The IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organizers) Regional Seminar 2011 on Professional Congress Organization will be held in Macau from 22-24 March. This is the third consecutive year the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is hosting this prestigious Seminar. The 3-day event will be run in the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel. The objective is to provide an educational opportunity for people in the business tourism industry to further develop their customer service and event planning skills and features internationally renowned guest speakers who are experts in the congress industry. This is the first regional seminar that IAPCO is operating for the professional congress organizers (PCOs) in the Asia Pacific in 2011. Mr. Philippe Fournier, President of IAPCO, believes conferences play a crucial role for the development of our society. He said “meeting is important for professional development; it allows practitioners to refresh their skills and keep abreast of new tools and methodologies; it provides an opportunity to network with others in the discipline; it helps to elevate your company's profile in the community; it is cheaper than anything else in terms of communication.” The first two days of the seminar will cover basic organization of an international event, whilst the third day will be dedicated to an in-depth seminar on Promoting a Destination and Risk Management. The Director of MGTO, Engineer Mr. João Manuel Costa Antunes, said that the seminar offers an opportunity to industry professionals from throughout the Asia Pacific. “With the enthusiastic support of IAPCO, we have no doubt that the Seminar will provide a substantial amount of practical information for you. A variety of sessions led by experts in the field of congress organization will help you achieve a successful career in the PCO field. This comprehensive training program is at the same time a great opportunity for social networking, which this makes the Seminar an event not to be missed,” he further added. The speakers include Mr. Philippe Fournier, President of IAPCO and managing director of MCI Paris (France), Ms. Jan Tonkin, also Council Member of IAPCO and managing director of The Conference Company (New Zealand), and Ms Sarah Storie-Pugh, Administrator of IAPCO and ambassador of Congrex-UK (United Kingdom). Since the first IAPCO seminar in 1975, IAPCO has built up an unequalled reputation in the field of international meetings management training. Over 3,100 participants worldwide, including at least 160 in Macau have since obtained an IAPCO Seminar Certificate of Attendance. The IAPCO annual “Wolfsberg Seminar” is a much touted industry educational event, however with Macau hosting the regional seminar, many more MICE professionals in Asia will have the opportunity to tap into the collective expertise and experience of the speakers. The registration fee for the 3-day workshop is MOP2,000 for the first delegate of a Macau entity and USD250 for a non-Macau entity, while the second (and beyond) will pay a special rate of MOP1,000 for a Macau entity and USD125 for a non-Macau entity.
