ICCA Congress Daily Shanghai 2013 - 1

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ICCA DAILY IN SHANGHAI 1

ICCA’s features grow more Asian as power base shifts east

Millionaires at last - ICCA breaks all records

Congrex doubts persist

The record attendance in Shanghai for a non-European assembly reflects the changing face of ICCA membership and soon a quarter of members will Asia-based, if current trends continue, according to President Arnaldo Nardone. He told delegates: “This is a good time to be meeting in Asia. Within a few years, based on current trends, a quarter of ICCA members will be based in this region. China is our very fastest growing national membership, but we are seeing growth everywhere across this region, from New Zealand to India. “This year we have relocated our Asia Pacific office to significantly larger premises in Kuala Lumpur, and expanded to nine personnel. A few years ago this was just a small, representative office with only two staff. Now, it is truly

The association’s reserves topped Euros 1 million for the first time this year after a higher-than-expected surplus of Euros 70,000 against a budget of just Euros 11,000.With membership growth steady at 3 per cent annually, a near record 102 new members were recruited in the past year with attrition at 8 per cent. The result is 943 members – up from 917 – and financial reserves stand at Euros 1,009,486.

another global centre for our work. “China is powering growth across the whole Asia Pacific region. One of the most important reasons for meeting here in Shanghai is to gain an understanding of what this means.”

He added that even in the most dynamic markets, competition is getting stronger, so it is vital for all ICCA members to keep learning and developing skills, to find new ways to take advantage of business opportunity.

The fate of professional conference organiser Congrex Group was occupying minds yesterday as rumours circulated that another subsidiary was on the brink of a management buyout, understood to be the executive team at Congrex Switzerland.Congrex Sweden and Congrex Holding have filed for bankruptcy. Congrex UK was taken over by its managers.

CEO Martin Sirk said: “Our total financial reserves stand at just over one million Euros. Each year the board ensures that our target range for reserves is adequate to cover anticipated risks and long-term financial commitments. “We are now in the upper half of this target range, which will enable us to make future strategic investments when opportunities arise, that the reserves are currently at a sensible and prudent level.”

Join the fan club:Shanghai makes new

friends with thrilling opening ceremony

as deaf and blind performers give

delegates sense of wonder.

2 ICCA DAILY IN SHANGHAI

where everyday means business events

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Business TravelsMeetings Conventions Exhibitions

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52nd ICCA Daily - Jakarta CVB.pdf 1 10/09/2013 13:26:08


Former president Pieter van der Hoeven was named one of only nine honourary members of ICCA at the general assembly yesterday, as he prepares to step into retirement and close down his consultancy business.

He received a standing ovation from his friends and colleagues and will be giving a short speech during the closing session on Wednesday.

It was standing room only yesterday as almost 1,000 delegates filed into Ballroom 1 for the opening ceremony of ICCA’s 52nd annual congress in Shanghai.A swarm of press photographers hugged the stage as various leaders from China’s burgeoning tourism and meetings industry stood at the podium to address the audience.Du Yili, vice chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, said China’s meeting industry was highly valued

and entering a ‘new period of development’.And she was eager to forge links with the international industry: between the Chinese tourism.“This congress marks a new starting point of cooperation. There were six million business tourists to China last year – enough, she said, to make the government turn the MICE industry into one of the main ‘pillars of tourism’. industry and ICCA.”

ICCA president Arnaldo Nardone said: “All of us are curious to learn more and engage

more with China, to better understand the great changes that are happening in your country.” He added: “But it’s not just about what we want to take away from China. We want to leave a legacy that will support Chinese meetings professionals for years to come.”The ceremony drew to a close with tear-jerking performances from a blind children’s choir and a group of deaf dancers who followed hand-signals from ‘conductors’ on stage and in the audience.

ICCA honours van der Hoeven

Fan-tastic opening show with music and dance

Learning from Puerto Rico Shanghai scores as delegate numbers soar

ICCA president Arnaldo Nardone said: “I can’t let this moment pass without paying tribute to him. Pieter has been involved with ICCA since the Adelaide Convention Centre became a member in 1986. It took him a few years to decide to take a leading role, being elected to the board in 1993, and just 12 months later he became President until 1998, remaining on the Board until 2002. In 1998 he became the first recipient of the

Consultants were hired to ensure ICCA’s first congress in China runs smoothly after members raised complaints about last year’s meeting in Puerto Rico.James Rees, co-chair of ICCA’s venue sector, said there were a number of ‘shortfalls’ at the 51st Congress relating to food and beverage and the audio-visual set up.He said: “The board of directors were really tough on Martin (Sirk) and wanted to know how we could make sure it didn’t happen again.”Rees said ICCA had recruited five consultants with local knowledge to help this year’s meeting run more efficiently and, if successful, this would be rolled out as a ‘template of best practice’.

