAYSIA’S PROFILE AND POSITION AS THE CHOICE DESTINATION FOR BUSINESS EVENTS INTERNATIONALLY. HE TELLS US MORE ABOUT THE STRENGTHS OF MALAYSIA AS AN ASSOCIATION DESTINATION AND WHAT MYCEB IS REALLY ABOUT.
ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE MALAYSIA A conversation with Zulkefli Hj Sharif, CEO of MyCEB HQ: Could you explain what MyCEB is about, what its activities are, what its marketing strategy is? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: MyCEB was established in 2009 by the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia to be the lead agency and a one-stop centre to bid for and stage international business events in Malaysia. Recognising the untapped potential in the business events market and given its large multiplier effects, the Malaysian government’s priority is for the country to increase its focus on high-yield travellers with a particular interest in the business events sector and increasing its share of overall visitor arrivals. For 2010/2011, our core strategies include strengthening the role and resources of MyCEB to enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness globally. We remain focused on branding Malaysia as an appealing, excellent value for money business events destination in the global marketplace. To this end, MyCEB will support the local associations to be more successful in bidding and to be internationally engaged in order to secure association meetings for Malaysia. A subvention
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> COVER INTERVIEW
programme to support bids for very targeted international business events which offer high economic value to the country has also been developed. In addition, we aim to create a greater synergy with local industry partners through cooperative platforms, including the Industry Partners Programme. Key areas such as continuing education and industry certification programmes will be offered to enhance the local players’ expertise and improve the level of professionalism across all areas in the meetings market to match international standards. Subsequently, this would help increase the number of players involved in attracting business to Malaysia.
HQ: How does MyCEB specifically cater to associations? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: MyCEB works hand-inhand with the local associations to help achieve the best possible outcomes. Support will be provided to associations at all points of the bid process, from bid development, bid presentation, joint promotional efforts through to the actual staging of the meeting in Malaysia. As the national bureau, we will also rally the government for support and spearhead cooperative efforts with local partners in the bid process and the actual event. The bid success for 7th Triennial Meeting of the Commonwealth Dental Association 2012 (2,000 delegates, Kuching), 14th International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Congress & General Assembly 2014 (3,000 delegates, Kuala Lumpur) and the 24th Regional Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion 2013 (1,500 delegates, Kuala Lumpur) are recent examples of the strong teamwork between MyCEB, the local associations and our local industry partners.
Thailand, Korea and Australia, each of which have their own strengths in how they pitch for and attract international meetings. Based on the 10th Malaysia Plan and MyCEB’s business plan, we target to grow business events arrivals from 5 percent to 8 percent of overall tourist arrivals i.e. from 1.2 million to 2.9 million by 2020. This represents an estimated 142 per cent growth in terms of business events arrivals to Malaysia. Leveraging on the government’s long term commitment to the industry and MyCEB’s cooperative efforts with its industry partners, MyCEB aims to propel Malaysia to top five in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) country rankings in Asia Pacific by 2020.
HQ: What are the strongest assets of Malaysia as an association congress destination? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: As a multi-cultural destination, Malaysia is a harmonious blend of vibrant cultures of Asia’s three major races i.e. Malay, Chinese and Indian plus 47 ethnic groups. This diversity is reflected in our cuisines, art and heritage, traditions, lifestyle and colourful festivals all year round, making Malaysia the ideal place for delegates to experience “truly Asia” and friendly Malaysian hospitality.
Malaysia also benefits from its strategic location between two of the world’s fastest growing economies i.e. India and China. In addition, the country offers excellent value for money proposition for both meeting planners and associations, with world-class service quality standards. Malaysia is ranked as the 4th Most Price Competitive Country in the World in 2009 (World Economic Forum). The Swiss banking giant, UBS Price and Earnings Report 2009 rates Kuala Lumpur as having the most competitive hotel rates in Asia. An average room rate for a double en-suite including breakfast for two and service in a five-star international hotel costs USD 140, which is at least 50 percent lower than neighbouring countries. This makes Malaysia highly affordable and attractive for international delegates from all parts of the world. Lonely Planet has also named Malaysia as the top 10 destinations to visit and top 10 best value destinations in 2010. While the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) ranked Malaysia as the world’s ninth most visited destination in 2009. We believe the increase in investment by the Malaysian government in infrastructure and business events marketing will continue to boost Malaysia’s competitive position and attractiveness.
There is currently a strong, core group of associations in areas such as medical sciences and technology who are actively engaged with their respective communities internationally and are experienced in hosting their own national and/or regional meetings The skyline of Kuala Lumpur at night
HQ: We’ve learnt Singapore has a 10-year plan to become a leading meetings destination. Even Dubai went there to get some inspiration. What about Malaysia? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: We benchmark ourselves against strong business event destinations in Asia Pacific including Singapore,
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> COVER INTERVIEW HQ: How has it evolved over the last few years?
Borneo Convention Centre Kuching
Zulkefli Hj Sharif: Malaysia’s strong track record in hosting successful conventions with record attendances, particularly the 18th World FIGO Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in 2006, with 8,300 delegates has opened up a plethora of opportunities for Malaysia and placed us in the world map to host international association meetings. In the past five years, the development of world-class, purpose-built facilities including the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Putrajaya International Convention Centre plus the establishment of the Sarawak Convention Bureau have been instrumental in supporting local associations and in attracting international association meetings to Malaysia. The beautifully restored heritage building, Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion, Penang
Between 2011 and 2016, over 20 conventions with 37,000 delegates have been secured for Malaysia and are forecasted to contribute USD 87 million in visitor spend to the local economy.
HQ: We understand the association market is rapidly developing the AsiaPacific. Can you comment on that? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: The ICCA Statistics showed that Asia Pacific recorded an almost 51 percent growth in the number of associations headquartered in the region and a 102 percent increase in number of meetings held in Asia/Middle East, between 2000 and 2009. This is not surprising considering that the Asia Pacific is the world’s largest and most populated region and there are many initiatives to encourage international associations to set up their regional headquarters here. In midst of the rapid growth in Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur jumped five spots to the 22nd position in the ICCA city rankings, from 61 meetings (2008) to 72 meetings (2009). Meanwhile, Malaysia was also one of the four Asia Pacific countries that moved up the ICCA Rankings in 2009, from 32nd in 2008 (87 meetings) to 31st with 96 meetings.
