President’s message

Date: 12/09/2023

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Dear AIPC Member,

Traditionally, summertime is a period to take some time off and recharge batteries. This being said: when I talked to many of you at the Annual Conference in Luxembourg at the start of July, it seemed that this year might have been an exception. As Michael Hughes explained while presenting the member survey results: we’re back at record levels.

This becomes also clear when we look at – for example – the importance of events for associations. According to the 2023 Association Benchmarking Report, the number 1 channel of engagement remains conferences/events (91,5% compared to 82% in 2022) and attendance at events remains the most important criterium for assessing member engagement (92% in 2023, compared to 74% in 2022).

The challenge we now have is to make sure we can provide all of our clients with the levels of service they expect. Finding and retaining talent remains a global challenge. That is why it is so important to continue to reach out to schools and universities to explain the benefits of a career in the event industry and more specifically in convention centres, which are becoming experience-centres instead of concrete boxes.

New or restored venues, such as the Sphere in Las Vegas or the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle show the future of convention centres, both in terms of customer experience and sustainability. And it goes beyond technology and architecture. Value charter underpin what the venues stand for and transparent reporting on impact demonstrate the efforts done.

Best practices like these need to be shared on a global level and AIPC is the perfect platform to do so. Next to our “classic” global event, you will see that we will also organize an increasing number of local events with the purpose to increase engagement with our entire global community and to meet specific needs in terms of professional education and networking.

All of this would not be possible without the continuous support of our members and our business partners and I take this opportunity to thank all of you for your trust and for making AIPC the unique and wonderful association it is.

Greg O’Dell
President of AIPC

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