Opening
of new African regional office acknowledges development of the
international association meetings market in
the African region.
Ms.
Chris Prieto, CMP, is the new South African based Regional Director
covering the African region. She brings a wealth of experience in
operations, frontline sales and marketing, and in-depth knowledge of
the meetings industry in Africa.
After
the first months of intensive training on ICCA’s products and
services, Chris is looking forward to her first edition of Meetings
Africa as an ICCA representative:
Chris
Prieto: “My top priority is to make sure that every member in
Africa knows that they’ve now got a friendly African point of
contact to help them get the maximum value out of their ICCA
membership, to make them aware of how to use the ICCA network, the
database, and the full range of ICCA services.”
ICCA
President Arnaldo Nardone stated: “The opening of the new regional
offices in Africa isn't simply a move to deliver better services to
our existing members in this region, but a recognition that the
international association meetings market is continuing to
evolve, and it is in the growth of regional meetings that we
anticipate some of the most dramatic future developments. This trend
is already well established in Asia and Latin America and the recent
establishment of an African society for association executives shows
that Africa is starting to move down the same road. What this implies
is that there is going to be more business for our existing members
in these regions, more new events to identify and add to the ICCA
Association Database, more new infrastructure developments, more
understanding of the strategic importance of association events by
city and national governments, and more interest in ICCA by potential
new members. It is strategically important for ICCA to build a
long-term presence in the Africanmarket.”
ICCA
now has five regional offices in addition to
its Head Office in Amsterdam, with established operations already
serving Asia-Pacific, North- and Latin America, and new regional
offices in the Middle East and Africa.