by Ilja Pankow, Shanghai
62 participants from 6 of the 8 major cities in India descended on the incredible emerging valley development of Lavasa, 2½ hours north of Mumbai. The organiser of the regional seminar, Supratik Bhattacharyya, CEO of Association Management Initiatives, India, said “This is a milestone event being the first meetings industry training seminar to be held in India. I am delighted with the attendance by representatives from leading PCOs, hoteliers, convention centres, airlines, International Tourism Boards and the press. Such a strong gathering of industry professionals substantiates the fact that this is a great step towards building intellectual capacity within the Indian industry.”
IAPCO President Philippe Fournier, the seminar leader said “I was impressed by the many participants who were so eager to learn about meetings’ and exhibitions’ management from international counterparts. I see a blossoming opportunity for them to guide the structure of the development of the industry here in India; it is in a dynamic state of growth right now. It was fascinating to learn first hand about the culture and traditions and how this impacts so differently on the way in which conferences are managed.”
Roslyn McLeod was most impressed with the Davos-like development that is springing to life in time to host the 2012 G20 Summit in Lavasa. The resort-like development is designed to resemble Porto Fino in Genoa Italy around a lake. The hundred thousand acre site will house seven such villages and is a greenfield site. McLeod said “It is intriguing to see this amazing creation in its embryonic form and realise it will be completed in 18 months to look as if it has been here for years.”
The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) was founded in 1968, is registered in Switzerland and represents today more than 100 professional organisers, meeting planners and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events from 35 countries. IAPCO members organise in excess of 5000 meetings annually, totalling some 1.9 million delegates and representing an economic impact in the region of 3.1 billion euros.
IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry. Today IAPCO membership offers a unique quality assurance, since entry into membership of IAPCO is by meeting strict criteria and by continuous quality assessment.
The high quality standards are secured by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. The ‘Wolfsberg’ seminar and the Annual Meeting and General Assembly of its members are the highlight events of IAPCO.
