CVBs and meetings suppliers must step up to help PCOs and clients comply with the laws regarding international healthcare meetings and education seminars, which are changing the way such events are executed, said sector specialists leading an education session at the 52nd ICCA Congress.
Lisa Sullivan, managing director of In Vivo Communications which is involved in pharmaceutical and medical events held in various destinations, noted that some laws require doctors to pay their own attendance fee, prohibit the use of luxury hotels and cap the price of hosted meals for delegates.
“Many countries have their own laws and regulations, so PCOs handling events with delegates from multiple nations must be aware of all the various laws,” Sullivan said, who added that the minimum requirement of the law could be applied to all delegates for the sake of easier logistics control.
“So if the strictest of laws says the cost of a delegate meal cannot exceed RMB300 (US$50), we will apply that to delegates of all nationalities,” she explained.
Event content must also improve significantly to convince doctors to pay for attendance, opined Annalisa Ponchia Baccara, executive officer, European Society for Organ Transplantation, Italy.
Martin N Jensen, co-president, International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association, Switzerland, said some laws also dictate when a delegate should arrive or depart a meeting destination for expense claims to be valid.
“If there are no flights out of the destination within the specified time after the event concludes, the delegate may just choose to cut short his participation and fly home (on the earliest available flight),” Jensen said.
Sullivan added that “the additional systems that must be in place” would cost more money and manpower to implement, and PCOs must now find a way to cover these expenses.
CVBs and meetings suppliers can help PCOs and clients comply with laws by identifying venues that offer prices that comply with regulations, suggested Sheriff Karamat, COO, Professional Convention Management Association.
“Most importantly, CVBs and PCOs in Asia must understand the implications of these laws and regulations on future bids and events and adapt to them. Currently, not enough of them do,” warned Sullivan.
*Our article previously named Lisa Sullivan as managing director of INVIVO Communications. This was inaccurate and has been rectified.
