The Incentive Conference and Special Events Society Asia Pacific is in countdown mode as we approach our fourth annual conference taking place September 6-8, at the W Shanghai.
I have been asked to give the top six reasons delegates who have not yet registered for the conference should do so before it is too late.
Well, it’s hard to limit my answer to just six points, but here goes:
- A keynote address on how China’s “Belt & Road” initiative will profoundly impact both inbound and outbound incentive conference and event business in China. Dubbed the “21st Century Silk Road”, it will see China’s connectivity with the rest of the world dramatically improved by rail and maritime links to and from Europe and Central Asia with more than US$100 billion pledged to these projects.
- Every market is looking to China for increased incentive travel, meetings and events-driven group business, but few really seek to understand the Chinese market and what Chinese customers are looking for. ICESAP is running a panel session with top executives from Amway, Lenovo, China Life and Merck, all top tier China customers wanting to tell delegates what it is they want, and how you can secure their future business.
- Google’s Lars Bratsberg is running a session on how Augmented and Virtual Reality is changing the way business events will take brands beyond anything advertising can offer.
- Where is the sustainability movement headed? Alison Taylor from American Airlines, Sam Stephens from Clean the World and Kevin Teng from Marina Bay Sands tackle the Environmental Impact of the Travel, Meetings & Events industry.
- GDPR – Are you ready for the global General Data Protection Regulation regime? How will data privacy laws affect your organisation in Asia Pacific? This hot topic will be tackled by Microsoft’s Geff Brown and a panel of experts telling delegates what they need to know; as they say, ignorance is no excuse!
- Finding out how PCMA’s acquisition of ICESAP will profoundly change the Incentive, Conference & Event industry landscape in Asia Pacific in the next two years.
Nigel Gaunt is the president of ICESAP