Over 100 of the world’s top conference organisers arrive in Dublin this week to attend the annual meeting of the IAPCO (International Association of Professional Conference Organisers).
The conference takes place from 14th to 17th February and this will be the first time in over 30 years that the event has been held in Ireland. This elite group collectively manage conferences for 1.2 million delegates annually and contribute €1.4 billion to business tourism worldwide.
Dublin’s bid to host the elite group was a collaborative effort from three of Ireland’s top conference companies (Conference Partners, Keynote PCO and MCI Group) along with funding support from Fáilte Ireland.
Speaking in advance of the conference, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar said – “It’s a great coup for Dublin to secure this conference. There’s now good evidence that the Government’s plans to attract high-profile conferences to Ireland are working. Total conferences for 2013 secured to date will bring in more than 57,000 people, worth €72 million to the economy. Fáilte Ireland has been actively involved in securing a very large number of these conferences through its financial and practical support schemes, and we can expect further good news in the future.
“The delegates at the IAPCO conference will have a busy few days with a full itinerary showcasing all that we have offer. I hope to welcome some of their clients’ conferences to our shores in 2014 and beyond.”
Fáilte Ireland’s business tourism strategy, through its dedicated conference ambassador programme, has identified 400 ambassadors who are now in the process of bidding for or have bid to bring an international conference to these shores. If all this potential is realised these conferences will attract nearly 280,000 international delegates with estimated potential revenue €359m.
Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of focussing on and further promoting this lucrative sector –
“Worth up to €500m to the Irish economy, business tourism is lucrative for Ireland. So important is this sector, Fáilte Ireland has now built a comprehensive team of conference ambassadors and is supporting them in bringing top international events to Ireland.
“The arrival this week of these top international conference organisers – the result of close teamwork between our public sector agency and the top private sector conference organisers in Ireland – is testimony to what can be achieved in this country when we work smarter and work together.”
Taking place in the Westbury Hotel, the three day conference is themed ‘Riding the winds of change – new strategies for Professional Conference Organisers’ and will explore the changing role of the professional conference organiser. Speakers include Dr Maureen Gaffney, Business Consultant and Clinical Psychologist and David Kelly, Marketing and Sales Director at Aer Lingus.
Conference organiser Nicola McGrane, Managing Director of Conference Partners, further highlighted how timely the conference theme is as their job is changing. Stressing why this conference aims to provide real solutions for professional conference organisers in the today’s marketplace, she pointed out –
“There will always be the need for working with clients on a one-off basis, but the future role of conference organisers is without question about growing longer-term relationships.
