Strategic Agenda Drives Record Attendance at AIPC

A conference program focused on developing strategies to address key challenges for today’s convention centres has resulted in what is projected to be the most broadly attended Annual Conference in AIPC history. Close to 100 centres from countries all over the world are expected to attend, which represents a record achievement for the Annual Conference and a highly representative cross-section of the industry world-wide.

“These are challenging times for convention centres with many of us caught between the escalating expectations of our clients and the economic concerns of our owners, many of whom have been heavily impacted by the recent global financial crisis”, said AIPC President Edgar Hirt. “In this kind of situation, our members are looking for hard information that will help them make key decisions, along with the opportunity to consider strategic alternatives in concert with their colleagues. We have designed this year’s entire conference program around these needs and the reaction from our members suggests we are on the right track.”

The program has been organized around the theme “Development, Start to Finish”, as while it is this area more than any other that puts all aspects of planning, design, operations, government relations, economics and major project management into a sharp focus it is at the same time one where fewer centre managers have complete and current knowledge. “While facility development may seem like only a periodic requirement in our business, surveys show that if we combine those members who are in the process of a development or have recently completed one with those who expect they will need to carry out a major project within the next 3-5 years, we are looking at the vast majority. This is clearly an area of major preoccupation for centre managers and therefore a perfect opportunity to achieve the kind of knowledge transfer that addresses AIPC’s mission”.

Sessions will cover everything from keynotes on how macro-economics are impacting government finances and the application of innovation techniques to problem solving by noted economic and globalization commentators Will Hutton and Hamish McRae to very practical topics such as design development, government relations, feasibility studies, economic measurement and major project management. The program will be driven by a recently completed assessment by industry analyst and research expert Michael Hughes of centre managers’ expectations for future needs which will be used to shape the specific topic areas to be addressed.

“We believe this will be something of a landmark approach, and we are delighted to be holding the event in a facility and a destination that exemplify re-invention”, said Hirt. “As a highly attractive and historic city, Liverpool is not only a great backdrop for our delegates but a fine example of how a new state-of-the-art centre can redefine business opportunities for a destination. We expect to find ample illustrations of the principles we will be pursuing in the conference program also reflected in our immediate surroundings”.