HQ: What is the state of the association community in Malaysia? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: There is currently a strong, core group of associations in areas such
as medical sciences and technology who are actively engaged with their respective communities internationally and are experienced in hosting their own national and/or regional meetings. This group is growing and they are committed to bringing international meetings to Malaysia. This is evident with some recent bid wins whereby the Malaysian representatives were well-known and respected in the international community. For example, Malaysia not only secured the XXV International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) General Assembly & International Congress 2014, Mr Teo Chee Hai from the Association of Authorised Land Surveyors Malaysia also won the international presidency. Nevertheless, we believe it is crucial for local association executives to continue to strengthen Malaysia’s representation in their regional and international association. In view of that, Sarawak has also established the International Centre for Industry Development which supports the establishment of new regional associations headquartered here and acts as a local host for associations that do not currently have an active Malaysian branch. Scholarships are offered for association executives to travel to international conventions to begin to build an international network and presence.
6th World Chambers Congress
HQ: Do you collaborate with other convention bureaus based in the Asia-Pacific in order to strengthen the position of the region as a whole as a meetings destination? Zulkefli Hj Sharif: We are a member of the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (AACVB), formed in 1983 to create regional cooperation in developing Asia’s convention potential and to promote the region as an ideal convention destination. Member countries will engage with each other when there is an opportunity to promote the region and for potential business. AACVB has also recently organised the annual 4th Asia for Asia Summit in conjunction with the ITCMA tradeshow, to identify areas in which the Asia wide community can collaborate to raise Asia’s profile and position in the international arena. This event will now rotate to all member countries, with the next meeting to be held in Singapore in 2011. MyCEB is also an active member of ICCA which provides the opportunity to develop business networks and allow for information exchange on non-competitive programmes.
www.myceb.com.my
HEADQUARTERS 15
UIA ı UNION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
GOOD GOVERNANCE MATTERS
ciation’s intentions, its activities must not ignore or avoid legal requirements.
filed or an annual audit to be conducted, the board and staff must ensure that this is effectively carried out. For an association with a very small annual income, an audit may not be obligatory, but in such cases it is advisable to have the accounts inspected by an independent party.
A responsible and rigorously honest attitude to an organisation’s funds is essential, in both commercial and associative groups. Board members have a duty to ensure that they are fully informed of the financial situation of their enterprise and that proper care is taken, since misappropriation of funds is a criminal offence. Where legal or regulatory conditions of an association or its own statutes require accounts to be
The role of different people and the way in which they work for an organisation should be clearly defined. Appointed staff are employees, their situation is separate and distinct from that of board members who are elected: it is unsatisfactory and ambiguous to have a person elected to the board of administration and also partly salaried as a member of staff, this leads to an undesirable confusion. If the associa-
GOVERNANCE REFERS TO THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK OF FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN WHICH AN ORGANISATION IS REQUIRED TO OPERATE. TEXT JUDY WICKENS, VOLUNTEER AT THE UIA, RETIRED SECRETARY GENERAL OF T.I.C. (TANB.ORG)
Forming an association, bringing people together, is a valuable activity in our lives. The aim may be to provide aid, pursue a philosophy, supply training, promote an industry, share knowledge - the possibilities are many and varied. Once an association has been established, the people in charge of running it have to keep in mind all the limitations due to national and international laws and regulations, and to recognise that there are constraints on associations which can be different from those which apply to businesses. However worthy the asso-
HEADQUARTERS 16
tion’s structure provides for members of the board to be elected among candidates whose employment is elsewhere, the requirement should be scrupulously observed. This parallels legal requirements for commercial firms to have independent non-executive directors on their boards to ensure external scrutiny of decisions, drawing on wider experience. It is possible for associations, being legal personalities, to be taken to court in civil actions for offences not contravening a law (an association could be accused of libel, for example) but this is not a frequent occurrence. Social or environmental campaigners, for instance, tend to rely on making their views known and extending their influence in ‘the court of public opinion’ rather than in a court of law, trying to persuade the public towards their point of view. When people or companies have formed a group specifically to try and influence institutional authorities - a national government or the European Union, for instance - this is known as lobbying. The name originates from the UK Houses of Parliament where constituents could approach their Members of Parliament in the lobby outside the debating chamber as the MPs headed inside to deliberate, in the hope of influencing their vote.
intended to prevent restriction of competition, as the operation of a free market and genuine competition is esteemed as good practice. Article 101 of the EU Treaty (formerly Article 81) sets out the practices which could be obstacles to free trade in the internal market. In other parts of the world, similar ground is covered by such laws as the antitrust legislation of the United States, Trade Practices Act in Australia and Antimonopoly Law effective in China from 2008. When representatives of several companies meet in the context of an association activity they should be constantly aware
that discussions do not venture into a forbidden area. If the association’s senior officers, such as the Secretary General or Executive Director, are uncomfortable with the direction a discourse is taking they should halt it immediately. For presentations to assembled participants, it is prudent to guide speakers away from a reference to current price levels or a call for stable prices, which could be understood as an attempt to upset the freedom of the market. Speakers’ texts should be reviewed beforehand and if necessary talks should be cut short. When companies within an association share technical information for applications such as
Associations have a duty to respect ethical considerations, which may be a written code of conduct or much harder to define, as ethics can depend on the view taken by the outside world of the behaviour of the organisation
The EU has decided that it wants to know which bodies, either associations or public affairs firms which can be engaged by a group for payment, are going to lobby the Commission and it requires the ‘lobby groups’ to declare themselves under the ‘Transparency Initiative’, by means of registration which requires them to submit extensive information. Public affairs signifies representing the point of view of a specific interest group to authorities, whereas the term public relations is used for the way in which an enterprise presents its views and image to the rest of the world, including the media and the general public.
of the risk that they could be suspected or accused of causing bias to free trade or limiting competition. They must not make agreements among themselves on buying or selling prices, on fixing market shares or restricting conditions of trade. Also, associations must not limit membership in a way that keeps new entrants out of an industry. Huge fines can be inflicted if companies are found to have formed illegal cartels groups which agree to restrict trade or to collude to charge the same prices. Not all cartels are illegal, however: for instance, the oil producers’ organisation OPEC is a legal cartel as its regulation of price levels is understood to be an advantage in the public interest.
