Views from Past Attendees...
Back to IMEX Politicians Forum
"By attending today I've gained a good impression of the meetings and events industry and how hard they are working to involve politicians, and how important the industry is to the economy. When I return to Seoul I will help to locate the budget to develop the industry."
HyeonKi Kim
Chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
"It's quite important to find synergies between government and the industry and the key is how politicians can open the field for the meetings industry to develop. It has been interesting to hear the research presented today and compare that to what is happening in Greece."
Nicolas Kanellopoulos
President of the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
"The meetings industry is very important for developing economies, especially India. We were late starters but are catching up fast - as is demonstrated by our new Hyderabad Convention Centre. We are now incentivising the development of other convention centres throughout the country."
Devesh Chaturvedi
Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
"This year's Politicians Forum was at a significantly higher level, with some very stimulating sessions - IMEX's long term investment in this area is beginning to pay dividends."
Martin Sirk
Chief Executive Officer, ICCA
“For many years, ECM has enthusiastically supported the IMEX Politicians Forum. It gives European cities a fantastic additional opportunity to secure local political support and explain the value of the meetings industry.”
Flavie Baudot
Acting Head, ECM (European Cities Marketing)
“The Politicians Forum at IMEX continues to lead the way in bringing meeting industry issues to the forefront of the political agenda. The Forum continues to advance both in content and attendance and I would be pleased to recommend this forum to politicians from all over the world as a must do event.”
Barbara Maple
AIPC Past President and AIPC Academy Chair
"Many thanks for the invitation to IMEX. As a first timer I can honestly say that it was a stellar experience. Great organisation, fabulous company, stimulating debate and a real sense of fun. No wonder people are already discussing next year."
Jane Lomax-Smith
Minister for Education & Children's Services,
Minister for Tourism,
Minister for the City of Adelaide
“I was immensely impressed with the magnitude of the global meetings industry and the overall setup and impact of IMEX on the sector as well as the networking and business platform it offers to exhibitors.”
Mr Cumhur Guven Tasbasi
Deputy Governor of Istanbul
“The reason it is imperative for me to encourage local politicians to attend IMEX and the Politicians Forum is that they can see for themselves the importance and size of the conference and exhibitions industry. When they learn how many countries already invest in conferences and exhibitions as a way to boost their local economy they are able to take that knowledge away and build upon it once they return.”
Dr Hilda Farago
General Secretary, National Tourism Board, Budapest, Hungary
"This Forum was very important for my understanding of the meetings industry and its needs. The most important message is that we must have discussion between professionals and politicians. It's also very important that the professionals go to the politicians not only when they have special demands but after the events, too – with good or bad results – to explain, search for new proposals together and so on. The second thing is to reinforce good collaboration between all the people responsible for a city's tourism.”
Laurent Wehrli
Minister of Economy, Tourism & Culture, Montreux, Switzerland
“It was very interesting to see that meetings are, in fact, a large industry in their own right, as distinct from tourism. They have a very important part to play so we need to keep involving more politicians in these discussions.” Delaux had attended the previous two Forums and added, “The contacts at the Forum are of very high quality. My message to the professionals is to have tenacity. We have to continue our fight to give real political status to the industry.”
Stephan Delaux
Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, France
“This was the first Forum I have attended. Figures are always interesting and the speeches were a source of reflection and inspiration for politicians. The most important message for me was the absolute need for the meetings industry to speak with the same voice to politicians and the necessity for industry professionals to gather in order to have real representation. My message to them is: do not wait for what authority can do for you; meetings industry professionals are – and must consider themselves to be so as well – partners in the process of selling a city/country.”
Vincent Henderick
Deputy Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Economy and Labour, Brussels, Belgium
