ASSOCIATIONS

46th ICCA Congress & Exhibition in Thailand expects record attendance
30/7/2007
The 46th ICCA Congress & Exhibition incorporating the ICCA General Assembly expects to see a record attendance of at least 700 delegates from 60 countries.
Currently (on 27 July) 326 delegates from 41 countries spread over all continents have already registered for the upcoming ICCA Congress, which is way ahead of all previous years.
Mr. Martin Sirk (ICCA CEO): "Last year, we enjoyed a record attendance of more than 820 delegates, representing an increase of 25% over 2005, and given the fact that last year's ICCA Congress took place in Europe where most of our members are based, it is unrealistic to assume we will hit this figure this year. Having said that, I am very confident we will achieve our second highest attendance figure of all time, and it will be a record attendance for congresses held outside Europe."
The 46th ICCA Congress & Exhibition incorporating the ICCA General Assembly will be held in Pattaya, Thailand from October 27 to 31.
Business
ICCA's success over four decades has been built on the principle of members exchanging commercial information with one another about recently hosted events. The ICCA Congress provides business opportunities for all delegates throughout the event programme.
More and more delegates are signing up for this Business Exchange option at the Congress, which allows them to return to their offices with literally dozens of potential business leads, or new and invaluable information about specific events which they are already in the process of trying to win for their company or destination. The new generation of the Spotme handheld electronic networking tool will be used throughout the event to assist delegates to identify and meet up with colleagues who hold information on events they are interested in.
Networking
Ask any delegate to an ICCA Congress about what makes it unique, and the most common answer is sure to be that ICCA delivers high level delegates (two thirds are CEO s, company owners, or senior level directors) and a truly global audience (in 2006 we had delegates from over 60 countries). As was the case for the 2006 Congress, this year s event will take place in a self contained convention resort property with all bedroom accommodation on site. For the duration of the five-day congress, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, which encompasses four hotels and the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), will be dedicated to the event and Royal Cliff will be transformed into ICCA City . With everything under one roof, the networking can take place around the clock.
ICCA has invested heavily in technology (the new generation Spotme device), so that each delegate will find it easy to identify and get in touch with every attendee they wish to communicate with, and has continued the innovative Delegate Handbook which publishes delegates photos in advance of the congress, enabling easier recognition and providing an excellent long-term resource for taking back to the office.
Education
This year s education programme promises to be the strongest ICCA has ever put together. The speakers will be a mix of experienced ICCA members, clients from both corporate and association meetings segments, and experts from outside the meetings industry whose advice on sales, marketing and leadership issues will give delegates unique, new perspectives on their personal business challenges. Sector-specific topics will run alongside general meetings industry topics, and will include a mixture of presentations, workshops, and discussion forums.
ICCA s education programme will as always offer global perspectives, with top level speakers drawn from all regions of the world. And since two-thirds of our delegates are traditionally CEO s, company owners, and senior directors, there will be a strong emphasis on strategic issues and the future direction of our industry. For the middle managers who participate there will also be a great line-up of sessions focusing on sales and marketing issues, the highlight of which will probably be the ICCA Best Marketing Award plenary session, where three exceptional case studies will be presented.