Industry groupings or trade associations must be very careful not to contravene laws
It may be necessary to have a lawyer present at association meetings to ensure
REACH, the fine line dividing technical detail from commercially sensitive information is very difficult to draw. In addition, associations have a duty to respect ethical considerations, which may be a written code of conduct or much harder to define, as ethics can depend on the view taken by the outside world of the behaviour of the organisation. So much for associations to think about, in maintaining good governance.
www.uia.org
HEADQUARTERS 17
HQ > RESEARCH
China, Deyue Pavilion, Black Dragon Pool Park
THE CONGRESS ENVIRONMENT IN CHINA Opportunities and Challenges
there is the added challenge to ensure that the delegates were ‘appropriate’ and the discussions ‘approved’. China represents a huge potential market for membership growth and for organizers considering hosting or co-hosting an international conference or exhibition in China it is important to understand that there are approvals required at several levels of government.
IN 2010 CHINA IS IN A STATE OF POISE, POISED TO MOVE TO A NEXT LEVEL AFTER A SERIES OF HIGH PROFILE SUCCESSFULLY STAGED EVENTS - THE 2008 OLYMPIC TH
GAMES IN BEIJING, THE 2010 WORLD EXPO IN SHANGHAI PLUS THE 16 ASIAN GAMES IN GUANGZHOU IN NOVEMBER 2010 FOLLOWED BY THE ASIAN PARA GAMES A MONTH LATER. IN THIS STATE OF POISE IT IS TIMELY TO LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN ORGANIZING INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION CONGRESSES IN CHINA.
As with every country in Asia, China is anxious to host international conventions, and to attract the economic impact that is generated. Growth has occurred despite some rigorous regulatory requirements; the 2009 ICCA statistics place China as 9th and Beijing as 10th position globally for the Country and City rankings with a country growth of 196% over the last 10 years for a total of 245 meetings in 2009. The establishment of Asia as the fastest growing meetings market worldwide is only the beginning of a process long overdue.
HEADQUARTERS 18
The number of Asian members in international associations has always been greater than the resulting number of international meetings coming to Asia. That imbalance will increasingly be addressed as Asia finds its confidence, is increasingly represented on international boards and conferences are developed reflecting specializations within the region.
ADDED CHALLENGE While some countries would be delighted with this kind of performance, for China
In China international conferences are not simply a function of the market place but a well-managed activity that is seen as consistent with the overall policy of social and political harmony. The right to hold an international conference in China can only be exercised with formal approval by the appropriate authorities. China categorizes international conferences into 4 distinctive groups: + Held by China government departments + Held jointly by domestic and international organizations or institutions or held by a domestic organization under the auspices of an international organization + Held by an international organization, institution or company + Held by an international convention or exhibition organizer who moves an existing convention or exhibition to China from overseas
> RESEARCH CIBTM
formalities of the international organizations themselves. In addition there is a real shortage of experienced international professional convention management that understands the market outside China.
OVER THE SHOULDER
Approval certainly gets more difficult as you progress down the list - application and approval is more than a rubber-stamping exercise. It can, however, be said that a similar process occurs everywhere - the difference is that in western countries organizers actively seek political support rather than apply for approval. The result of ‘no support’ would be similar to having approval denied in that it would be very difficult for the conference to continue without support. International congresses held in China need to go through two levels of approval - Central Government and the Province or Ministry. The following international congresses need to be approved by the Central Government and the State Council: + Congresses organized by branches or offices under United Nations (UN) + Other international governmental and non-governmental congresses outside the UN + Normal international congresses with over 100 foreign participants or a total of over 400 participants + International science and technology congresses with over 300 foreign participants or a total of over 800 participants The general business environment in China can be described as ‘Economically Expansive’. China is the workshop to the world and manufacturing business has, up to now, been focused on doing everything cheaper - this has affected the development of the convention industry. Whilst the industry has been active for some time with a growing sense of being part of a national industry there is limited understanding of the global market and the need to comply with required
In terms of the culture, organizers in China are pulled between the growing entrepreneurial spirit and the very real pressures of the Big Brother mentality which mean there is often an ‘over the shoulder’ backward looking approach to decision making even when approvals aren’t actually required. Company structures mean decision-making is almost always passed ‘upstairs’ for senior management consideration. Barriers to mutual understanding are also heavily affected by language capabilities - the language is Chinese as is the thought. There is also a tremendous hesitancy in sharing information on association congresses in the way that has become established in other countries around the world and in particular through the ICCA network. Where there is an emphasis on face saving strategies
Asian countries who have embraced the convention industry setting up western style convention bureaux and support services with established incentive processes and marketing campaigns that would be readily recognized in any western country. The challenges are well known - China still lacks a City or National Convention Bureau and has very limited destination marketing, there is no meeting industry association which means that there is no channel to lobby the government for support plus Currency, Tax and Visa restrictions are challenging for international organizers. Many senior Chinese government planners and politicians are conscious of the disadvantages of their systems but there are many barriers to changing the existing processes. There is, however, a growing realization within Government of the important role the meeting industry is playing; winning and co-hosting of convention industry events demonstrates some shifting attitudes - the annual CIBTM tradeshow in Beijing co-hosted by the CNTA and the Beijing Municipal Government, the SITE
China represents a huge potential market for membership growth and for organizers considering hosting or co-hosting an international conference or exhibition in China it is important to understand that there are approvals required at several levels of government this affects the way information is shared - it is another layer applied to the complexities of compliance with the bidding process stipulated by international organizations. The exhibition industry is well established in China; it is very well targeted to promote the sales of Chinese manufactured goods with some major government run tradeshows as well as joint venture events with international partners. However, the international convention market is much more subtle and western in its concept - these differences are not readily or comprehensively understood. Neither is the competition faced from other
International Conference for Beijing in 2012 and the ICCA Congress for Shanghai in 2013. These investments are also supported by the convention infrastructure in improved accessibility, purpose-built venues and a growing local organizing trade. The recommendation for all organizers is very much to partner with and be guided by a Chinese based counterpart who knows the processes very well and who is open to learning the required level of conferencing technology that has come to be expected by international associations and that China is keen to establish.
