Fifth APCE Congress to Analyze Importance of Positioning Cities for Business growth of Congress Centres

Date of publication: 05/11/2009 – Asociación de Palacios de Congresos de España (APCE)

At the Association of Spanish Congress Centres' annual congress, scheduled to be held at the Congress and Exhibition Centre of Galicia from 17-18 December 2009, the member centres’ different work strategies will be analyzed.

The 7th APCE Congress, bringing together representatives from Spain’s chief congress centres, will be addressing the positive influence that improved positioning of cities in the global market has on generating business for congress centres. In turn, these centres have an important economic impact on the cities in which they are located, contributing to their growth, for which reason it is essential to have a facility of this type.

This matter will be approached from the viewpoint of three cities with congress centres, Lisbon, Oporto and Valencia. Aspects such as infrastructures, transport systems, hotels and services, as well as the brand image projected by promotional agencies, will be analyzed with the aim of stimulating a debate on the need for joint collaboration between congress centres for the common benefit of the cities in which they are located.

During the congress, the APCE DATA tool will be presented. This tool developed by the association for marketers, is a database for analyzing national events held at congress centres.

In the opinion of Jose Salinas, president of the association, APCE DATA is a unique initiative in Spain; an application whose development has been possible thanks to information provided over the years by member centres, which will be a very useful for generating business on a national level.”

Other matters to be discussed at the 7th edition of the congress include environmental regulations, safety at congress centres, and making the most of new communication tools to drum up business.

Speakers will include a variety of professionals, such as the well-known architect Francisco Mangado, responsible for projects like the Congress Centre and Auditorium of Navarra, and marketing experts such as Enrique Dans of the IE Business School, whose keynote addresses will contribute to the multidisciplinary approach characterising this edition of the congress.