Record numbers of delegates are expected at this year’s ICCA Congress in Shanghai, set to be the largest yet outside of Europe.More than 900 attendees have been registered, far outstripping the previous high for a non-European congress, 814 in Thailand in 2007.Around a third of those registered are at their first ICCA Congress, and that reflects the geography of this year’s event, said CEO Martin Sirk.Speaking to ICCA Daily at Saturday’s board of directors welcome drinks for first time attendees, he added: “It’s one thing to read about China, and

totally different to see the reality. .He added: “If you are engaged in a globally-connected business you need to understand how China is shaping and driving our industry.“People who are here for the first time have been blown away with what they are seeing.“With walk-ins, there are 940 registered so far, that has been so pleasing, as is the way that the venue is collaborating with us. It has gone out of its way.”ICCA President Arnaldo Nardone said the educational content also reflected China’s growing global economy.

He said: “Our congress in Shanghai provides the perfect opportunity to our members to learn how to communicate and work with Chinese consumers, Chinese delegates, Chinese business partners or Chinese competitors.”As well as sessions at the Shanghai International Convention Centre, the congress programme also includes visits to the Shanghai World Expo and the research and development facility of engineering company, SKF. Martin Sirk added: “We’ve incorporated innovative formats than ever, and topics designed to shake up traditional thinking.”

There were memorable moments at the opening ceremony


Istanbul now back on track after summer of protests,reports local PCO

What’s in a name when seeking new revenue?Convention centres should pursue local partnerships instead of big name brands to boost their bottom line with naming rights, delegates were told yesterday.As sport and music venues such as the 02 Arena generate additional revenue through naming rights, there is a drive for convention centres to follow suit, the session heard.James Rees, executive director of conferences and events at ExCeL London revealed the venue is set to name its first partner today (Monday), while Stefan Lohnert, director of guest events of the ICS International Congress centre in Stuttgart admitted 100 attempts to find an overall naming rights partner had drawn a blank.

“Now things have calmed down, the level of business is back where it was beforehand. I think that is something about the Turkish people, we are laid back and can help you forget what has happened in the past, quickly.”Next year, Kenes Turkey will organise the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Congress and the World Stroke Congress in Istanbul, plus the ICCA Congress in Antalya.Ege added: “I was surprised. When we were bidding, I expected some doubts from the committees, but they were not worried at all.”Ege told Sunday’s session, Terrified clients in an unsafe world?, that the key to calming fears was clear and sincere communication and a smile.

Association business fell by up to 30 per cent in Istanbul in the wake of the Gezi Park protests this year.Clashes between police and protesters in the park and nearby Taksim Square continued for a month in the summer and, according to PCO Sebnem Ege,

project manager at Kenes Turkey, the number of congresses slumped by between 20 and 30 per cent.“It had a very dramatic effect,” she said. “But despite a number of events being cancelled there was still one mega congress of 6,000 delegates.


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Workshops big business for destinations

Outlook for centres ‘not too gloomy’, says survey

Talking heads: Steen Jackobsen, Dubai Convention Bureau, and Ulrike von Arnold, Vienna Convention Bureau, reckon meetings can be a colour battleground for ideas

carried out by Association Meetings International (AMI) magazine. The survey responded to a growing feeling in the industry that associations were migrating from convention centres to hotels, perhaps because their meetings were getting smaller.However, the AMI survey

Berlin will host ICCA’s major international client/suppliers workshop next year when paying suppliers get to meet buying customers face to face. No wonder Heike Mahmoud of visitBerlin jumped at the chance to make a full-scale presentation of the city’s history, tourism attributes and accessibility Perhaps the idea was to demonstrate to the many first timers - the marketing sector alone has 92 members from 50 countries - how to sell a destination, complete with slick video and new venue announcements.The supplier/client workshops are becoming strong self-contained features of the sector’s entire operation with specialisations such as ‘small’ and ‘European’ associations being targeted.

