ITE HCMC 2015

ITE HCMC 2015 – ONE DECADE MEKONG WORLD

The largest and most established travel event in Vietnam the Mekong is back! The International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC) 2015 is celebrating its 11th anniversary from the 10 – 12 September 2015 at the Saigon Exhibitions & Convention Center (SECC). ITE HCMC exhibition is the best single platform catering to this multi-billion dollar tourism market. The exhibition serves as the leading powerhouse in presenting travel and tourism products, packages and services in the Mekong region and the world.

Being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Vietnam offers strong potential for investments in the travel and tourism industry. The host’s country tourism industry has been growing unprecedentedly over the past few years with rising domestic as well as international tourists. According to a research by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total spending abroad on international travel by the Vietnamese in 2011 is at US$ 3.3 billion, and rose to US$ 3.5 billion in 2012 (according to the Vietnam Tourism Association accounted from foreign tourism promotion agencies). Outbound travel spending is expected to grow by 6.4% per annum until 2022.

Tourism industry has been on a significant trend for Vietnam in the last 20 years. According to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), there were only about 250,000 inbound arrivals in 1990, but in 2011, more than 6 million arrivals were recorded. In 2011, tourism industry has contributed approximately 7 billion USD (5% GDP) along with more than 1.3 million jobs created. It has been forecasted that by 2020, there will be about 11 million inbound arrivals with a total revenue of 18-91 billion USD contributing about 6.5% – 7% of GDP of Vietnam and more than 3 million jobs. Indeed, tourism is an important industry in Vietnam.

More: http://www.itehcmc.com/en/AboutITEHCMC/ShowInformation/

SECC PROMOTE WARDEN TO HEAD OF ASSOCIATION SALES

SECC PROMOTE WARDEN TO HEAD OF ASSOCIATION SALES

October 12, Glasgow: Kathleen Warden has been promoted to Head of Association Sales at the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre (SECC). The move follows the departure of Robin Miller from conference sales and comes as part of a restructure of the sales department as the venue continues to deliver the very best service for new and returning customers.

Warden had several years’ experience working in destination sales, both in the UK and overseas, before joining the SECC in 2000. Her previous roles at thevenue include sales manager in both the UK and international association conference market. Here she has been involved in the SECC’s establishment as one of Europe’s foremost association venues.

“Kathleen was heavily involved in the role out of The Glasgow Model to the sector and has the right strengths of market knowledge and experience,” comments Ben Goedegebuure, Sales Director of the SECC. “As a venue we need to continue to show innovation and we’ve moved the sales team around to make sure we continue to provide exceptional expertise in all the sectors we operate in.’

“Association sales is about working in partnership with customers, and I believe the SECC’s investment in its long term relationships has been key to our success,” comments Warden. “This is an area I’m keen to develop so we can continue to bring in major events to Glasgow.”

PCMA JOINS BUSINESS VISITS & EVENTS PARTNERSHIP

PCMA JOINS BUSINESS VISITS & EVENTS PARTNERSHIP

29th October 2012, Chicago: The ProfessionalConvention Management Association (PCMA) has been approved to join the umbrella body for the UK events industry following last week’s partnership meeting in Glasgow.

The association will become the twentieth member of the Business Visits & Events Partnership, the body that represents the full spectrum of the UK events industry. PCMA has gained worldwide accolade for the quality of its educational and there has been a marked increase in interest from UK meeting and events professionals since the inaugural PCMA Global Corporate Summit was held in Scotland this summer.

Ben Goedegebuure, Sales Director of the SECC and International Board Member for the PCMA commented, “As an association we believe in working in partnerships so joining the BVEP was a natural step to align ourselves with the UK industry. Europe remains a key market and the success of ‘The Glasgow Summit’ only underlined the genuine appetite there is out there for the association.”

The BVEP held its October meeting in Glasgow at the SECC, hosted by both the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Menzies Hotels.

