Global challenges and need for Asia Pacific-based incentive, conference and event agencies to deliver regional-specific services and solutions for their clients will be the key theme of the Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP) Conference in Singapore from November 30 to December 2.
In 2014 the MICE sector generated over US$120 billion in economic value for the economies of Asia Pacific, said ICESAP president Nigel Gaunt. He added that about 80 per cent of this was spent by customers within Asia Pacific – “yet there was no peak body for the industry and a Pan Asia Pacific approach urgently needed”.
“In response, ICESAP was established to address the absence of a peak industry association for the benefit of Asia Pacific providing a single voice for the sector and to address regional specific issues and challenges”, said Gaunt.
“Through initiatives such as the Asean Economic Community, the economies of the region are integrating through closer and more cohesive relationships within the broader global economy.
“Bringing together ten markets with a population in excess of 620 million people and total GDP of US$2.6 trillion – MICE-related travel is a key generator of economic wellbeing and prosperity and – as a result – the importance of the sector is going to increase substantially in the future – and practitioners must be ready now.”
Gaunt said a key objective of ICESAP since its inception has been the promotion of Asia Pacific MICE destinations by comparison to non-regional destinations and to lift the awareness of the sector and its strategic value to businesses in comparison to other forms of marketing.
He said the introduction of an ICESAP Agency Accreditation Program at the forthcoming conference in Singapore is seen as a much needed initiative to enhance sustainability and profitability for the long term.
“In addition, the program for the ICESAP conference has been carefully crafted to be a key platform for ICE practitioners to benefit from peer to peer learning, strengthen collective capacities, address challenges, maximise opportunities and connect with their colleagues for deeper knowledge-sharing.
“Attending the ICESAP conference is one of the best things an ICE practitioner or organisation can do future proof themselves professionally as individuals and commercially as businesses within the industry,” he said.