HEADQUARTERS 19
HQ
> CIBTM REPORT
THE CHINA AND ASIA MEETINGS INDUSTRY CIBTM 2010 Research Report
DESPITE A CHALLENGING WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, THE MEETINGS, INCENTIVE, CONFERENCE AND EVENTS INDUSTRY IN CHINA AND ASIA IS RAPIDLY EXPANDING. INTEREST IN THE INDUSTRY IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH AND THIS IS PARTICULARLY EVIDENT IN CHINA, WHERE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IS TRANSFORMING DESTINATIONS ON THE BACK OF THE OLYMPIC 2008 LEGACY. THE 2010 CIBTM RESEARCH REPORT CLEARLY SHOWS IT.
SELECTION #1 OF RESEARCH RESULTS FOR BUYERS RESPONDENTS AREAS WHERE BUYERS CONSIDER PLACING EVENTS IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
WHERE DO YOU EXPECT NUMBER OF EVENTS TO INCREASE OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?
100
5%
80
25,1%
5,7% 26,9% 37,2%
60 40
6%
% of respondents
% of respondents
18,6%
64,3%
20
46,5%
45,2%
Asia
Rest of world
0 China decrease
stay the same
no answer
9%
expect a decrease
64%
Mainland China
55% Asia
(excluding mainland China)
62%
Rest of world
51% 34% expect an increase expect no change
increase
China is one of the world’s oldest and most complex cultures and is becoming a compelling destination for meetings, offering a perfect range of experiences for the world to enjoy. As an increasing number of planners and buyers are realising its strong potential, China is growing into the preferred destination rivaling other more established Asian destinations. This 2010 report demonstrates that the meetings business in China and Asia is growing, with all indicators pointing to a healthy future for continued growth both within China and outbound. It’s the fourth year that the CIBTM research has been undertaken with buyers and suppliers of meetings and events in China and Asia. This research was undertaken by Reed Travel Exhibitions with analysis and interpretation
HEADQUARTERS 20
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
DO YOU EXPECT AN INCREASE OR A DECREASE IN BUDGET ALLOCATED TO EVENTS IN CHINA AND ASIA?
by The Right Solution. This year’s research clearly shows the huge growth in the meetings and events business in China and Asia since the first survey was first undertaken in 2007.
HEALTHY GROWTH Although last year’s survey showed little evidence of it significantly affecting the meetings and events market, China was not exempt from the global financial crisis.
This 2010 report demonstrates that the meetings business in China and Asia is growing, with all indicators pointing to a healthy future for continued growth both within China and outbound A total of 396 buyers and 223 suppliers responded to the survey. 67% of buyer respondents were based in China, 33% elsewhere including Asia. 78% of supplier respondents were based in China, 5.4% in other Asian countries and 16.6% elsewhere.
However, in its regular assessment of one of the world’s leading economies, the IMF said China’s ‘quick, determined, and effective policy response’ means it is now ‘spearheading the global recovery’. China showed a healthy GDP growth for 2008 and 2009 and
> CIBTM REPORT
SELECTION #2 OF RESEARCH RESULTS FOR BUYERS RESPONDENTS FACTORS OF INFLUENCE FOR YEAR AHEAD
THE MOST IMPORTANT INFLUENCING FACTORS WHEN PLACING AN EVENT
The table below outlines the factors anticipated to be most influential over their events in the next twelve months.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Total cost Location Quality of service Quality of accommodation International air routes Overall appeal of the destination Time of year Visa process and procurement Availability of venues and hotel rooms Capacity and quality of meeting facilities Transport availability in destination Travel time to/from destination Infrastructure of the destination Food quality Safety
2010 Percentage
Position in 2009
Position in 2008
75.4 67.8 53.8 53.5 43.5 43.5 42.7 42.7 42.5 41.2 36.9 34.9 34.2 33.4 31.7
2 1 3 4 9 8 6 12 10 5 11 n/a n/a n/a 7
1 2 3 4 8 n/a 6 11 9 7 10 n/a n/a n/a 5
NB: Factors highlighted in blue show a significant difference since last year
the forecast of 10.5% for 2010, the highest growth figure for anywhere in the world. Healthy growth figures are also predicted for other Asian countries including India and the ASEAN 5 of Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. China’s position as the second largest economy in the world seems unlikely to waver in the immediate future, and China is forecast to take over the US in the number one slot by 2020. The health of the economy in general is hugely influential to the volume and value of the meetings market as can be seen in the research outlined here. China’s strong economic position has significant positive knock on effects into the region and the global meetings market with the outbound business, and there is real evidence of this shown in the results. There has been a significant increase in the number of events held and a wider range of sectors are generating meetings and events. This increase in volume is predicted to continue in the future and an increase in budgets is also forecast, although pressure on budgets remains the number one concern.
Factor
% of respondents considering it most influential
Economic climate and pressure to reduce costs Passport and visa issues Corporate Social Responsibility Reduced and consolidated air routes Environmental issues Staff or skill shortages
67 41 30 29 26 19
FORECAST CHANGES IN THE FUTURE The table below shows buyers optimism for the future with 74% predicting that the volume of events they organize will increase in the future, and over 50% predicting that budgets for events, marketing and promotion will also increase. Increase
Stay the same
Decrease
74% 51% 57%
20% 35% 31%
6% 14% 12%
Volume of events organized Budget for individual events Marketing and promotional budget
FAST FIGURES Over 42% of buyer respondents’ budgets was spent in China over the last twelve months. The duration and numbers of delegates attending events have all increased, yet they are being organised in shorter lead times. This helps create opportunities for third party organisers as they can help events to happen in a short space of time. The challenges appear to be international air routes and the visa process, which is forecast to remain an issue for the year ahead. All respondents viewed the effects of World Expo as very positive for business tourism in China, with significantly more optimism voiced on its positive effects than was the case for the Olympics in 2008. According to the Union of International Associations (UIA) Asian countries attracted 23% of the international associations’ meetings market in 2009, with Singapore the top city worldwide attracting 689 international association meetings, and Seoul in 9th place worldwide with 151 meetings. Although China is a relatively new player in this sector, the ICCA statistics for international meetings in 2009 show Beijing hosted 96 international
association meetings in 2009 and Shanghai 58. Even if Singapore continues to retain high volume from this sector, it is safe to predict that China and other Asian countries will increase their market share in future.
