APECATE charts new course in Ilhavo

Almost 200 specialists from across Portugal’s conference, incentive travel and outdoor events sector gathered in Ilhavo (29-30 January), for the 4^th APECATE Congress. The APECATE (Portuguese acronym for the Association of Congress, Events, Outdoor Leisure and Cultural Activity Companies) Congress was held at the historic fishing town’s recently-opened Montebelo Vista Alegre Hotel. Keynote speakers included David Casalod, CEO with Netherlands-based international association management company and outsourcing services provider, Status Plus, and Luisa Ahrens Teixeira, president of APECATE, former president of European PCO federation EFAPCO and CEO with the Congress’s organisers Mundiconvenius. There were presentations addressing themes including Inbound Marketing and Social Booking Systems for Tour Experiences. Maria Emília Pimenta, director of the Portuguese VAT Department responded to issues raised by company managers regarding VAT schemes in national and international transactions in the area of congresses, events and tourist animation. The social programme included a dinner at the Montebelo Vista Alegre Hotel and another event at the Ílhavo Naval Museum. Delegates also lined up in teams to take part in a discovery competition around Vista Alegre organised by specialist company Margens. Regional industry expert and CPL Meetings & Events executive director, Linda Pereira, told CMW APECATE had recently undergone a restructuring process, whereby it created two sections within the association so as to better respond to the specific needs of its member profiles. It now has a Congress and Event Section and an Adventure and Activities Tourism section and the chair of the Congress and Events Section, Vasco Noronha, spoke about the new structure and what the industry association members expect. The association announced it is working on creating a national register of all companies operating on the market, as well as impressing on the government their true economic value and impact. APECATE is also to launch a certification process for members, designed to increase market confidence and recognition for the sector. Another of the association’s ambitions for the 4th Congress was to get backing for a marketing plan to enable the association to compete for business as an organised sector rather than on an individual basis. It is no secret the association has been losing members from the congress and events sector and the association is, therefore, heavily dominated by the adventure and leisure tourism sub-sector (85 members from that side, with just eight PCOs and 13 event companies). Pereira told CMW her company was one of those that saw no value from being a member of APECATE in its current form. “We prefer membership of international associations.” She did admit the association was making a targeted attempt at changing the situation and trying to attract more events and congress companies, albeit with little success so far. “The congress has very limited topic range and is always rather political in its programming and so the participants again do not really offer any value in the networking for major players). We are watching to see what the new changes will bring,” Pereira added.