Convention centres should tackle delegate transport costs if they want to deter international associations from choosing hotels for their meetings, a survey has suggested.Transport costs, location, and ease of access were cited as the main benefits of meeting in a hotel in a readers’ survey

showed an almost 50-50 split, amongst those who responded, between those who used hotels and those who preferred to convene in purpose-built centres.Furthermore, the vast majority of respondees (86.9 per cent) said their meetings were either getting bigger (42.8 per cent) or staying the same size.


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Give us digital coherence, say organisers

How to do business with China PICTURE CALLED MARCUS LEE

These days every congress should have a coherent digital presence declares the World PCO Alliance.Per Ankaer, the Danish President of WPCOA says: “It is no longer enough to have a Facebook or Twitter account for conferences. It is important to look at the whole picture and create an online media strategy with set goals for target groups and the measurement of results.”Together with an online and digital consulting company - Seismonaut - WPCOA has developed new standards for the use of social media in connection with congresses.The purpose is to ensure an optimal marketing mix, to enhance the access to information, to feed news, to create networks and to share knowledge before, during and after the congress.

In a breath-taking, rapid-fire presentation, Dr Marcus Lee, chairman of the International China Investment Forum and economic adviser to the Chinese government, described just how to get Chinese meetings business.Chinese networking was typically drinks before dinner and Chinese delegations wanted to go shopping on fam trips.

“Chinese meeting planners spend only 15 per cent of their time looking at hotels and 85 per cent in business meetings with local leaders,” he said.China invests all over the world, in real estate, transport and energy. Investment used to be in commodities but now it is more services. And by 2015, it is estimated, there will be 100

million Chinese travelling abroad. Dr Lee was addressing The Story of China session yesterday afternoon, following an equally impressive presentation by Prof. Lan Xing of Shanghai University, who said China’s meetings industry was in a transition period. He described the historical background and the communist regime, with self reliance evolving into planned recovery. Shanghai was once a small fishing village at the mouth of the Yangze river forced by the British to become a commercial port pen to the world. Now it was the largest city in China, an economic, trade, financial and shipping centre and a unique blend of western and eastern cultures.



“I think it’s a very creative conference and will be very useful for us. We are looking at new markets to make Macau more comprehensive as a destination. The association market has huge potential for us and I want to get to know more about ICCA as an organisation.”Augustus Leung

Senior sales manager - tradeshow, Sands China, Macau

An estimated 300 first-time attendees at this year’s ICCA Congress will make up around a third of the total number

of delegates in Shanghai.

The association’s new members and ICCA debutantes were given a warm welcome during Saturday’s introduction

programme which included tips from Meetology Group CEO Jonathan Bradshaw on how to get the most from their

first congress, discussion groups and a networking welcome reception.

Trevor McCartney, director of business development at the Qatar National Convention Centre, was among the

‘mentors’ welcoming the first-time attendees.

He said: “Because we are in China, we are getting a great participation level from other Asian destinations using the

opportunity because it is right on their doorsteps.It’s good that they are getting an introduction to ICCA in this way.”

We asked some first-timers for their expectations this week:

“We want to find out if ICCA is the right platform to reach organisers. We provide simultaneous interpreting services and hopefully this will help us understand the

needs of the industry. We’ve found ICCA a very welcoming institution.”Paula Hiltunen

Director, Eurosis

“As a DMC, we want to know more about how to attract future congresses and what we can do to promote ourselves.”

Paulius Janciauskas

The Micecream DMC, Latvia

“We get to share our business views with other centres, are we sharing the same frustrations and seeing the same trends?”Neil Nagooroo

Sales and marketing manager, Sandton Convention Centre

“We are here to meet new people and make new connections.” Tatiana Zabolotskikh

Senior project manager, Tsar Events DMC and PCO

“It’s easier for us to attend as it is in China and we want to send more people in the coming years. We want to make an alliance with other cities so we can work together.”Jeong-Suk Jeong

Director – convention marketing

Gwangju Convention & Visitors Bureau

“We wanted a platform to meet professional conference organisers and convention bureaux. You can see everyone wants to mingle, nobody is forming groups, they

have come to meet people, it’s refreshing to see. If I can come away with 10-20 solid new contacts, it will be a good week.”

Jeff Karlson

Group vice president, Passkey

Shanghai welcomes ICCA ‘virgins’

Melbourne wins ten major association eventsMelbourne Convention Bureau has won 10 major international conferences, generating an estimated AU$55 million for the Victorian economy.