China’s position as the second largest economy in the world seems unlikely to waver in the immediate future, and China is forecast to take over the US in the number one slot by 2020 As the results in this report reveal, the huge potential for growth in the domestic, regional and international inbound and outbound markets for all types of meetings and events in China and Asia seems likely to continue for some time yet.
www.cibtm.com
HEADQUARTERS 21
HQ > RESEARCH
Ignore it at your own risk
THE EUROPEAN UNION THIS ARTICLE IS THE FIRST OF A THREE-PART SERIES ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION: WHY EUROPE MUST NOT BE IGNORED (PART 1), HOW IT WORKS ( PART 2), AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AND BECOME INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS (PART 3). TEXT SARAH LEE AND THOMAS REISER, INTEREL
A lot has been reported about the emergence of the BRIC(S) countries and the economic and political powers of countries like India, China, Russia or Brazil can be witnessed every day. However, Europe can and should not be counted out for a variety of reasons - some representing opportunities and some unexpected challenges.
and interesting it becomes for interest groups and national and international trade bodies, association and societies. With its enlargement in 2004 and again in 2007, today the EU 27 represents a large and affluent market and a wealth of new business opportunities for all types of business and interest groups.
Apart from its commercial allure as the largest trade bloc in the world and 1/2 billion affluent consumers, Europe asserts itself increasingly on a global level with everything from policies to legislation, regulations and standards that directly affect many industries that have operations or trade interests in Europe. This in return should and must be of interest to the trade associations representing these industries and sectors and the respective members.
There is a lot at stake in Brussels as estimates suggest that around 2/3 of all legislation in place in the 27 countries of the EU originates at European level. The EU also seeks to set the agenda on a global stage
The more political influence the European Union gains on a global level, and the more policy areas it covers, the more important
HEADQUARTERS 22
in key policy areas such as the environment and product safety. The sheer size of the EU and the broad scope of its policy making powers mean that the decisions taken in Brussels have the potential to impact all areas of the economy and society. Internally, the EU is trying to lower trade barriers, move toward a convergence of living standards, and adopt a common currency. Internationally, it is official European Commission policy to promote EU legislation and ideas outside Europe’s borders, partly with a view to protect the competitiveness of Europe’s industrial and services sectors.
2010 IS PIVOTAL 2010 is particularly pivotal as EU policies are starting to be formed after the 2009 EU Parliament elections, appointment of a new European Commission and the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
EU PRIORITY AREAS Common trade policy, Competition, Intellectual property, Standards, Environmental issues, Transport, Financial services, Agri-food, Energy, Consumer protection, Health, Justice and home affairs, Technology/information
As such, the EU standards also increasingly form a source of inspiration for new legislation in countries around the globe, including many Asian nations. It therefore essential for organizations and companies in Asia to take interest and act where necessary - for the benefit of their sector/profession/trade
> RESEARCH
EU - ASIA TRADE In 2008, the EU exported goods valued €237 billion to ASEM countries and imported goods worth €473 billion. These numbers are expected to grow substantially over the years to come. 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma/Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Korea.
tions and standards many companies and industries/sectors around the world now aim at meeting EU standards rather than lose sales in Europe. For this reason, emerging economic powerhouses such as China and India increasingly adopt European standards as their own, and European standards are elevated to international standards. New EU legislation, such as the Services Directive, likely will lead to
as food and product safety and environmental performance, which companies doing business in the EU need to comply with. These requirements are reflected in European standards developed through standard-setting bodies such as the European Standardization Committee (CEN). The EU even recently established formal cooperation agreements with Brazil, China and India to work with these countries
The European Union’s regulatory clout is particularly visible in the areas of: Automotive emissions, Safety requirements, Chemicals, Electronics, Environment, Competition, Food Safety
Economic relations between the EU and ASEAN take the form of bilateral trade ties.
and their members. This means that for many industries and sectors, knowing what is happening in Brussels and gaining insight and a voice is a vital part of their strategy and operations. With Asia’s rise and an increasing amount of trade flowing between the continents, the EU is even more interested in safeguarding its high standards and regulations. With the 2009 Lisbon Treaty ratified, which streamlines the decision-making process in the larger European Union and is intended to make the EU more democratic, efficient and transparent, it also gives the EU increasingly “one voice” in the world by bestowing more powers to Brussels.
EU LEGISLATIVE REGULATION AS MODEL With the EU seeking to strengthen its competitive position by exporting regula-
a further increase in European standardization activity. There is also a growing level of interdependence that could further facilitate trade between the two continents accepting these standards as their own but excluding countries that do not.
develop their standards. European environmental and safety rules conceived in Brussels, for example, are increasingly becoming de-facto Asian standards on the factory floors that manufacture televisions, clothing, and furniture.
The EU is often seen as a model compared for example to the United States of America. In this framework, some countries such as China are developing their own legislation based on EU legislation. China is currently drafting a comprehensive competition law, and the draft law bears many similarities to the EU model.
And when it comes to competition matters, the EU will scrutinize everything from cartels to monopolies, mergers, issues of State Aid, etc. This area will be of particular interest to many of the emerging powerful Asian companies seeking to buy European firms and expanding their reach into the lucrative European market.
Countries also look at EU experiences, for example, in terms of climate change with the European Carbon Trading Scheme. The shape of EU legislation, such as EU chemical regulation (REACH) obliges some countries to integrate some EU legal provision in their own potential legislation. And even some US States (West Coast and Northeastern States) have looked to EU legislation for inspiration when developing new rules chemicals and climate change.
How does the European Union work? What are the key institutions and how is legislation formed, policies made and where and how can one influence the process? Read Part II of our series about the EU in the next issue of Headquarters Magazine Asia/Pacific.
