PCO meeting to boost NZ’s
international profile

The appeal of New Zealand as a destination and some strong promotion by The Conference Company will result in more delegates than first expected attending a high powered international meeting of professional conference organisers next month.

The International Association of Professional Congress Organizers is holding its annual meeting and general assembly in Auckland mid-February, with a council meeting and pre-conference touring in Queenstown.

The meeting is open only to the group’s approximately 90 members. Initially 35 people in total were expected to sign up for the New Zealand event, but the attendance has grown to more than 40 members plus a number of partners.

‘At IAPCO’s last meeting in Seville we did a promotion with a desk top calendar and also a bit of a ‘song and dance’ on stage. The website was up early and we added the Queenstown pre-tour, which has proven popular. That has all helped boost the numbers, along with the popularity of New Zealand,’ says Jan Tonkin, of The Conference Company (the only IAPCO member in New Zealand).

While the attendance number itself is not dramatic, the nature of the meeting is likely to have a positive spin-off for New Zealand. While the main focus is on Queenstown and Auckland, a number of delegates are staying on and seeing other parts of the country.

‘With the exception of the Australians, the delegates have no awareness of this country (as a conference destination). A number of them are core PCOs who work with associations no matter where they go in the world and have input into their decisions. This applies not only to the associations’ conferences, but also their executive meetings and other aspects of their operations.’

Tonkin says IAPCO is ‘all about learning from one another’.

The venue is The Westin Auckland, Lighter Quay and plenary session topics include which governments are doing what for the meetings industry, green meetings and their impact on the PCO, future trends in corporate meetings and the evolution of medical meetings.