ICISE joins ICCA as first member from Vietnam

For the first time in ICCA’s history, Vietnam, which is poised to be one of the leading convention hubs in Asia, has joined the global association of the international meetings industry. With the acceptance of the first member from Vietnam, the Chapter membership comprises 236 members in 16 countries & regions in Asia Pacific.

As one of the most advanced economies in the Mekong region, Vietnam is working hard to put itself on the international map through international events. The country has emerged as a rising star with almost 600 international association meetings hosted since 1992 and has confirmed business on its books through to 2019 linked to Vietnam’s areas of expertise in industry, commerce, science and medicine. Among the major conferences won by Vietnam are the General Assembly of the International Federation of Surveyors 2019, International Congresses of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control 2019, and General Assembly of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions 2018.

On receiving the communication from ICCA, Mr. Jean Tran Thanh Van, President of ICISE, commented that "After 50 years of experience in organizing international scientific conferences in France, Italy and Vietnam, we established the ICISE conference center in 2013 in Quy Nhon, central Vietnam. The ICISE conference center is part of the International Centre of Interdisciplinary Science and Education that we have founded to help make Vietnam on the road of science and technology development in the Region.

It is a unique and original action, since the mission of ICISE is to develop education and promote knowledge sharing as well as increase relationships between Asia and the rest of the world. We want to help Asian professionals, students and scientists to meet with the international community, bringing the opportunity to accelerate their knowledge by attending international conferences.

Now, being the first ICCA member in the Region, we want to open up the opportunity of such a beautiful conference venue, close to the beach, to the association meetings market. Mr. Enrico Belli, former President of the Italian ICCA committee, recently joined our staff to strengthen our international relationships towards this direction.

We strongly hope that our new ICCA friends, member suppliers and associations, will soon join us in this mission. They are one step closer to discover a country of great potential, beautiful landscapes and friendly people. Every event at ICISE conference center gets the deep attention of the local government and is widely covered by media."

Applauding the new member’s commitment, Noor Ahmad Hamid, Regional Director Asia Pacific, said: “We are pleased to welcome ICISE into the ICCA family. We hope it will encourage other industry professionals to follow suit in adopting a more strategic approach towards the association market, of which Vietnam has huge potential. Many destinations in the region are looking at the outputs of professional development, knowledge exchange, job creation, community advancement, and extensive range of outcomes beyond that of tourism spends.”

Quick growth of number of ICCA members in Asia Pacific
Since the establishment of the ICCA Asia Pacific Regional Office in 1998, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Asia Pacific membership growth has soared by 52% over the last decade, went up a mere 97 members in 1998 to 147 members in 2008. The growth of the ICCA network within this region has increased remarkably to 236 member companies and organisations, indicating a steady growth of 141% since 1998, spurred by the growing economies of many Asia Pacific countries as well as the increased awareness of the meetings industry in the region.

The membership of the ICCA Asia Pacific Chapter consists of all members located in the Asia Pacific region, covering 16 countries & regions – Australia, China-P.R., Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China-P.R.), India, Indonesia, Japan, Macao (China-P.R.), Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and now including Vietnam.

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