The Interel Group is an international consulting group specialising in public affairs, strategic communications and association management. For more information, please visit: www.interelgroup.com
EU legislation generally sets tougher requirements than the United States in areas such
HEADQUARTERS 23
HQ > THAILAND
POSTCARDS FROM THAILAND TO REASSURE THE COUNTRY’S CONFIDENCE BACK TO THE WORLD DESPITE THE MANY PROTESTS EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO UPDATE YOU ABOUT THAILAND AS A WONDERFUL ASSOCIATION CONGRESS DESTINATION. Hilton Pattaya
NEW DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE It is now as easy as possible to go from the airport to the city centre. Suvarnabhumi Airport’s Link is indeed now fully operated, shortening travel times for inbound and outbound air travellers as well as easing arrivals and departures compared to existing airport transport. Several properties are also due to open in Bangkok and other cities of Thailand. Examples include Impact Hotel which will be connected to the largest venue in Thailand, the new Hilton in Pattaya with more than 300 rooms or Conrad in Samui Island. Some new properties have already been operated this year such as Siam Kempinski Hotel boasting more than 300 rooms and meetings facilities. The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa Phuket is another example of a new luxury hotel with suites and villas in the famous southern island which comes with meeting facilities.
motivational business event destination. In addition, Thailand recently secured more than 20 major international conventions include the 15th International Congress on Infection Diseases (ICID) in 2012, the 21st International Union on Health Promotion and Education World Conference on Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) in 2013, the International Mycological Congress (IMC) in 2014, and the 46 th World Congress of International Society of Surgery (ISW) 2015.
THAILAND CONVENTION & EXHIBITION BUREAU Launched at IT&CMA & CTW 2010, ‘Believe in Thailand’, the new marketing and communication campaign, aims to restore Thailand’s image as Asia’s preferred meetings destination. The campaign highlights the country’s three major strong points which cover the ‘countless business opportunities’ it can offer, Thailand’s ‘renowned hospitality’ and its ‘great variety of amazing tourist attractions’.
CONVENTIONS UPDATE Thailand has recently won the bid to host the 26th International Congress of the Transplantation Society (ICTS) in 2016 for the second time in Asia after Japan. Some 4,000 participants are expected to join the 24th International Congress of the Transplantation Society (ICTS) in 2016. This is strong evidence that many international associations still believe in Thailand and that it is still a dynamic and
HEADQUARTERS 24
CONTACT Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau T. +66 2694 6000 F. +66 2658 1411 info@tceb.or.th www.tceb.or.th
TESTIMONIAL The 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Bangkok ended on apositive note. The conference was held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center from 10-13 November 2010 and attended by more than 1,200 persons from 135 countries. It was organised by the International Anti-Corruption Council in cooperation with Transparency International and Transparency Thailand, and hosted by Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). This is the first time the conference was held in Thailand. Bangkok was chosen for a variety of reasons, according to Ms Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, who emphasized that the organizers felt very secure in bringing the event to the Thai capital: ‘Bangkok is a very good place to be in because of its facilities, and the people are highly hospitable. Hotel facilities are normally good, but the price is much more competitive than in many other countries. The cost of living in a country for 4-5 days is very important for many people. Because of the competitive cost of hotels, for the same price you can bring more people (to Bangkok) yet have all the nice facilities. Of course, delegates who have been to Thailand before love Thailand. In terms of its people, Bangkok is a very exciting city.’
IACC
HQ > DUBAI
Atlantis, The Palm
DUBAI
DUBAI CONVENTION BUREAU
a conference oasis DUBAI, THE HIGHEST POPULATED OF THE SEVEN EMIRATES OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, HAS EMERGED AS A GLOBAL CITY AND A BUSINESS HUB. IN ADDITION, IT’S ALSO AN OASIS WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES AND AN OPEN-MINDED HOSPITALITY,
Benefit from the expertise and professional services of the DCB. + Bid assistance + Convention planning + Building attendance + Onsite event servicing + Destination expertise.
LESSENING OUR THIRST FOR A GREAT MEETINGS DESTINATION. REPORT CÉCILE CAIATI-KOCH
Getting to Dubai is easy: London is 7 hours away, Frankfurt 6, Hong Kong 8 and Nairobi 4. Getting around in Dubai is just as easy with the ultra-modern transit system. Emirate passengers have it especially easy with the introduction of self-service, check-in kiosks at three Dubai metro stations. The leading venue for conferences, exhibitions and other events in the Middle East is Dubai World Trade Centre. It consists of the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and Dubai Airport Expo Centre. You can choose from over 300,000m2 of superior space for exhibitions, conferences and events at DICEC and over 33,000m2 at Dubai Airport Expo. For accommodation at the DICEC you can select an Ibis 3-star or a Novotel, connected with separate entrances to the convention centre. Another leading conference centre can be found at Madinat Jumeirah. It comfortably fulfils the many criteria of almost all events. It achieves this within a format straight out of one of the stories of ‘One Thousand and One Arabian Nights’. Jumeirah The Meydan, which in Arabic means ‘meeting place’, is a luxury trackside hotel. Its prime location
with 285 rooms and suites offers the incentive of catching the exhilarating racing season. It provides an excellent venue for association events in Dubai’s newest development area. If you prefer a more lively and water-related experience, consider Atlantis, The Palm. This 7-star resort is situated at the very end of one of Dubai’s artificial archipelagos, with a total of 1,539 rooms. It includes a water theme park and a conference centre. The city’s room capacity keeps on growing: in 2010 alone there opened at least 5 new hotels and 3 more are expected. All major hotel chains are present or will be. If you’ve got time, you can shop ‘til you drop in Dubai Mall, the largest shopping paradise in the world, or see Dubai from Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world. From ‘At the Top’, the observation deck, you have a marvellous view of all the modern skyscrapers, including the Burj Al Arab, and the fantastically shaped artificial peninsulas. A moonlit Arabian barbecue in the desert, complete with traditional entertainment, is perfect for a conference event night.
What makes the hospitality in Dubai so different from similar destinations? The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding illustrates this. Located in the old Dubai area, you can enjoy local food and chat with the host about the UAE culture and religion. In other words, ‘Open doors. Open minds.’ Thus openminded hospitality is combined with state-ofthe-art facilities, making Dubai an oasis with open doors for conferences.
