AN ALLIANCE of six Asian waste management associations has been formalised to raise the knowledge and level of expertise of its members in waste management and recycling through various efforts including a series of symposiums and exhibitions.

Members of the new Asia Pacific Waste and Environmental Alliance (APWEA) include national associations from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

The Singapore representative – Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) – will chair APWEA for the first three years.

Speaking to TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview, WMRAS chairman Melissa Tan, said: “The alliance will organise several symposiums and exhibitions throughout the year, conduct networking activities for industry players whenever the alliance calls at one of the members’ destination, and produce an e-newsletter for alliance members.”

Tan said events are important, as they allow APWEA members to connect with each other and make new business contacts.

“All of us are busy with our own business and it is only during exhibitions and conferences that we can meet and share the latest technologies, equipment and best practices we are adopting in our operations and learn from each other,” Tan elaborated, adding that WMRAS is also a strong believer in organising educational and business-matching events for its local members.

WMRAS organises the WasteMET Asia Symposium which takes place once every two years, the WasteMET Asia Industry Awards which debuted this year on October 22, as well as various other conferences and workshops with support from sponsors.

It also conducts the Training, Advisory & Promotion (TAP) Centre under a tripartite agreement with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and National Environment Agency. These training events, led by international experts, run over three to four days and include industrial site visits.

Tan said there are plans to duplicate TAP Centre events in APWEA member countries come 2016.

THE annual SITE Global Conference will head to Panama in 2016 where it will be held at the Westin Playa Bonita from November 4 to 6.

Rajeev Kohli, president-elect of SITE 2015, said: “Panama made a presentation in the US that impressed all the board members. Stakeholders of Panama’s travel and tourism sector across verticals including the NTO, DMCs and airline were there. We are confident that the conference will offer our members an opportunity to explore a beautiful part of Latin America.”

Kohli pointed out that SITE conferences have always benefitted the tourism industry of host cities.

“I don’t know any other association that can change a local industry and leave a footprint like SITE. We hope that the 2016 conference in Panama will open that part of the world globally,” he added.

There are about 25 members of SITE in Panama and a local chapter is in the process of being formed.

Prime incentive markets for Panama include the US and Canada, shared Kohli.

“Panama is still a relatively new destination for most of the incentive markets, even for the US. It is important that we host an event like the SITE Global Conference. A large number of SITE membership is from the US so the conference is definitely going to increase incentive business from (the market),” commented Gabriela Herrera, director, international group sales, The Westin Playa Bonita, Panama.

“People know about Costa Rica which is our neighbour but Panama still needs to be put in the minds of people. Because of good connectivity provided by airlines like Emirates and Lufthansa, we should also be able to get business from longhaul markets like India as a result of the conference,” she added.

AS PART of its efforts to enhance the value of association meetings and strengthen its relationship with international associations, ICCA has formed a five-year strategic plan that sees a change in its vision and mission statements as well as six strategic goals.

In its new vision and mission statements, ICCA aims to shape the future and value of international association meetings and be the global community and knowledge hub for the international association meetings industry, creating competitive advantage and business opportunities and successful outcomes for association meetings.

Additionally, the six strategic goals include developing new business opportunities and competitive advantage, creating engaged association executives, being a global knowledge hub, expanding its advocacy, developing a highly specialised congress, and building an effective and sustainable organisation.

“As in previous plans we are focused entirely on this sector, on international associations, it is our unique area of expertise. What’s changed is that instead of focusing purely on business opportunities and competitive advantage for our members, we are now concerning ourselves with generating better outcomes from the international association meetings themselves,” commented Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA.

“We can’t simply look at this from the supplier side of the equation. To be a true community for this sector, we have to embrace change, and get closer to the international associations themselves.”

Meanwhile, ICCA has selected Houston to host the ICCA Congess in 2019.

NOVEMBER is turning out to be a bumper month for the business events industry on the Gold Coast, with five major international conferences convening in the city.

The conferences are expected to make a direct economic impact of over A$3 million (US$2.2 million) to the local economy and attract around 1,800 international delegates as well as global experts in their respective fields.

These events are the 27th Asia Pacific Conference on International Accounting Issues (250 delegates), the 3rd Australia – China Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research Forum (80 delegates), the 13th Congress of the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (1,200 delegates); the Interdisciplinary Cerebrovascular Symposium (100 delegates), and the 5th International Conference on Neurology & Epidemiology (220 delegates).

Anna Case, director of Gold Coast Business Events, said the eventful month represented an inspiring influx of social capital to the academic and broader community.

“The most obvious impact of these events is the significant contribution they make to the local economy, with business events delegates typically spending double that of a leisure tourist,” she said.

“These conferences also enhance our reputation as an emerging cultural and intellectual knowledge hub, with local experts proud to showcase their achievements to their international colleagues.”

Case acknowledged the vital role of a number of local residents in attracting these conferences to the city, with several being the result of the efforts of Gold Coast Business Events Ambassadors. The ambassador programme unites influential leaders from key local industries to proactively promote the destination through their industry networks, and has contributed to the success of attracting conferences to the Gold Coast valued at approximately A$20 million.

A further A$15 million in future conferences are awaiting decision.