ICCA Announces New Conference Locations, Initiatives at IMEX America

The International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) Congress will take place next month in Dubai, but the event will move to Houston in 2019. The strategy behind this move and other initiatives were unveiled on Tuesday (Oct. 16) at IMEX America.

ICCA is partnering with the BestCities Global Alliance, and the goal of this move to Houston is to maximize learning opportunities. The group also hopes to increase social responsibility initiatives.

The Incredible Impacts Program, now in its second year, is run collaboratively by ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance and involved the selection of three winning associations as leading examples of excellence within the global meeting industry. The associations—Down Syndrome International, the Society for Ecological Restoration and the Union for International Cancer Control--will receive grants towards future projects and will present their cases at the ICCA Congress next month.

Dennis Speet, interim CEO of ICCA, said the organization is “very excited” about the upcoming events in Dubai and Houston. He said that a large crowd of participants is expected this year, and spoke about the close relationship ICCA has with BestCities to support the meeting industry through upcoming initiatives.

“It’s going to be a record number of attendees for an ICCA congress,” Steen Jakobsen, assistant vice president of Dubai Business Events, said about the upcoming conference. He spoke about working with local foundations such as the Noor Dubai Foundation, whose goals include improving eyesight for those in developing countries. Jakobsen said the event will include a charity run and will help to create a “strong and lasting impact.”

Nakobsen said participants visiting Dubai for the first time will feel very welcome, as many social events will take place. From downtown to the desert, he said the goal is to “integrate Dubai” into each participant.

Daniel Palomo, director of global sales for Houston First Corp., reminded everyone that the last ICCA Congress to be held in the U.S was in 1987. He said the 2019 event will “help Houston’s position as one of the international association players within the North American region. We want the delegates to benefit from this, and the community to learn from this.”