AIPC, ICCA and UFI associations launch global alliance for the meetings and exhibition Industry
AIPC, ICCA and UFI associations launch global alliance for the meetings and exhibition Industry
TOHOLOGY, 25 June 2019

Three global associations serving the International Meetings Industry will collaborate more closely in the future: UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry), ICCA (The International Congress and Convention Association), and AIPC (The International Association of Convention Centres) agreed to launch a Global Alliance. Together, they will facilitate collaboration and generate more comprehensive and better aligned benefits for the three associations’ respective members.

“We are all organisations with a global membership and perspective and already complement each other’s activities in various ways,” said Aloysius Arlando, AIPC President. “However, as the business models of exhibitions, congresses, conferences, and other types of business meetings evolve, the overlap of global associations servicing the industry is growing even further.”

“This carries the risk of competition replacing collaboration as the driving force for industry associations. With our Global Alliance, the three of us choose value for our members, choose collaboration over competition,” added Craig Newman, UFI President.

The alliance has agreed to begin a programme of exploring exchange and reciprocity in four primary areas: educational content, research, standards and advocacy. It would implement a flexible framework of collaboration between the three associations in order to achieve these benefits without compromising the focus and platform of each member organisation.

The three partners will begin by engaging in a series of educational exchanges incorporating each other’s knowledge content into their respective conferences and starting to align approaches taken to areas of common practice such as research and advocacy activities, beginning immediately. At the same time they are initiating a regular exchange between their respective leaderships to align interests on issues like standards, terminology and best practices.

“We operate in a world of constant change and by seeking ways to cooperate and share the knowledge bank that our associations hold, we believe there is great scope to identify opportunities for further collaboration for the benefit of all our members globally,” said James Rees, ICCA President.

In addition to the immediate practical outcomes, the partners believe the Alliance also offers potential to enhance the credibility of the industry as a whole by providing a vehicle for development of greater consistency within a mutually agreed industry framework. “Certainly the exchange of content and insights will provide better access for members to additional resources, but there is another factor here which is the opportunity to increase consistency in the areas where we overlap,” said Rod Cameron, Executive Director of AIPC. “This will not only enhance overall industry performance but boost our collective credibility amongst other industry sectors.”

“By creating better integration of our efforts we will be in a position to better leverage everyone’s investment and create greater efficiencies for the use of our member’s time – one of the most valuable resources we all have these days,” said Senthil Gopinath, ICCA CEO.

“This means we can optimize the benefits we can deliver to our respective members while at the same time creating a platform for the efficient delivery of our collective industry proposition into areas where this kind of experience and expertise will be of real help,” added UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf.

In the photo: (from left to right) James Rees, ICCA President; Craig Newman, UFI President; Aloysius Arlando, AIPC President.

READ ALSO

We are already familiar with Holiday Inn Express Amsterdam – Schiphol hotel since our previous inspection made in 2012; so we decided to see what has changed for that time.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021. Of the extra 76 million international arrivals for the first three months, about 47 million were recorded in March, showing that the recovery is gathering pace.

To celebrate its 40th birthday, Protea Hotels by Marriott announced the opening of its first property in Angola while further strengthening its portfolio in South Africa with a new property in Pretoria. The newest additions – Protea by Marriott Luanda and Protea by Marriott Pretoria Hatfield – will offer business and leisure travellers the chance to experience the vibrant local cultures and warm hospitality, along with exceptional accommodation, modern amenities and world-class service.

ICCA World members voted Marta Gomes as the new ICCA President on the opening day of the 61st ICCA Congress in Kraków. Marta – Deputy Executive Director, Sales, Viparis – and a great supporter of everything ICCA stands for in the international events and meetings industry – succeeds James Rees in the role.

COMMENTS
comments powered by HyperComments