Last week, the Board of Directors of the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA), chaired by the South African Nina Freysen-Pretorius and whose 1st Vice-president and Treasurer is Juan Jose Garcia (Barcelo Congresos), met in Madrid. Work sessions were held over three days from 17-19 February.
The choice of Madrid for this meeting of ICCA’s top leadership – which is usually held in Amsterdam, where the association has its official headquarters – is due to the valuable support obtained by the Madrid Convention Bureau to host this event, in addition to the city’s excellent international flight connections and climate. As is well known, Madrid currently occupies 2nd place in ICCA’s ranking for cities hosting international congresses, behind Paris and in front of Vienna and Barcelona. And Spain currently occupies 3rd place in the association’s country ranking, behind USA and Germany.
The work sessions of ICCA’s Board of Directors took place at the NH Eurobuilding from 17-19 February. Specifically, the meeting of the Management and Finance Committee was held on the 17th, while the meetings that took place on the 18th and 19th were dedicated to designing the association’s new strategic plan for the next five years.
On the evening of the 17th, Madrid City Council organized a reception for the board members at the Palacio de Cibeles. During the event, Pedro Corral, city councillor for Art, Sports and Tourism – accompanied by Mar de Miguel, director general of Tourism, along with representatives of the Madrid Convention Bureau and ICCA Iberian Chapter, including the chapter’s Portuguese president, Alexandra Toregao – welcomed the board members, wishing them a successful meeting. Nina Freysen-Pretorius, president of ICCA, then thanked their hosts before presenting Corral with a small gift in the name of the association. Afterwards, Madrid City Council invited the delegates to dinner at the Corral de la Moreria, thus giving the chance to relax after a hard day’s work and get to know Madrid’s tourism offerings. On Thursday afternoon, some of the board member visited Santiago Bernabeu so as to familiarize themselves with the stadium’s event facilities.
Mar de Miguel, director general of Tourism; Alexandra Toregao, president of ICCA Iberian Chapter; Nina Freysen- Pretorius, president of ICCA; Pedro Corral, city councellor for Art, Sports and Tourism; Rosa Deza and David Perez Noack of the Madrid Convention Bureau
