The overall structure of the conference and meeting industry assignment

This assignment is going to discuss the overall structure of the conference and meeting industry in Ireland. Buyers According to (Rogers Tony 2009) there are two different types of buyers corporate and association there is also the public sector who do not want to be included in the category of association. These two types of buyers either buy or hire out the venue and other services so they can run there event. Association buyers are those who represent a wide variety of different organizations such as charities, trade unions, voluntary associations and political parties etc.

Association buyers have specific characteristics because they operate in a certain manner according to (Rogers Tony 2009) for example association buyers are employed by non profit organizations these organizations would be mainly voluntary groups. The decision making process is done using a committee. The major conferences have long lead times to the event. Association buyer tend to plan specific types of events. Delegate numbers can be a couple of hundred and for bigger associations thousands. Use purpose built venues, budgets tend to be lower. The majority of there major events occur in in spring or autumn and generally last 2 – 3 days.

Association buyers delegates often have there wives or family member attend with them. One example of association buyers in Ireland is the association of Irish professional conference organizers. According to (www. Pico. IEEE/board_members) (last accessed 29/10/14) the PICO was established in 1999 and is Ireland’s top professional association for conference organizers. Our association is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals.

Testimonial PICO closely works with Filet Ireland, Regional Convention Bureaus and Tourism Ireland in evolving Ireland into an International Conference centre. PICO has established a quality mark. It is awarded to those companies which are PICO approved. ” Another association buyers in Ireland is “ meet in Ireland ” Testimonial Partnership Approach Organized by Advantage ICC Feedback on the Ireland bid was that our partnership approach was perfect in every way. It was classy, dignified, informative and to the point and won the day without any challenge at all. Karen Sullivan, President, Ice Skating Association of Ireland.

Corporate buyers The term corporate is used to describe the corporate organizers who work for corporate companies such as Microsoft. According to (Tony Rogers 2009) these companies are set up with there main intention to make profit and create financial return for the company. There events generally take place in hotels and purpose built venues. They also generally have short lead times of only a few months. The overall structure of the conference and meeting industry in Ireland. By kedgeree majority of these events have low numbers of delegates attending the conferences compared to association. 1 .

Characteristics of corporate buyers are that the organizer are employed by profit organizations. 2. The event decision making process is fast. 3. The event has short lead times measured in weeks and months. 4. Corporate buyer s organize wide variety of events. 5. Delegate numbers tend to be only 100-200 maximum 6. Venues are generally hotels 7. Higher budget and the company pays. 8. Delegates partners rarely attend 9. Events run all year 10. Conferences last on average a day Testimonials Law society of Ireland annual conference “ I think we can be very happy that the conference was a complete success.

I have achieved nothing but positive feedback on all aspects – location, business session, organization, food and weather” There are also entrepreneurial conference organizers and according to (Rogers Tony 2009) organism conference in the hope to draw a reasonable amount of delegates to the event in order to make some profit. Suppliers According to (Rogers Tony 2009) suppliers are those who offer venues buyers for hire and other services which the buyer need and without them the buyers would be unable to run the event. The suppliers side of the industry can be split up into three different areas I. Venues 2. Destination .

Others Venues An example of a conference or meeting venues in Ireland would be the convention centre Dublin and the REDS conference centre. The convention centre Dublin Reds conference centre offer 6 individual venues. Its smallest one can hold up to 150 people and its largest can hold up 6800 people. Testimonial 50th International congress “ l would unreservedly recommend and compliment the REDS team who are highly Our event is large, complex and has many logistical and operational challenges, in that we are using the full 42 acre site over the course of the 7 day event” Anne Griffin – General Manager, ‘ CE See more at: http://www. DSL. IEEE/index. ]SP? P= 102&n= 134#sthash. AWAKE. Duff Destination According to (Rogers Tony 2009) organizers try to attach much more value to the location of their event when they are choosing there venue. The location of the event can be conveyed by using town city or country. The term used to define them is location. Conference destination must have a variety of venues amenities and other attractions along with modern infrastructure in order to entice conference business in the region. An example of a conference destination in Ireland according to www. Venturesome. Mom/Ireland is the convention Centre Dublin.

This destination has lots of amenities and has also very well developed infrastructure which makes it an attractive destination for conference business. Testimonial BIO-RADAR LABORATORIES I have relied on the team at Ireland”* to ensure the success of our Annual International Conference for many years. Regardless of destination they have delivered fantastic service (from venue selection through logistics and event management support) every time. Their local knowledge, attention to detail and hands on approach ensure consistency of delivery wherever we choose to bring our Conference.

Other suppliers (Rogers Tony 2009) tells us that in order for the conference industry to offer a complete service to its buyers the conference organizers have to use all the different services that are available to them. Examples of suppliers would be audio visual companies or tell communications companies. An example of Irish suppliers are AVOCADO based in Dublin supply audio visual equipment for rental and are used by corporate, hotels and entertainment sectors according to http://www. Avocado. IEEE/ . “ L found AVOCADO to be flexible, professional and hardworking and would have no estimation in recommending them for future work.

I would also like to thank the crew for their calm and patient manner in managing a busy 3 day event. I have no doubt that Avocado’s excellent technical skills and support contributed to the success of our event. ” SENSE Conference Manager Agencies According to (Rogers Tony 2009) agencies is a term which is used to define for their clients who can be both companies and associations. They act as middle men and are employed to manage and run the event. These people are often know as PICO ‘ s professional conference organizers.