the renowned program of UNLV to the hub of South-East Asia’s tourism
industry. Dr. Shane Pegg of the University of Queensland, Australia, given
the choice to attend another conference in Australia or the ICES conference
in Singapore, made the decision to come to the ICES conference based on
“the good reputations of Hong Kong Polytechnic and UNLV, the great
keynote speakers and my trust in their good intentions to provide a memorable,
relevant, and interesting conference.” He was not disappointed. He
was pleased by the inexpensive cost of the conference and by the wonderful
opportunities provided for networking—both points mentioned by
many attendees. As an academic, he pointed out, “A good number of our
students are now coming in from South-East Asia, so academics need to
know more about the market that their students will be working in.”
Dr. Erkan Sezgin, from Anadolu University in Turkey, a presenter at the
conference, welcomed the opportunity to attend a conference in Asia as
opposed to North America or Europe because “The conferences in Asia
are well-organized and more serious, and of course, there is the lure of the
exotic!”
Dr. Elie Abou Chedid, Chairman of the American University of Science
& Technology, Lebanon, who spoke on “The events industry in times
of crisis: An assessment of Lebanese managers’ attitudes in response to
the July war in Lebanon,” is both an academic and a professional in the
industry. He came to the ICES conference because having been involved
in the MICE industry for many years in the U.S., in Europe, and in the
Middle East, he “wanted to learn more about the MICE industry in Asia.”
He said he was happy he came and that he was “inspired by the level of
hospitality here in Singapore.”
Dr. Karin Weber, who is originally from East Germany and is a graduate
of UNLV currently working at Hong Kong Polytechnic, echoed the
comments of both previous speakers. Dr.Weber attends many conferences,
and she commented that this ICES conference was a good reminder to her
of why she attends conferences. She said that she had just come from a
conference in Australia and was very impressed by the contrast of the ICES
conference, which she said was “well-organized, the speaker selection was
good, the venue was very impressive” and where the hosts, the students of
UNLV were “professional, bright, and cheery.”
Andrew Kirby, a presenter from the University of Westminster, UK,
who spoke on the topic “Can UK sporting venues use market segmentation
to improve their effectiveness at targeting the conference market?” said he
was “intrigued by the opportunity to see Singapore” and encouraged and
re-inspired by the “level of awareness and interest” in his area.