CONTACT Dubai Convention Bureau T. +971 4 201 0220 F. +971 4 201 0414 info@dcb.ae www.dcb.ae
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HQ > JAPAN
Okama Volcanic Lake of Zao Mountains
WELCOME TO JAPAN! ICIS 2010 in Yamagata
Kajo Park
ICIS 2010
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT JAPAN AND WHERE TO TAKE YOUR NEXT EVENT, THE BIG CITIES LIKE TOKYO, KYOTO OR YOKOHAMA COME EASILY TO MIND. BUT JAPAN IS NOT ONLY ABOUT HUGE, DEFINITELY ATTRACTIVE METROPOLISES. THERE ARE SMALLER CITIES OUT THERE WHERE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES CAN BE HELD WITH THE SAME KIND OF SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE - THEY ALSO DESERVE OUR ATTENTION, ESPECIALLY IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES SINCE THE COST OF RUNNING AN ASSOCIATION EVENT IS MUCH LOWER THERE THAN IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED MAJOR CITIES. THE 9TH IEEE/ACIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE (ICIS 2010) WAS HELD AUGUST 18-20, 2010, IN KAMINOYAMA (YAMAGATA). LET’S FIND OUT HOW SMOOTHLY IT WENT! TEXT RÉMI DÉVÉ
JAPAN
Yamagata
We have to be honest here: we didn’t really know where Yamagata was until we looked it up to write this article. So far, we have learned only nice things about it, facts that were confirmed by the organizers, as well as the delegates, of ICIS 2010. And if you wonder where it exactly is, the map on the left will surely help you. Yamagata Prefecture is situated on the westernmost part of the Tohoku region, and has, since long ago, been an important marine transportation spot with developed routes on the Sea of Japan. Located in the centre of Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City is a former castle town that has been strongly developing since the middle of the 15th century.
TOP QUALITY SERVICE th
The 9 IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Computer and Information Science (ICIS 2010) was held in the Tsukioka Hotel in Kaminoyama
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City (about 20 minutes from Yamagata City), one of the famous ‘onsen’ cities in Japan - Onsen means “hot spring” in Japanese and provides a wide variety of spas. The conference brought together scientists, engineers, computer users, and students to exchange and share their experiences, new ideas, and research results regarding all aspects (theory, applications and tools) of computer and information science, and discuss the practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted. The conference covered a broad set of research topics and solicited papers, the best of which won coveted awards.
Dr. Takayuki Ito, Associate Professor at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, explains the reason lying behind the choice of Yamagata:
> JAPAN
Zao Onsen Spa
Tsukioka Guest Room
YAMAGATA, THE HARD FACTS + Conference facilities: Yamagata Big Wing (up to 3,500 pax), Yamagata Terrsa (up to 800 pax) + Accommodation: Hotel Metropolitan (4-star), Yamagata Grand Hotel (3-star), Japanese Inn ‘Ryokan’: KOYO and Tsukioka Hotel in Kaminoyama City + Access: 2 hours 30 min by Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station
Last but not least are the activities you can enjoy in Yamagata City itself. In Ka-jo Castle Park, you can just enjoy the wonderful cherry blossoms, and there are moats and stone walls recalling scenes of the days when the castle was being built. Also found in the city are the British Renaissance-style Bunshokan Hall, and various other traditional western-style brick buildings, including the formidable Yamagata Educational Museum. The area is also host to many seasonal events, such as the Hanagasa-matsuri Festival (Flower-Adorned Hat Festival) in the summer, considered to be one of the four greatest festivals held in the Tohoku region, and the Nihon-ichi-no-Imoni-kai Festival (Japan’s No1 Taro and Beef Stew Party Festival) in the fall. These of course are only highlights. Yamagata is full of treasures and hidden secrets that will make your journey as a delegate an unforgettable one. Just take our word for it!
Ginzan Hot Springs
‘I thought a conference in an urban area would not be interesting, and I wanted to introduce Japanese culture to delegates coming all the way to Japan. Therefore we agreed on the hot-spring hotel for the conference venue.’ He was all the more delighted to see that ‘there were more delegates wearing yukata than we expected. Some of them took part in the welcome reception in yukata (a casual summer kimono usually made of cotton). It was a very good thing.’ Besides delivering top-quality service and showing excellent professionalism, the local industry was praised for its sense of dedication. Roger Lee, Director of Software Engineering & Information Technology Institute and Professor of Computer Science at Central Michigan University, explains: ‘We normally have 20% of registered delegates ending up being no-shows but this time we had only 4%. I think it’s because this conference was held in an onsen. I personally was impressed by the people here: they were very friendly and devoted.’ A fact that was quickly confirmed by Jonthon T. Reynold, Professor of History, Northern Kentucky University, USA: ‘The thing which really
impressed me was the people. Everyone is incredibly welcoming. Besides, big cities are like big cities everywhere - this time it was very nice to get out of Tokyo and see the variety of the environment that Japan offers.’
UNIQUE APPROACH It seems that everybody left convinced that Japan has a distinctive, unique approach when it comes to hospitality: this will guarantee to meet the needs of any demanding meeting planners. If that is not enough, Yagamata offers a wide array of choice in terms of pre- or post-conference tours. Among other things, it’s home to the snow monsters of Mt. Zao. This unique natural phenomenon makes trees so covered in snow and ice that they look like surreal beasts from the past. We can also mention other famous mountains like Mt. Chokai, Mt. Nishiazuma and the three sacred moutains of Yamagata that hint towards a culture of profound spirituality. Other highlights include the many hot spring villages lying all throughout the region, making it a unique natural environment worth a detour.