The state’s priority sectors are medicine, science and the environment, technology and engineering, and business and education. Melbourne will host more than 10,500 delegates as Childhood Trauma: Understanding the Basis of Change (August 2014); International Feng Shui Convention (November 2014); ACM International Conference on Management of Data (May 2015); Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis (June 2015); 69th Annual Assembly and International Conference of the International Institute of Welding (July 2016); International Biotechnology Symposium (October 2016); Annual World Conference on Carbon (July 2017); International Union of Phlebology XVIII World Meeting (October 2017); World Congress on Intensive and Critical Care Medicine (September/October 2019) and World Engineers’ Convention (November 2019) are hosted in Melbourne. Eight of the 10 conferences will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Karen Bolinger, (above) CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), said: “Winning events in these sectors exposes our scientists and industry leaders to international best practice, boosts the skills and experience of our local workforce, and increases access for Victorian industries to international markets.

“The competition to attract these international conferences from Australia and countries across the globe is fierce, so it is essential that MCB takes a strategic approach to win them. And it’s fantastic to see it all pay off.”


Bids please! Join the silent auction

Share your memories on the ICCA50 Wall

ICCA 51st Anniversary Specials

Find valuable association business in ICCA Data

Just crazy for CAT Night

This year’s auction prizes have been donated by

generous companies from all over the world, and will be on display at the Silent Auction stand, on the fifth floor, throughout Congress. A guide with a detailed explanation of all the prizes is also available on the SpotMe App.

The ICCA Silent Auction isrun in support of the ICCA Education Fund, previously known as the Ernst Stock Fund, which was establishedin 1992 to create more educational opportunities for young people working inthe international meetings industry and help raise professional standards. The

Check out the “ICCA50 Wall” on the third floor,

where you can read up on ICCA’s 50-year history and share your ICCA memories

and predictions for the future!Use the Memories.pdf postcard , illustratored above, with old ICCA Congress logos, to add your thoughts.

Let us take you on an imaginary journey from Shanghai to Beijing, to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the Bird’s Nest and the Great Wall! The grandiose Shanghai Exhibition Center, built in the 1950s as the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building, will be the setting for CAT Night – the famous extravaganza of competitive craziness between chapters - and the perfect setting for relaxing, having and fun networking. Enjoy Pecking Duck and other Beijing specialities. Be amazed by cultural and gymnastic performances. Oh, and get ready to hit the dance floor! Dresscode: Casual.

ICCA’s 50th anniversary year may be coming to an

end, but we’ve created some great advertising deals to keep the celebrations going throughout 2014 - and to say “thank-you” to our regular supporters. Prices on our most popular advertising packages have been increased by only one Euro (yes, €1!). More association clients than ever will receive mailings of printed publications, and online pages will be even more strongly promoted to boost visits and views.

Many ICCA publications and online pages have strictly limited advertising space and regularly sell out. As all space will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, please place your orders as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Check out the value of the special deals available if you purchase combinations of print and online advertising. Contact Sebastian Sew for more details.

The Introductory ICCA Data Workshops provide a

general introduction to ICCA’s unique online Association Database including the Hot Leads, Key Contacts, Calendar and other services which ICCA offers. You will learn how to use these research tools through in-depth demonstrations and case studies. Computers will be available for a hands-on session!

Location: 3C+3D, Level 3Dates: Monday 4 November, 11.00-12.30Tuesday 5 November,11.00-12.30Wednesday 6 November, 10.30-12.30(with coffee/tea break)

Besides this traditional format, we encourage all delegates to book advanced one-on-one workshop meetings with one of the three researchers present at the Congress. You can contact them via the SpotMe app or sign up in workshop rooms 3C+3D, Level 3!

Obtain practical solutions for your most important research challenges and get advice on your individual needs. Running constantly throughout the three main education programme days of the Congress, delegates will have the opportunity to book 30-minute one-on-one appointments with Kavitha, Naimah or Marco.

Use the SpotMe app or sign up in workshop rooms 3C+3D, Level 3!

Share your ICCA Congress memories!

Post your card to the ICCA 50 wall on Level 3 of the SHICC

fund also supports the Forums for Young Professionals, held at industry trade shows EIBTM and AIME.

Bids for each item are anonymous and the highest bid received by Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 15:45 local time will win the prize. Winners will be notified via their SpotMe App and can collect and pay for the prize(s) at the Silent Auction desk.


