The 11th APCE congress addressed the key factors affecting Spain’s position in the international ranking of MICE destinations.
The 11th Congress of the Spanish Association of Congress Centres (APCE), held at Bilbao’s Euskalduna Congress Centre from 17-18 July under the slogan "Time of Challenges and Opportunities," has marked the end of a cycle of nearly 15 years during which APCE has endorsed meetings between the managers of Spanish congress centres, with the aim of promoting a forum for innovation, internationalization and development of new technologies in the business tourism industry.
With the 2013 edition, which was attended by 60 representatives of 30 congress centres, more than 700 people have attended the 11 editions of APCE’s congress. After the opening ceremony, the first keynote was delivered by Juan Ignacio Vidarte, CEO of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, who explained the role of the congress centre in the transformation of the area in which it is located, as well as the special characteristics of its management model.
Likewise, Alfonso Vegara, president of the Metropoli Foundation and ex-president of the International Society of City and Regional Planners, focused on the internalization and positioning of destinations, the advent of new territorial structures that are transforming the drivers of the global economy, and how the challenges of sustainability, cohesion and competitiveness cannot be addressed from the traditional regionalist perspective.
As in previous editions, the congress also featured a specific educational programme with technical and business sessions addressing issues such as the profitability of congress centres, business management and marketing in times of crisis, and the low cost phenomenon.
APCE holds 11th Congress in Bilbao