CONTACT Yamagata Convention Bureau Yamagata Kokusai Koryu Plaza Hirakubo 100, Yamagata 990-0076, Japan F: +81(0)23 635 3030 E: sales@convention.or.jp
Japan Convention Bureau Chad Shiver, Convention Manager Japan Convention Bureau Japan National Tourism Organization 12 Nicholas Lane, 5th Floor London EC4N 7BN, United Kingdom T: +44(0)20 7283 2130 F: +44 (0)20 7626 0224 E: chad@jnto.co.uk
HEADQUARTERS 27
HQ
> ICCA CONGRESS REPORT
Gala evening
ICCA IN INDIA ICCA IS EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT YET IN HEAVEN. ON EARTH, ICCA IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION IN THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY, AND IT HAS THE STRONGEST GLOBAL LEGS. WHAT COULD BE THE REASON FOR THIS? IN ASIA, ICCA IS HELD IN HIGH REGARD. BUT HOW HIGH PRECISELY? AFTER AN ANNUAL CONGRESS IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO PUT A FEW CONSIDERATIONS IN THE BALANCE. THIS YEAR, THE SCALE WAS LOCATED IN HYDERABAD, INDIA’S TOP MEETINGS DESTINATION. REPORT MARCEL A.M. VISSERS
IN INDIA FOR THE FIRST TIME Everybody said the same thing. It was a good decision to hold the 49th ICCA congress in India in 2010. It was the first time too. Whether everyone thought about Hyderabad as a location wasn’t so obvious. India is a massive country with endless economic potential, also in the meetings industry. It’s closely following China, be it with small steps. Philip Logan, GM Development & Special Projects of Accor and for this occasion Chairman of the Indian Host Committee, praised the choice of Hyderabad as the ICCA congress destination a long time ago. While he was still GM of the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, he said that there was only one purpose-built convention centre in the entire country and that it was located
HEADQUARTERS 28
in Hyderabad, and not in Delhi or in Mumbai (Soon, Bangalore will have one too - it’s an Accor Group project too.) Philip also repeatedly stated that there wasn’t a real convention bureau in India. On the last day of the congress it was announced that Visit Hyderabad would be founded soon. The capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh played a big part in the development of the Indian meetings industry, that’s an obvious fact. I personally think that too few delegates got to know the new Hyderabad, the IT City, closely related to the convention city. Luckily there was the CAT Night at the historical ‘Taramati Baradani’ site and the Gala Dinner with the Dress to Impress Awards at the architectural marvel ‘The Qutub Shahi
Tombs’. Otherwise many delegates wouldn’t even have known they were visiting India. It would just have been a regular stay at just another Novotel Hotel that could have been anywhere, in heaven and on earth. That was my first remark: whoever gets the Indian spirit never loses it again. I’m one of those people.
WISE CONGRESSMEN AND WOMEN During an ICCA congress I have to constantly gasp for breath. I often can’t keep up with the pace of the conferences, coffee breaks and informal talks, because there are so many interesting people attending sharing interesting views. I’ll give you some examples. While enjoying an excellent Indian wine in the hotel bar, I had a talk with Anja Loetscher, the director
> ICCA CONGRESS REPORT
DRESS TO IMPRESS GALA DINNER Lynda Cadieux, from Tourisme Montréal, got the Flair Award at the Dress to Impress Gala Dinner. She showed flair through her choice of dress, jewellery and color - a unique combination that made her clearly stand out from the rest of the crowd. All the other award winners are mentioned in the story published on Marcel’s Meetings Blog (www.marcelsblog.typad.com)
of Geneva Convention Bureau. She said: ‘People working in the meetings industry are farmers. They take their time to do things right. They know nature needs time to let something grow good and healthy. But, in our industry, there are also hunters. They look at things in the short term. Many hotels for example, and some AMC’s, are hunters. They all want their money tomorrow. In my convention bureau, we learn to be farmers. Because our big customers - the associations - have difficulties coping with hunters. A hunter makes an association nervous and suspicious, which isn’t good for their credibility.’ I will keep this wisdom in mind for a long long time, I promise, Anja. A second loyal ICCA visitor I’m always pleased to talk to is Pieter van der Hoeven of PG International Consulting. According
Opening Ceremony
Marcel Vissers and Cécile Caiati-Koch, dressed at a Maharaja and a Maharani, welcomed the guests at ICCA Dress to Impress Gala Dinner.
to my humble opinion he shows exceptional wit and common sense. During one of the magnificent Indian lunches we had a talk about presidents, CEO’s, association board members and their importance. He said: ‘In the end “the board” is responsible for everything that happens within an association. Not the CEO, who won’t easily be put in jail for dishonest practices. But what you do see is that board members are often
mandatory literature for all association board members. It’s called ‘The Will to Govern Well’ and was published by ASAE the Center for Association Leadership this past August. You can contact her on leigh@soroptimist.org
ICCA is known in the meetings world for its premium gala dinners, which are probably the best of the industry uncritical and think: let the CEO do his/her thing, he/she’s not giving us too much work. There are also professional associations being led by the Secretary General. These are from time to time people who don’t like transparency and who constantly put up fog curtains. Some of them also show signs of perverted exercise of power. In the long term, this is disastrous for an association. But these things exist, even in well-known associations in our industry.’ On the same day, while the congress was drawing to an end, I met three heavyweights of the association world discussing the same subject. There was even laughter to be heard. Mrs Leigh Wintz, former Chairman of the Board of PCMA and Executive Director of Soroptimist, even told me she wrote a book about the subject. Then I thought: this is
A GREAT KEYNOTE SPEAKER Because I enjoyed the aftermath of the Gala Dinner so much - all those questions I had to answer in Copenhagen Lecture Speaker the hotel bar! - it was Devdutt Pattanaik impossible for me to be on time for Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik’s speech, the Copenhagen-Denmark lecture. But Sin, of Meet Taiwan, told me everything: ‘Why does ICCA put such a good keynote speaker on the last day of the congress? He should have done the opening speech.’ His enthusiasm wasn’t tempered by this fact though. ‘Dr. Devdutt taught me lots of things about history, religion and business philosophies.’ Sin, I promise you I will look into the teachings of this Chief Belief Officer more closely. ICCA is known in the meetings world for its premium gala dinners, which are probably the best of the industry. Often, gala dinners are boring, but not at ICCA. People are looking forward to them. They lose sleep over it and skip interesting conferences (shame on me) to make time to buy an unusual party outfit. I’m talking of course about the Dress to Impress Awards. Comments were unanimous: it was the best gala dinner in ICCA history. During the dinner in The Tombs, the delegates could experience everything India has to offer: color, taste, music and above all hospitality. Now on to Leipzig, for Bach’s powdery white wig!
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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HQ IN 2011 HQ EMEA HEADQUARTERS
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HQ EMEA stands for Headquarters Europe Middle East Africa, the magazine for EMEA-based associations. HAP stands for Headquarters Asia-Pacific, the magazine for Asia-Pacific-based associations.
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Readership + International associations organizing international congresses in EMEA and other continents (94%) + Members of ESAE, the European Society of Association Executives (1%) + the EMEA meetings industry PCO’s, AMC’s, members of 1% 5% EFAPCO, IAPCO (5%)
94%
Readership The readers of HAP consists of 3 important groups: + the Asian-Pacific associations organising congresses in the region: 65% + the internationanl associations organizing international congresses: 30% 5% + the Asian-Pacifc meetings industry, international agencies (PCO’s, AMC’s, members of IAPCO): 5% 30% 65%
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