Association of MICE professionals elect new Board

The Panamanian Association of Professionals in Conferences, Exhibits, and Events (APPCE) recently elected its Board of Directors for the 2019-2021 period. The event was held at Panama City’s Hotel Riu Plaza Panama. The organization’s new Board is headed by Luis Ricardo Martínez Fajardo (General Manager of Expo Eventos de Panamá,) who was elected president for a second consecutive term. He is accompanied by Tomas Rodríguez (Panama Meetings) as vice president, Kenelma Mendoza de Paredes (Accento Incentives) as secretary, and by Board members Joana Vega (Wow Promotions,) Ludy Guerra (Westin Playa Bonita,) and Rafael de la Fuente (Meeting & Show Technologies.)

In his inaugural address, Luis Ricardo Martínez invited industry members to engage in disruptive processes to make Panama more competitive as a MICE-destination. He stated, “The world of meetings and conventions has changed, and global experts on the topic are now teaching us to be disruptive, to consider the experiences of the attendees, and strive [to create] memories from each event, thus boosting our prestige as a destination. This is the reason why we, as members of the event planners’ sector, ought to act as integrators, seeking elements that cause such an impression on our visitors.”

On her part, Denise Guillén, Deputy Administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama, expressed the Panamanian government’s commitment to collaborate with APPCE and to “…jointly work with the experts in conferences and conventions.” For this purpose –she said— “…work meetings will be held to generate ideas that will be [later] elevated to the Tourism Cabinet, thus prompting the financial flow derived from the hosting of international events in our country.”

Established on August 8, 1979, the Panamanian Association of Professionals in Conferences, Exhibits, and Events (APPCE) was created to oversee the improvement and protection of the social and financial interests that are common to professionals of the country’s MICE industry.

With 22 current members (ranging from events planners and audio-visual service companies to hotels and MICE-specialized media firms,) APPCE renewed its commitment to Panama’s MICE industry in 2016. This year, the organization’s international outreach was demonstrated with the organization of the 35^th version of the COCAL conference, one of the most important MICE-sector events in Latin America.