US-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has acquired Singapore-based Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP).
The move supports PCMA’s goal of developing education, certification and accreditation for corporate agencies in Asia-Pacific, said Sherrif Karamat, COO of PCMA.
“We see a great opportunity for events in this region. We believe this is one of the fastest growing regions – if not the fastest – in the world,” Karamat told TTGmice in an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore MICE Forum last Friday.
“The power of this region and its events industry is going to be more important in bringing people together.”
He added: “We will continue to work with other organisations like SACEOS to provide association education, especially in Singapore.”
PCMA will be holding its 2017 PCMA Global Professionals Conference in Bangkok on August 28-30.
Based in Singapore, ICESAP provides education, career development and networking for corporate, agency and supplier professionals in Asia-Pacific’s business events sector, estimated at US$200 billion.
ICESAP will retain its brand and continue to operate in the region with the same staff in its Singapore office headquarters, led by founder and president Nigel Gaunt.
Gaunt told TTGmice: “PCMA and ICESAP see huge potential in the Asia-Pacific marketplace and want to do everything possible to professionalise our sector as well as promote our sector to the wider business community.”
ICESAP will elaborate on its upcoming plans under PCMA at the ICESAP Conference on September 6-8.
