10 steps in development of the
Events & Meetings Industry in Almaty
Draft project, prepared February 2017

                                                                                           
The following basic program of meeting industry development in Almaty and Region has been prepared and recommended by Slawomir Wroblewski, Assistant Professor, International Business School, Narxoz University. S. Wroblewski is a long-time congress organizer, former president of Polish Congress & Conference Association. Member of MPI since 2004.
 

	Step	Description
	Know the value of events and meetings	Use statistics from the reports: World Tourism Organization www.unwto.org , Meeting Professionals International www.mpiweb.org , International Convention & Congress Association www.iccaworld.com , Union of International Association www.uia.org , Global Association of the Exhibition Industry www.ufi.org . Know different forms of activity constituting the meeting industry .
	Understand the role of a PCO	PCO = Professional Conference Organizer. PCO plays a pivotal role in the process of meeting architecture. A PCO is a natural and ultimate partner for business hotels, the HORECA, transport and AVR companies, and other conference service providers. A PCO is a liaison to the client (corporates, associations, foreign partners).
	Know the role of meetings for the governing of corporates and associations	Meetings are considered as the most effective tool with the integrated business marketing system. The meeting planners are responsible on behalf of the above institutions for the effective use of their budgets, negotiations with the service providers, setting dates and orders.
	Count on the trade and the production	Trade companies, especially these with an extensive network of sales reps and scattered business partners, have to organize their cyclic meetings. Also production companies have considerable budgets on different forms of meetings with product users, media, intermediaries. Begin business with the international corporations already present in Kazakhstan market.
	Establish an association or similar form of institution to coordinate actions and represent joint interests of the meeting industry	MPI – Meeting Professionals International - is one of the options. The first MPI structure in Kazakhstan--the MPI Almaty Students Club--has been established at Narxoz University in February 2017. Use it as a platform for further development, participate in MPI seminars, consider your MPI membership.
	Create the Almaty Convention Bureau	Convention Bureaus exist in many countries, promoting the particular destination, usually a big city as a place to hold meetings, conferences and business events. They support meeting planners throughout the organizing process. A convention bureau is the first point of contact for anyone looking to organize a conference, particularly in a place they are unfamiliar with. It is a ‘one stop shop’ offering impartial, unbiased advice and unrivalled local knowledge in their city, and is the ‘official’ point of contact for all conference organizers and meeting planners. Almaty Convention Bureau should be a crucial structure in the destination management for meetings.
	Start a Program of Kazakhstan Congress Ambassadors	Congress Ambassadors Programs are implemented in a dozen countries around the world. Congress Ambassadors are persons of the high professional status and having foreign contacts, who invite congresses and conferences given specialty to their country. They are especially scientists, association representatives, also businessmen, sportsmen and professionals in various industries.
	Promote incentive travel to Almaty and region	The incentive travel basically implies unforgettable and entertaining trips paid by employers, with the main purpose of encouraging employees to reach challenging business goals of the company by achieving individual and/or group goals. The incentive travel is predominantly used with the basic aim of increasing sales. In Almaty you can find numerous attractions for the preparation of competitive incentive programs.
	Provide products of the highest quality	In this industry your competitors are the best destinations of the world. If you want to get a client, offer the highest quality at a reasonable price. Attend trainings and seminars for meeting professionals. Learn from the best!
	Anticipate difficulties and problems, but expect sweet fruits and great successes!	Creating a new sector of business will encounter numerous problems, including people or institutional resistance. Resistance and conflicts are a natural phenomenon, the same happened in the most of countries. These cases can help to overcome potential difficulties in Almaty, but you have to look for your own solutions. Your efforts will pay off! The average value of an international congress is over USD 300,000. In addition to the profits for an event organizer, congresses are building a prestige of the whole destination, serve in transfer of knowledge, build valuable contacts.