Thank you to all volunteers and special sponsor TTG Asia Media!

You have probably already met some of our 100

volunteers. They are here to point you in the right direction and answer your questions. These volunteers have been drawn from two local Shanghai

universities which have connections to ICCA memberrecommendations for local restaurants and bars, or any companies plus some juniorstaff from ICCA member companies from Shanghai.

Please do not hesitate to ask them for any guidance, other local tourist information. We would like to express a special thank you to TTG Asia Media for sponsoring the volunteer staff uniforms and the local area map.

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P U B L I C A T I O N S

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FOR PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE EMAIL [email protected] OR TELEPHONE +44 (0)1342 306706

Untitled-2 1 02/11/2013 07:40:30


Association meetings ‘doubling every ten years’,

Never mind the jet-lag –just smile!

Kuala Lumpur team lifts public relations prize

The number of international association meetings has increased by 100 per cent in the last ten years and has been growing at roughly the same rate since the 1960s, according to new statistics.

From 1963-1967 there were 1,795 internationally-rotating association meetings logged by ICCA.

Between 2008-2012, that number had grown to a healthy 54,844.

ICCA has released the statistics to coincide with the publication of a 70-page document called A Modern

Delegates were forced to look on the bright side of life, whether they liked it or not, when an afternoon session concluded with a life-affirming sing song.The closing scene of Monty Python’s Life of Brian was resurrected when effervescent moderator Roy Sheppard led members in a rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.In a highly entertaining session, How to be Upbeat in a Downbeat World, Sheppard managed to sound convincing when he said being happy was simply a choice we make.“Make being upbeat part of your daily routine”, he said, noting the amount of time people devoted to their physical fitness compared to their mental wellbeing.He urged delegates to ‘train’ the voices in their heads that planted seeds of doubt, likening the contents of most people’s minds to a garden that needed weeding. “Did you have a teacher at school who said you couldn’t sing, and all these years later the voice in your head still reminds you?” he asked.“Just remember these are just thoughts, opinions, not fact.”

These were Amsterdam RAI, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Seoul Tourism Organisation and Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau. The finalists and the winner will receive worldwide acknowledgement and profiling via ICCA and IMR, and have the opportunity give a short presentation on their PR strategy and campaigns in a dedicated Media and PR session.

The judging was undertaken by IMR editors and ICCA’s PR staff by evaluating the PR coverage of ICCA members over the course of the whole year. They have been looking out for strong story-telling, for high-visibility coverage, for brand consistency, for crisis PR and PR that showcases

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s public relations team was named winners, of the first ICCA Best PR Award yesterday at the ICCA Congress in Shanghai.

They outscored their rivals on “consistent creativity” but also collected points for the “hard-nosed” way they evaluated results and proved return on investment.

The award was presented by Martin Lewis, chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board of International Meetings Review (IMR), the sponsor of the award, and he spoke of the quality of the remaining four short-listed entries when he said: “The decision-making was not easy because all five of these organisations know how to use public relations in a professional and creative way.”

success, covering both traditional print and web/social media channels.

ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: “Our aim is to help ICCA members gain the best possible editorial coverage. We are sure that our partnership with IMR on this new award and the PR tools that we offer to our members will help to dramatically improve ICCA members’ PR performance.”

The judging panel consists of Martin Lewis, chairman of International Meetings Review’s Editorial Advisory Board and managing editor of CAT Publications, James Latham, Executive Producer of International Meetings Review, Roger Kellerman of Meetings International and Mathijs Vleeming, manager marketing & PR of ICCA.

History of Association Meetings, to mark its own 50-year anniversary.

The association cited the need to spread knowledge and showcase innovations as the main drivers behind the exponential growth, which showed no let up during the recent global financial crisis.

CEO Martin Sirk said: “Half a century is a long period over which to collect detailed and consistent information on any subject, and in the world of international meetings, where most countries are still struggling to obtain even a

partial picture of the currentsize and impact of this complex and fragmented industry, it represents a monumental achievement.”

He added: “Now that we have 50 years of data to study and consider, the figures are showing what we have long believed: that our world is undergoing a truly revolutionary period in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge and innovation, and that association meetings provide an excellent insight into this dynamic, worldwide process.”

Roy Sheppard delivered an upbeat address

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre PR team collect their award from Martin Sirk

Documents

ICCA Congress Daily Shanghai 2013 - 1