“PCMA has earned a solid reputation for the quality of their education and brings to the table differing international perspective to where the UK industry is right now,” commented Michael Hirst, Chair of the Business Visits & Events Partnership. “It was fitting to have confirmed the association’s membership in Glasgow, where they took their first step into the market.”

The news comes following the PCMA’s partnership agreement to supply education at International Confex next year.

PCMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION RESEARCH UNCOVERS WHAT MATTERS TO MILLENNIAL ATTENDEES

PCMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION RESEARCH UNCOVERS WHAT MATTERS TO MILLENNIAL ATTENDEES
Millennial Meeting Research Reveals Key Factors in
Attracting Young Audience Members

CHICAGO, Illinois, 27th June, 2012 — A new report commissioned by the PCMA Education Foundation delves into meetings, events and conventions from the perspective of the Millennial generation to identify key motivations and challenges in engaging this emerging audience.

‘What the Millennial Generation Prefers in Their Meetings, Conventions and Events’ is based on the findings of the largest survey conducted of its kind. More than 2,000 respondents ages 18 – 30 participated in the study, which was led by a team of hospitality and human sciences experts*.

The findings reveal that face-to-face communication remains the mosteffective method for reaching Millennials. However, the results indicate that planners must part ways with traditional meeting formats to truly engage this demographic.

“It is imperative to discontinue programs of straight lecture or basic PowerPoint presentations to satisfy an emerging generation of attendees,” the research team says. “If you motivate the Millennial with an inspiring and fun event, they will come.”

“We’re seeing a new delegate and a new buyer emerging within our industry and one that has always had access to ‘new’ technologies and the world of hybrid events – we need to listen to them,” comments Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales, SECC.

“What is clearly evident is that this generation believes in meetings, they want career progressing networking and career progression, they want education and entertainment, but they’re not specific on new innovations; only that it adds to the experience and does not become the experience. This is important for our industry and underlines that content will continue to be King for a while yet!”

The report examines how Millennials define “inspiring and fun” and why they choose to attend – or stay home – from meetings and events. By dividing this demographic into further subsets based on age (18 – 20, 21 – 24, and 25 – 30), the research team offers additional insights into internal differences between younger and older Millennials’ expectations, needs and thoughts on technology.

Selected Key Report Takeaways
86% of respondents indicated that career networking is one of the primary drivers for participating in meetings, events and conventions.
93% of respondents want education with entertainment.
86% of respondents want structured meetings and conferences.
More than 50% of respondents do NOT prefer LinkedIn, Twitter or blogs for communication.
Less than 50% of respondents like lectures.

SECC SHOWCASES PROJECT ABILITY AT IMEX 2012

SECC SHOWCASES PROJECT ABILITY AT IMEX 2012

IMEX: 21st May 2012- Frankfurt, Germany: The SECC has partnered with Glasgow based charity Project Ability at IMEX this year as the venue continues its focus on ‘Better Business’ for 2012. The Glasgow based charity, which works with adults with learning disabilities and mental health issues to encourage creativity and expression through art, has been commissioned by the SECC toprovide installations throughout the venue, underlining the venue’s relationship with the local community.

Further supporting VisitScotland’s ‘Year of Creative Scotland 2012’ campaign, the SECC will be showcasing some of the Project Ability imagery at IMEX as part of its commitment to the project and the important work the charity continues to do. The brief that was given to the artists at Project Ability was “What does the SECC mean to you?”

“We pride ourselves in doing business responsibly and better,” comments Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales at the SECC. “The focus on responsible business seems to have been lost in the economic downturn. We believe that supporting good business now, when times are a little harder, underlines our commitment to working responsibly across our operation.

“We continue to support a wide variety of charities such as ‘Trees for Life’, the ‘Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy’ charity and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice,” continues Goedegebuure. “Project Ability provide an amazing service for people with disabilities by using art as a medium to capture and encourage creativity, imagination, and emotion.

“As a venue that plays host to a vast array of creative activity – from conferences, meetings, exhibitions, through to concerts, plays and special events, we want to make sure our space reflects and represents the creativity abundant on our doorstep,” he concludes.