The PCO Association annual conference hit all the right notes in Canberra recently.
Fresh from news this year by the World Tourism Organisation that the meetings industry has come of age and is now one of the key drivers of development and an important generator of income, employment and investment, delegates at this year’s annual PCO conference had a lot to discuss.
The PCO Association’s Peter Sugg said the conference welcomed the largest contingent of delegates from the New Zealand meetings sector as well as representatives from the AACB, BECA and EEAA. An insightful seminar stream ensured there was plenty of relevant topics to an industry which continues to see great change and plenty of challenges. Much of the conference program examined the relationships and interdependence between venues, transport, delegates, convenors, managers, technologies, governments and clients.
Questions raised asked: how are the expectations of each group changing? And how will we build the next generation of successful meetings and events?
There were plenty of great presentations and seminars. A standout was that of Craig Rispin who describes himself as a business futurist and innovation expert. His expertise is in emerging businesses, people and technology trends – and how companies can profit from them, and his presentation was certainly well received.
A full report on the conference will appear in the February 2015 edition of micenet AUSTRALIA magazine.
To learn more about the Professional Conference Organisers Association visit www.pco.asn.au.