Ireland's Business Tourism Sector Gets A Boost

The Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers (AIPCO) is proud to announce that it has been accepted as a member of the prestigious European Federation of Associations of Professional Congress Organisers (EFAPCO). This is a major accolade for our association and recognises the work done over the past decade since our inception in 1999.

Established in 2004 from national associations around Europe, EFAPCO is a non-profit institution based in Brussels and aims to promote the meetings sector within the European Union and garner greater political and economic recognition for this vital sector.

With the association giving the PCO sector a united voice in lobbying for recognition of its importance to business tourism within Europe, joining the best congress organisers in the world will in turn benefit Ireland in getting our interests onto the international communities’ agenda.

Along with the Irish government’s decision to increase the financing for business tourism in this year’s budget and the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) coming on board in 2011, this co-ordinated effort between all parties is a sure sign of Irelands increasing willingness and capability to become a leader in the field.

Ms Nicola McGrane, newly appointed chairperson of the AIPCO executive board, said ‘I am delighted that AIPCO has been accepted as a member of EFAPCO. Sharing our experiences and knowledge with other Professional Conference Organisers in Europe can only be of benefit to our associations. Sitting around the EFAPCO table offers Ireland an opportunity to promote our country as a serious contender in the International Association Conference business. As a collective group, we are delivering a large number of International Conferences to Ireland and will continue this approach for 2010, translating conferences into revenue for our economy.’

Ireland’s growing reputation as a meetings venue can only be enhanced through this new partnership and it continues our associations’ goal of establishing links with other organisations concerned with international meetings held in Ireland or abroad. Some of the benefits for our association joining EFAPCO include:

. Allowing the organisation, along with its partners, to commonly promote Europe as a destination of choice.
. Making new contacts within the European meeting industry, allowing knowledge-sharing that will ultimately benefit our association.
. Keeping abreast of the economic and political changes within the European business and tourism industry, allowing us to keep ahead of the curve and plan accordingly.
. Accessing the latest technologies and industry standards.
. Increased ability to shape the future of the meeting and events industry throughout Europe.

These two organisations have the same dedication to quality and the aim of promoting the PCO sector in the European Union. Over the coming years EFAPCO hopes to raise, standardise and maintain best practices right across Europe in the sector and AIPCO plans to be at the forefront of these developments.

Within this framework AIPCO will continually promote Ireland’s business tourism interests within the European Union and we believe this partnership can provide a boost to Ireland’s professional conference sector in terms of both conferences won and Ireland as a brand within the international community.

For More Information:
Marina Finn
AIPCO Secretary
Ph: +353 1 648 6100 
W: www.aipco.ie